The Illinois high school baseball season kicks off on March 11, opening day for regular season action under IHSA regulations. Over the next two weeks, leading up to opening day, we’ll be publishing our team previews ahead of the 2024 spring season, touching on programs spanning all state classifications, counting down through the official Prep Baseball Illinois Preseason Power 25 Rankings.

Perennially, we’ve submitted a preseason questionnaire to high school head coaches across the entire state. Their responses have been flooding in and we’re using the detailed insight they’ve provided in our team-by-team preseason analysis.

Our 2024 preseason coverage continues today.

High School: Normal University Pioneers
Head Coach: Steve Paxson
Classification: 2A
Conference: Central State Eight
2023 Record (Finish): 20-16 (Lost in Regional Championship)
Key Players Lost: Matt Sauser (Florida State), Eli Kieser (Ball State), Grant Marshall (Rock Valley JC)

 

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ROSTER PREVIEW

No. of Returning Positional Starters: 7
No. of Returning Pitchers: 8
Team Strengths: Experience.

Name	Class	Pos	Commitment
Charlie Vercruysse	2024	SS/RHP	Notre Dame
Ben Carnahan	2024	RHP	John Wood CC
Cameron Clifton	2024	RHP	Illinois Central College
Devan Tupper	2024	RHP	Eastern Illinois
Ethan Kieser	2025	RHP/OF	-
Max Wille	2025	OF	-
Connor MacMillan	2025	OF/INF	-
Braden Deverman	2025	RHP/OF	-
Will Paxson	2025	RHP	-
Max Heineman	2026	C	-
Gavin Swartz	2026	RHP/INF	Indiana
Gavin Michaels	2026	INF	-

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Find more information on the 2024 Normal University program below:

+ Follow them on X: @pioneerdugout
+ Visit the Prep Baseball Illinois Preseason Power 25 homepage

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