Preseason Power 25 Countdown: No. 14 Downers Grove North

March 7, 2024
By: Pete Hamot
Assistant Director, Illinois & Wisconsin

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: Downers Grove North Trojans
Head Coach: Kyle Briscoe
Classification: 4A
Conference: West Suburban (Silver)
2023 Record (Finish): 32-5 (Sectional Semi-Finals appearance)
Key Players Lost: George Wolkow (Chicago White Sox), Ean Czech (Wabash Valley), Tony Konopiots (West Virginia), Ryan Dennison, Sean Ryniec

ROSTER PREVIEW

No. of Returning Positional Starters: Four
No. of Returning Pitchers: Two
Team Strengths: Strong up the middle of the field.

NAME	STATE	CLASS	POS	COMMITMENT
Jimmy Janicki	IL	2024	C	Troy
Jude Warwick	IL	2024	SS	Michigan State
Ben Llewellyn	IL	2024	RHP	Minnesota State
Brady Schallmoser	IL	2025	OF/1B	-
Russel Oros	IL	2025	OF	-
Zack Ziroli	IL	2025	LHP	-
Edgar Santos	IL	2025	OF	-
Joah Ratio	IL	2025	INF	-
Nick Konopiots	IL	2025	INF	-
JD Cumbee	IL	2025	OF	-

X-FACTOR

On a fully stacked roster with a number of Power Five commits and even a high-level draft prospect, few people would argue that the most valuable player from last year's team was C Jimmy Janicki (2024; Troy commit). The backstop led the team in batting average a seaon ago, hitting his way to a .479 clip in 121 at-bats to pair with 14 doubles, two triples, six home runs and 51 RBIs. These numbers were good enough to land Janicki a Prep Baseball Illinois First-Team All-State selection, and he's primed for another big spring in '24. Already showing well in the early stages of the year as the No. 4 ranked player in the state, he represented Illinois at the nationally renowned Super 60 earlier this winter, putting his usual loud tools on display; reaching as low as 1.87 for his pop-time (T84 mph), running a 6.97 in the 60, and recording a max EV of 104 mph in batting practice to pair with premium BLAST metrics.

NEWCOMER TO WATCH

LHP Zack Ziroli (2025) will be a new face for the Trojans this year, and he could help add some valuable depth to their pitching staff. Currently ranked No. 115 in the state, the southpaw has shown well in front of our staff on multiple occasions, most recently at our Preseason All-State: Upperclass event in late February. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound southpaw wields a dynamic arsenal, starting with his fastball that plays comfortably in the low-80s with heavy tailing action to his arm-side, reaching over 19" at times. His fastball sets up his out-pitch, a sharp 1/7 curveball that spins over 2,500 rpm at times, playing with depth and tunneling well off fastballs in the upper quadrant of the zone. His third and final offering is a changeup at 76-77 mph, prolifing similarly to his fastball with heavy run/sink, reaching over 21" of horizontal movement.

TEAM OUTLOOK

Though the Trojans lost some firepower to graduating seniors, they still have plenty of thump in the lineup. Their strong suit will be up the middle of the diamond, starting with Janicki behind the plate. Not only will he be one of the more dangerous bats in Illinois, he'll also provide premium defense at a premium position.

Moving up the field to shortstop we have Jude Warwick (2024; Michigan State), who's been a consistent performer in front of our staff no matter the circumstances. A recent winner from our Preaseason ProCase, Warwick will lock down another premium position for the Trojans with advanced defensive ability and easy range to both sides of his glove. He also returns one of the Trojans' best bats from a season ago, turning in a .340 average in 106 at-bats last season with five doubles, four triples, two home runs, 17 RBIs and 36 runs scored. Currently ranked No. 30 in the state, look for Warwick to play a large role in the Trojans' success this coming spring.

INF Joah Ratio (2025) will be the likely counterpart to Warwick, and they'll make up one of the better middle-infield duos in the state - with Ratio also boasting above-average actions and hands. He'll supply some sneaky power from the second base position as well, as the right-handed hitter reached up to 94 mph for his EV with a 342' max distance at our Preseason All-State: Upperclass event.

OF Russel Oros (2025) concludes our up-the-middle breakdown, and he will play a quality centerfield for the Trojans. He's shown sneaky speed in the outfield with the ability to track down balls with a quick first step, and he'll supply some thump to the lineup with his strong right-handed stroke. Oros also saw some time on varsity last spring, so that experience will likely go a long way for the junior.

One of the more dangerous bats to keep an eye on this spring for the Trojans will be 1B/OF Brady Schallmoser (2025). Currently ranked No. 43 in the state, the left-handed hitter saw significant time on varsity as only a sophomore last spring, recording a .292 average in 65 at-bats with nine doubles, 17 RBIs and 16 runs scored. His at-bats demonstrate his clear confidence and feel to hit, not getting sped up by big situations while appearing calm and confident. His swing is also one of the best pure left-handed strokes in the Illinois 2025 group, displaying a fluid rhythm while working on-plane with extension through the zone and the ability to use the whole field, registering exit velocities in the upper-90s. He'll likely see some time at first base this spring, but he has the ability to hop over to the outfield if needed.

A new face set to roam the outfield for North this spring will be OF Edgar Santos (2025). He's a well above-average runner, recording a 6.71 in the 60 earlier this winter, he'll help Oros cover ground out there while also supplying some power to the lineup - registering mid-90s exit velocities with intent to lift earlier this winter.

INF Nick Konopiots and OF JD Cumbee are two juniors that should expect to see some valuable time in the lineup this year as well.

Heading the Trojans' rotation this spring will be RHP Ben Llewellyn (2024; Minnesota State commit). He had a strong junior campaign to build off of, tossing 33.1 innings to the tune of a 3.99 ERA. He's shown the ability to be lights-out in front of our staff, and if he's on he'll be a tough arm to beat; featuring a fastball up to 87 mph that sets up a low-70s curveball, mid-70s slider and upper-70s changeup.

The aforementioned Ziroli will help fill out the rotation, along with RHP Carter Cosenza (2024) and RHP Tommy Majchrowicz (2025).

Majchrowicz will be an intriguing new arm for the Trojans, as we saw him this past summer run his fastball into the upper-80s with a curveball at nearly 2,400 rpm and fading changeup.

RHP Frank Porcelli (2024) will provide a tough sidearm look out of the 'pen with a fastball into the upper-70s, helping to lock down the late innings of games.

Bottom Line

The Trojans may have lost a few of their stars from last season, but this may be an even more well-rounded club this time around. Their offense is still plenty deep with a dangerous top of the lineup, and they also have bats down the line that can do damage at any point in time. Their pitching this year will also likely be stronger with a couple new faces taking the bump. At the end of the day, the Trojans are an extremely dangerous offensive team that will just need their pitching to be good enough to keep them in games.

Find more information on the 2024 Downers Grove North program below:

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