Prep Baseball Report

Updated Illinois Power 25 Rankings


Illinois Scouting Staff

We're starting to get right in the thick of the spring season, and some teams are starting to separate themselves from the pack. We just finished up the fifth week of IHSA action, and naturally there was some movement throughout, including two teams making their Power 25 debuts.

Continue reading below to see how teams fared in the Power 25 throughout this past week. 

Climbing  

+ No. 2 St. Laurence (15-1): Taking over the second position in the rankings, the Vikings had a clean 4-0 week with some convincing wins, outscoring their opponents 52-6 with a 10-0 win over St. Ignatius, 13-0 win over Montini, 7-4 win over Marmion and 22-2 win over Aurora Central Catholic. 

+ No. 4 Edwardsville (9-5): The Tigers seem to be back on track with a 2-0 record on the week, taking down top ranked Carmel (IN) 7-5 and Sacred Heart Griffin 15-7. The Tigers have four games scheduled this week, as they're set to play Collinsville twice, Christian Brothers and McCracken County. 

+ No. 5 Huntley (12-1): The Red Raiders came out hot this past week with a perfect 5-0 clip. They saw wins over Lake Zurich 5-3, Jacobs 8-5 & 11-1, Crystal Lake Central 5-1 and McHenry 8-3.  

+ No. 6 Lincoln-Way West (12-0): Rising eight spots to No. 6, the Warriors continued to establish themselves as one of the top teams in the state this past week, going a perfect 4-0 with three Power 25 wins, taking down No. 7 at the time Minooka 4-3, No. 25 Lincoln-Way East 7-1 and No. 24 Sandburg 5-3. They also notched a 14-12 win over a quality Marian Catholic club. 

+ No. 8 New Trier (9-3): Rising one spot, New Trier went a perfect 4-0 on the week with wins over Prospect 7-0, Vernon Hills 7-5, Maine East 16-0 and Oak Park-River Forest 8-2. 

+ No. 9 Lake Park (11-1): The Lancers find themselves up one spot to No. 9 after a dominant 5-0 week. They took down Batavia in a three-game set by the scores of 11-5, 17-0 and 13-3; also seeing wins over Hersey 11-6 and Oak Park-River Forest 8-6. 

+ No. 13 Joliet West (14-3): The Tigers are rising nine spots to No. 13 after going 6-0 on the week. They had two Power 25 wins over No. 24 Sandburg 13-2 and No. 7 Minooka 3-2, and they also saw wins over Coal City 14-1, Oswego East 7-4 and Yorkville 3-2.  

+ No. 15 Monticello (19-0): The Sages continue to roll through their schedule, winning four games this past week to improve to 19-0 on the season. They saw wins over Williamsville 7-6, Tolono Unity 12-1, Mattoon 9-2 and St. Thomas More 10-0. 

+ No. 16 St. Charles North (8-3-1): North had a strong week with a couple Power 25 wins over No. 13 Libertyville 7-3 and No. 4 Providence Catholic 6-2. They also took down Wheaton North in a two game set 17-7 and 12-0. 

+ No. 19 Sycamore (10-0): Now off to a 10-0 start to their season, Sycamore won four games this past week with three of them coming against Rochelle 8-1, 19-2 and 4-1. They also took down Woodstock North by the score of 18-8. 

Sinking 

+ No. 3 Joliet Catholic (12-2): The Hillmen are hardly “sinking”, as they are still one of the strongest teams in the state. They lost their first two games of the year to No. 1 Nazareth 7-4 and Marist 6-4. Despite the losses, they won three games this past week, taking down Marist 15-0 & 7-0, as well as Oak Park-River Forest 10-5.  

+ No. 7 Providence Catholic (10-3): Down three spots to No. 7, Providence fell to St. Charles North 6-2 for their only blemish of the week. They saw four strong wins on the week as well, taking down Loyola 17-11, Marmion 11-7, Leo 21-0 and De La Salle 15-3. 

+ No. 10 Downers Grove North (12-2): The Trojans fell to rival Downers Grove South 2-1 for their lone loss of the week, pushing them back two spots to No. 10. They defeated Proviso West in a three game set 15-0, 10-0 and 15-2 - while also taking down conference foe Hinsdale Central 10-2. 

+ No. 11 Minooka (10-5): The only losses for Minooka this past week were to Power 25 clubs, falling to now No. 6 Lincoln-Way West 4-3 and No. 13 Joliet West 3-2. They saw three wins as well, taking down Plainfield East 5-1, Plainfield Central 8-2 and Plainfield South 6-5. 

+ No. 14 Normal Community (15-1): The Ironmen fell for the first time this spring to Bradley-Bourbonnais by the score of 8-6. They rattled off three wins to correct their course, taking down Centennial 12-5 and 12-1 - while also defeating Champaign Central 9-1.  

+ No. 17 Libertyville (10-3-1): Falling four spots to No. 17, Libertyville finished the week at a 3-1 clip with their lone loss coming to No. 21 at the time St. Charles North 7-3. They saw three wins on the week, taking down Warren 5-4 and Lake Forest twice (6-2, 2-1).  

+ No. 20 Triad (10-5): The Knights slide one spot to No. 20 after finishing the week at a 2-1 clip. They fell to St. Anthony 13-4, but also saw wins over Civic Memorial 15-6 and 12-2. 

+ No. 22 Fenwick (12-4): The Friars fall five spots to No. 22 after a 2-2 week. They fell to a couple strong clubs in St. Rita 9-2 and Brother Rice 12-6, but also saw wins over IC Catholic 7-1 and Mt. Carmel 5-3. 

+ No. 25 Lincoln-Way Central (9-5): Holding on to the No. 25 spot, Lincoln-Way Central fell to No. 24 Sandburg 4-3 for their lone loss of the week, also taking down Batavia 12-2 and Homewood-Flossmoor 11-0. 

New to the Power 25

+ No. 21 York (12-2): The Dukes slide in at No. 21 after a 5-1 week to push their record to 12-2. Their lone loss came to conference foe Hinsdale Central 6-5, but they bounced back with wins over Leyden 5-2, Wheaton North 8-3, Proviso West 3-0 and Hinsdale Central twice (5-2, 5-2). With the top arm in the state at their disposal, RHP Ryan Sloan (2024; Wake Forest commit) gives the Dukes a real chance to win every time he steps on the mound.

+ No. 23 Glenbrook North (10-2-1): Glenbrook North cracks the Power 25 at No. 23 after a clean 3-0 week with wins over Fremd 12-2, Highland Park 10-1 and Niles North 7-0. There’s a lot to like about this Glenbrook North club that is off to a 10-2-1 start. They have the top sophomore in the state in SS/RHP Ethan Bass (2026; Illinois commit), and they have plenty of other pieces around the diamond that make them dangerous on both sides of the ball.

Dropped out 

+ Crystal Lake South (9-3)

+ Lincoln-Way East (6-8)

Just Missed the cut

+ Normal University (11-4)
+ Highland (14-0-1)
+ McHenry (12-3)
+ Dunlap (13-2)
+ Lyons Township (7-3)
+ Hampshire (10-2)
+ Glenwood (11-2)
+ Lane Tech (13-5)
+ Morris (11-2)
+ St. Joseph-Ogden (16-2)
+ Bartlett (11-4)
+ Conant (8-3)
+ Lockport (10-4-1)
+ East Peoria (15-1)
+ St. Francis (9-3)
+ Andrew (12-4)
+ Father McGivney (15-2)
+ Evanston (9-3-1)
+ Nashville (16-1)
+ Sacred Heart-Griffin (11-3)
+ Wheaton Academy (11-1)

Updated Top-10

RANK LAST WEEK TEAM CLASS RECORD (4/15) 
1
1 Nazareth 4A
17-0
2 3 St. Laurence 3A 15-1
3 2 Joliet Catholic 3A
12-2
4 5 Edwardsville 4A 9-5
5 6 Huntley 4A
12-1
6 14 Lincoln-Way West 4A 12-0
7 4 Providence Catholic 4A 10-3
8 9 New Trier 4A 9-3
9 10 Lake Park 4A 11-1
10 8 Downers Grove North 4A 12-2

+ Click HERE to view the complete Power 25 page.

IHSA Podcast: Episode 4

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