Prep Baseball Report

Updated Illinois Power 25 Rankings


Illinois Scouting Staff

We are approaching the final stretch here with playoff brackets already circulating, and teams are really starting to separate themselves from the rest of the field. Once again, the top two teams in the state remain the same, but there was quite a bit of movement under them with upsets, cross-town grudge matches, and more.

Nazareth academy holds down the No. 1 position for the seventh week in a row after going a perfect 3-0 with wins over Neuqua Valley 15-5, Marist 6-4 and No. 2 Joliet Catholic 6-2 to capture the ESCC conference title - and they now boast a stellar 31-0 record. 

The Hill remain at No. 2 despite falling to the Roadrunners, and for good reason, as two of their three losses on the year are against Nazareth. They did see two quality wins on the week as well, taking down Geneseo 6-3 and Saint Viator 8-0, as they now sit at 25-3 on the year. 

Continue reading to see how the rest of the Power 25 shook up in this update. 

Climbing 

+ No. 3 New Trier (24-3): The Trevians are winners of 21 straight and are undoubtedly one of the hottest teams in the state. They went a perfect 3-0 this past week, taking down Deerfield in a two-game set 11-3 and 16-2, also defeating Highland Park 12-3.

+ No. 4 St. Laurence (26-5): The Vikings rise two spots to No. 4 after a perfect 2-0 week which also saw them capture the Chicago Catholic Blue title, taking down Brother Rice 11-4. Their other win came against Hanover Central by the score of 7-5. 

+ No. 5 Providence Catholic (24-6): The Celtics rise to No. 5 after a dominant 4-0 week. They had two Power 25 wins, taking down St. Rita 12-4 and Lincoln-Way West 3-1. They also saw wins over Moline 5-0 and Lincoln-Way East 12-7. 

+ No. 10 Downers Grove North (24-5): The Trojans find themselves up to No. 10 after a 3-0 week, grabbing a big three-game set from conference foe and Power 25 opponent Lyons Township 10-4, 6-5 and 6-1. 

+ No. 14 Mascoutah (24-4): Mascoutah rises one spot to No. 14 after winning three games on the week; taking down Jersey 7-1, Mater Dei 11-0 and Columbia 6-2. 

+ No. 15 Morris (22-3): Morris continues to roll with a clean 2-0 week. Now winners of 12 straight and 20 of their last 21 games, they took down Kaneland in a two-game set 12-4 and 8-4. 

+ No. 20 Glenwood (24-4): The Titans rise to No. 20 after an undefeated week, seeing wins over Decatur 20-0, Springfield 6-0 and Normal West 8-2. 

+ No. 22 Libertyville (22-7-1): A perfect 4-0 week has Libertyville rising two spots to No. 22. They took a two-game set from Zion-Benton 2-0 and 10-0 - while also seeing wins over Grayslake Central 2-1 and Hersey 12-2. 

Sinking

+ No. 6 Lincoln-Way West (24-3): The Warriors suffered their first losses of the season this past week and dropped three spots because of it. However, all of their losses came to Power 25 teams, falling to Lincoln-Way Central 6-1 and 10-4, as well as Providence Catholic 3-1. Their lone win of the week came against Kankakee by the score of 8-0. 

+ No. 9 Huntley (25-5): The Red Raiders fell twice to now No. 21 Burlington Central 10-3 and 4-1, but they managed to take games over Dundee Crown 17-1, Streamwood 3-2 and Brother Rice 6-4. 

+ No. 11 Lake Park (22-6): The Lancers dropped slightly as they went 2-1 on the week, with their lone loss coming to St. Charles North 10-1, but they bounced back and defeated them 5-1. They also saw a win over Wheaton North by the score of 5-3.

+ No. 12 St. Charles North (22-4-1): The Stars also drop one spot as a result of a 2-1 week, falling to Lake Park 5-1, but also knocking them off 10-1. Their second win came against a strong Geneva club 11-0. 

+ No. 13 Normal Community (29-3): Not so much sinking as there were just some other teams that jumped ahead, the Ironmen are still very much one of the top clubs in the state. They went a perfect 3-0 this past week, taking down Peoria Notre Dame twice (4-0 & 10-3), as well as Bloomington 3-2. 

+ No. 17 Minooka (20-10): Minooka finds themselves down one spot to No. 17 after a 3-2 week. They saw two wins over Oswego (4-2 & 2-1) and also took down Lockport 13-2. However, they fell to now No. 16 Lincoln-Way Central 8-3, as well as Oswego 2-0 for their two losses. 

+ No. 18 St. Rita (22-10): The Mustangs also drop just one spot after finishing the week at a 2-2 clip. Their wins came over Homewood-Flossmoor 19-8 and Westmont 25-1, while their losses came to Providence Catholic 12-4 and Lincoln-Way East 16-15. 

+ No. 23 Lyons Township (18-8): The Lions had a tough task with a three game set against Downers Grove North and ended up dropping all three 10-4, 6-5 and 6-1, finishing the week 0-3. 

+ No. 24 Fenwick (23-8): The Friars drop down to No. 24 after a 2-2 week, falling to crosstown rival Oak Park-River Forest 8-2 as well as top ranked Andrean (IN) 6-0. Their two wins came against Aurora Central 13-1 and St. Francis 4-3. 

New to the Power 25

+ No. 16 Lincoln-Way Central (19-6): The Knights played their way back into the Power 25 after a dominant 3-0 week, seeing all their wins come against Power 25 teams. They handed Lincoln-Way West their first two losses of the season (6-1 & 10-4), and they also took down Minooka 8-3. 

+ No. 19 McHenry (24-7): McHenry finds themselves back in the mix after a 4-0 week. They took down Prairie Ridge in a two-game set (2-0 & 13-3), while also defeating Jacobs 8-2 and Barrington 5-1. 

+ No. 21 Burlington Central (19-9): The Rockets had a big 3-1 week and now find themselves in the Power 25 for the first time this spring, knocking off No. 5 Huntley 10-3 and 4-1. They also saw a win over No. 21 Hampshire by the score of 4-1. Their lone loss came to Metea Valley 10-0. 

+ No. 25 Stevenson (22-8): The Patriots are back in the Power 25 after falling out in our first update, going a perfect 3-0 on the week with two wins over Waukegan (12-2 & 12-2), as well as a 6-2 win over Loyola. They are now winners of 10 straight. 

Dropped out 

+ Monticello (28-4)
+ Hampshire (21-10)
+ Highland (25-4-1)
+ St. Joseph-Ogden (30-4)

Just Missed 

+ Reavis (25-4)
+ Washington (20-6)
+ Evanston (20-6-1)
+ Conant (20-7)
+ Andrew (20-9)
+ Dunlap (22-6)
+ Wilmington (22-1)
+ Father McGivney (30-4)
+ York (22-7)
+ Lemont (21-8)
+ Harrisburg (28-5)
+ Bartlett (23-7)
+ Downers Grove South (22-6-1)
+ DuQuoin (30-3)
+ Montini (21-9-1)
+ East Peoria (22-6)
+ Nashville (26-3)
+ Sacred Heart Griffin (20-9)
+ Wheaton Academy (26-4)
+ Hononegah (20-5-1)
+ Mundelein (18-7)

Updated Top-10

RANK LAST WEEK TEAM CLASS RECORD (4/22) 
1
1 Nazareth 4A
31-0
2 2 Joliet Catholic 3A 25-3
3 4 New Trier  4A
24-3
4 6 St. Laurence 3A 26-5
5 10 Providence Catholic 4A
24-6
6 3 Lincoln-Way West 4A 24-3
7 7 Joliet West  4A 26-4
8 8 Edwardsville 4A 21-8
9 5 Huntley 4A 25-5
10 13 Downers Grove North 4A 24-5

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