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4A State Finals: Preview

June 12, 2025
By: Illinois Scouting Staff

This year’s 4A IHSA State Finals are set for this weekend at Slammers Stadium in Joliet, IL, and it looks like it will be a talented field.

To kickstart the state playoff, Libertyville and Normal Community will face off at 4 pm, and directly following, McHenry and Brother Rice will play at 7 pm. The third place game will take place Saturday at 4 pm with the State Championship set to begin at 7 pm.

With extensive coverage of all these games and the 4A State playoff games, you won’t want to miss the action. You can find the coverage on our X @PrepBaseballIL.

Below, you can learn more about the four teams that will be competing for the 2025 4A State championship.

Libertyville

This is the first time since 2013 that Libertyville will see themselves in the state finals and the third time ever as a program. However, the two previous state runs saw them finish second, but the team they are bringing to Joliet has a strong chance of bringing home the first state title in program history. 

Libertyville walks into Joliet with a pitching staff that has been nothing short of dominant against opposing teams all season. With a team ERA of 1.20, the Wildcats have been shutting down opposing offenses all season and have only allowed five runs twice all season.

LHP Joshua Holst (2025; Air Force) leads the staff with one of the most impressive seasons you will see across the state. The future cadet logged 66.1 innings, collecting 110 strikeouts with a 1.37 ERA on the season en route to a perfect 11-0 record. His 11 wins and 110 punchouts ranked 1st and 4th in the state regardless of class, respectively. RHP Chase Lockwood (2026) put up an incredible season as well, throwing 51.2 innings on the year with a sub-1.000 WHIP and struck out 57 batters with a 0.95 ERA. RHP Brady Buenik (2027) was impressive in his first crack at consistent varsity innings. Buenik has collected 34 strikeouts in 28.1 innings of work with a 1.24 ERA on the season. Charlie Gertz (2025), Zach Seiler (2025), LHP Nico Harper (2026), and Aaron Fry (2025) were also major contributors for the Wildcats, and slot in as quality options out of the ‘pen for head coach Matt Thompson to potentially go to.

At the plate, the Wildcats are just as dangerous. They’ve scored 306 runs on the season so far and have a deep lineup that have given opposing pitchers a tough time all season long.

C Quinn Schambow (2025; Oklahoma State) put together a strong season at the plate, leading the team in batting average (.459), hits (51), RBI (47) and doubles (18), and also swatting three home runs in his dominant senior season. The aforementioned Joshua Holst enters Joliet tied for the team lead in home runs with five, to pair with his .359 average on the season. Cole Lockwood (2025; Valparaiso) has been electric atop the order, scoring a team-leading 50 runs on the year, as well as swiping 38 bases on the season. Lockwood also hit .412 on the year and only struck out 5 times on the season. OF Ryan Wilberding (2027) put up a strong season in his sophomore campaign, putting up a .395 average on the season and also hitting 3 home runs on the year. INF Carson Holmes (2026) was tied for the team lead with 5 home runs in only 68 at-bats (90 plate appearances) to go along with a .412 average. INF Trevor Wallace (2026) was also productive in the Wildcats lineup, registering a .308 average for Libertyville.Libertyville features a complete team that can hurt you just as much at the plate as they can on the mound. With plenty of high-profile names amidst their team and a dominant year on both sides of the ball, the Wildcats are primed to be in a good position to win their first title in program history.

Normal Community (36-4)

Normal Community is heading into this weekend’s Final Four, having scored 29 runs and only allowing 12 throughout the playoffs thus far. Their offense has been rolling at the right time, and they’ve gotten quality pitching from their plethora of depth on this year’s roster. 

This will be the Ironmen’s first trip to the State Finals under Head Coach Ryan Short who has amassed a 434-211 record at the helm, which includes five regional titles, and no seasons below a .500 record.

This year’s roster is full of talent top-to-bottom, and it’s hard not to mention C/1B Max Heineman (2026; Illinois-Chicago) who looks the part of one of the top bats in the state, hitting .471 this year with four home runs, four triples, eight doubles, 41 RBI, and 32 runs scored, with all of those categories leading the team except for triples and runs scored. 2B Gavin Michaels (2026; Cincinnati) is the table setter for this year’s group, batting atop the order, and showing some of the best speed in the class, Michaels can impact the game in many ways. He’s hitting .388 on the year with two triples, six doubles, 21 RBI and 29 runs scored. SS Kyle Beaty (2025; North Central football) is one of the leaders of this year’s group, hitting .277 with two homers, three doubles, 24 RBI and a team best, 37 runs scored. C/1B Drew Stevens (2026; Valparaiso) is yet another name that bats in the middle of the Ironmen’s lineup, batting .380 this season with four home runs, one triple, eight doubles, 32 RBI, and 22 runs scored, and RHP/1B Gavin Swartz (2026; Indiana) has also found some success at the plate, batting .316 with a homer, 10 extra base hits, and 17 RBI.

Their lineup consists of plenty of other producers including CF Brady Burkhart (2025), LF Andrew Naour (2026), and RF Carter Harris (2026). Harris is currently batting .342 with eight extra base hits, 16 RBI and 17 runs scored, and Naour is batting over a .300 clip as well.

On the mound, Normal Community has plenty of options to choose from, but RHP Gavin Swartz (2026; Indiana) has aced the staff this season, pitching 63 innings with 88 strikeouts, 17 walks, a 1.89 ERA, and an 8-1 record. RHP Jonah Roper (2025; Rock Valley JC) is another arm to know, pitching to a 4-0 record, tossing 35 innings with 45 strikeouts and 11 walks on the season. RHP Landyn Corbin (2026) has an impressive 0.70 ERA in 40 innings pitching, totalling 55 strikeouts, 12 walks, and an 8-1 record, while RHP Luke Klunke (2025; Taylor) has 37 strikeouts in 31 innings pitching, including a 1.58 ERA.

Normal Community appears to check all the boxes headed into this weekend with their lineup depth, pitching, and strong defense. Their talent throughout will give the Ironmen a chance to make it to Saturday’s 4A State Title and potentially bring home a Championship to Normal.

McHenry

The Warriors are headed back to Joliet, marking their second ever trip in four years under Head Coach Brian Rockweiler. They enter the weekend with a record of 35-4-1, and won arguably one of the tougher conferences in the state, the Fox Valley Conference, with a conference record of 15-3. 

A large part of McHenry’s 2025 success has been their deep and talented pitching staff, headlined by one of the top right-handed arms in the entire country, Brandon Shannon (2025; Louisville). Shannon comes into Joliet undefeated with a record of 11-0, while posting a 0.79 ERA over 62 innings, while striking out 103 batters over that span. He boasts a mid-90's fastball that our staff has seen up to 96 mph, paired with a sharp slider that he can go to in any count.

RHP Kaden Wasniewski (2027) is one of the top arms in the state for his class, and made his return to the mound in Monday’s Super-Sectional victory over South Elgin, after being sidelined for a few weeks. His stats entering Friday include a 2.24 ERA over 25 innings pitched, with 37 strikeouts and just 10 walks over that span. Even if he pitches in a limited capacity over the weekend, the return of Wasniewski gives Coach Rockweiler another weapon to deploy on the mound as they look to clinch the 4A State Title. 

Their lineup is headlined by a stellar underclassmen trio of CF Carver Cohn (2028), 2B Landon Clements (2027), and the aforementioned Wasniewski who has been occupying the DH spot. Cohn, who has been the everyday leadoff hitter, batting .385 as a freshman appearing in every game while notching 18 extra-base hits including four homers. Clements was pulled up to the two-spot in the order near mid-season and has helped the Warrior’ offense reach another level while batting .345 with eight doubles and two triples, appearing in every single game in 2025 except for one. Wasniewski has been the three-hole hitter for the Warriors and is batting .330 with 14 extra-base hits including one homer so far this spring. 

The Warriors are making just their second ever trip to State, and if their pitching continues to perform like it has all spring, this could be the group that gives McHenry their first ever Baseball State Championship.

Brother Rice

Brother Rice heads to Joliet with a record of 37-3 on the year. The Crusaders went on a 25 game winning streak in the middle of the season. Brother Rice heads to the State Semifinals for the third time in the last four years with arguably the strongest team that they have had in a long time.

The Crusaders offense is a huge reason why they have made it this far. The team has a .349 batting average while driving in 329 runs and having 126 extra-base hits. Brother Rice’s top bat is INF Gavin Triezenberg (2025; Arizona) in batting average (.429), RBIs (41), and runs (44) while being second in doubles (15), triples (3), and tied for second in home runs (4). INF Brady Cunningham (2027) follows with a .412 batting average while on 26 extra-base hits, driving in 28 runs and coming around to score 39 runs. INF Jackson Natanek (2025; Illinois State) is the Crusaders’ two-hole hitter and comes in with a .394 batting average and 14 extra-base hits while driving in 39 runs. INF Aidan Nohava (2025; Eastern Michigan) provides a power bat to the lineup coming in with 15 extra-base hits, including a team-leading six home runs, and a .336 batting average while driving in 40 runs. OF Anthony Cartolano (2027) comes in fourth in batting average (.385) (minimum 10 at-bats) for the Crusaders while connecting on nine extra-base hits and driving in 25 runs.

As impactful of bats that the Crusaders have, they have arms to match. The pitching staff has allowed only 79 earned runs across 245 innings while striking out 241 batters. LHP Braydon McKendrick (2026) leads the team with 58 innings while striking out 61 batters with a 1.57 ERA, allowing only 13 earned runs with a perfect 11-0 record. RHP Cunningham comes in second on the team in innings (53) while striking out 58 batters with a 1.85 ERA. LHP Danny Sheehan (2025) comes in second on the team in appearances with 14 while having a 1.75 ERA through 44 innings. LHP Aidan Dillon (2027) provides stability out of the pen as he enters the weekend a 3.53 ERA through 30 innings. RHP Natanek leads the team in appearances with 19 while striking out 31 batters across 22 innings and having a 0.64 ERA.

Brother Rice is looking for their second state championship and first since 1976. With how much talent this team holds, it’s obvious that they are going to put up a fight against any team that they go up against this weekend.

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