The Illinois high school baseball season kicks off on March 17, 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 2025 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 2025 preseason coverage continues today.

High School: Huntley Red Raiders
Preseason Rank: No. 15
Head Coach: Andy Jakubowski
Classification: 4A
Conference: Fox Valley Conference
2024 Record (Finish): 29-8-1 (Conference Champs, Sectional finals loss)
Key Players Lost: Malachi Paplanus (Wright State), Colby Aschenbach (Loras), Quinn Drews (Wisconsin-Whitewater), Louis Siriano (McHenry County JC), Eddie Johnson (Lake Sumter), Griffin Goldstein, Kyle Larson (Lake County CC), Marco Stawski (Dominican), Jason Wolter (Ottawa), Jack Lansu (Oakton CC), Alex Simios (Wisconsin-Platteville)

 

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ROSTER PREVIEW

Team Strengths: Athletic offense & returning production on the mound.

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X-FACTOR

RHP Josh Rudnick (2026; uncommitted) has continued to get better and better in front of our staff, and will likely be towards the top of the Huntley rotation this spring. Alongside presumed ace of the staff RHP Drew Borkowski, Rudnick will be relied upon to be a workhorse atop the rotation in 2025. In 2024, the 6-foot-3, 198-pound righty performed to a 4-0 record, while posting a 2.92 ERA over 26 ⅓ innings with 28 punchouts over that span. We recently saw him at our Preseason All-State: Upperclass, and he continued to show to be an upside name to know in the state; Rudnick’s arsenal was headlined by an 85-86 mph fastball that played firm with carry, while his curveball was in the zone 75% of the time at 72-73 mph with hard 11/5 action, and also showing a 76-78 mph slider that had short 10/4 shape. He completed his repertoire with an 80-82 mph changeup, showing sink to the arm-side and flashing strike-feel. If Rudnick can be a strong force atop the rotation in 2025, Huntley could wind up having one of the sneakier rotations in the area.

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NEWCOMER TO WATCH

INF/RHP Owen Borkowski (2027) will be a two-way prospect to know for the 2025 Red Raiders. The younger brother of the previously mentioned Drew Borkowski, Owen has shown well for our staff this winter both with the bat and on the mound. At our Preseason All-State: Underclass, he showed the ability to be on the barrel consistently from the right side, reaching a peak EV of 92 mph. On the mound, he can run his fastball up to 86 mph, while having both a slider and a curveball to go to as his secondaries. Look for Borkowski to make an immediate impact on both sides of the ball for Huntley this spring.

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TEAM OUTLOOK

Head Coach Andy Jakubowski and the Huntley Red Raiders enter 2025 with yet another strong roster. After finishing last season 29-8-1, winning the Fox Valley Conference and falling in the Sectional Finals, the Red Raiders bring back a lot of returning pieces who played big parts on that 2024 team. This year’s group will look to make a deeper run this spring behind an athletic offense and wealth of returning production on the mound.

On offense, it is hard to not start with the senior trio of CIF/RHP AJ Putty (2025; Illinois), OF Ryan Dabe (2025; Parkland JC), and INF T.J. Jakubowski (2025; Bradley).

Putty is one of the top power bats in the state, evidenced by his 2024 campaign that saw him blast 11 homers, while batting .419 with 29 RBI, over 37 games en route to earning a First Team All-State selection. Putty also played a big role on the mound for Huntley in 2024, performing to a 1.62 ERA over 21 ⅔ innings with 29 strikeouts, also going 4-0 with two saves along the way.

Dabe is another senior who is no stranger to our staff, and continually has shown to be a performer. In 2024, Dabe batted an outstanding .423 in 37 games, recording a homer, 18 RBI and stealing 12 bags. Dabe will again be counted on to be a reliable presence both in the lineup and defensively in 2025.

Jakubowski will likely slide into the shortstop position for the Red Raiders in 2025 after Griffin Goldstein graduated last spring. A season ago, he batted .345 from the left side while driving in 18, and stealing five bags over 37 games. Look for Jakubowski to again be a stable force up the middle for Huntley this season.

1B Alex Behles (2025; Northwood), INF/RHP Dylan Visvadra (McHenry County JC), and OF/RHP Eric Suarez (2025; Carthage) will also return to the Huntley lineup in 2025, while another name to know on the offensive side of things for Huntley in 2025 is OF Cayden Haugh (2025; Judson).

On the mound, Huntley brings back one of the more talented arms in the state’s junior class in RHP Drew Borkowski (2026; uncommitted), who will likely be the ace of the staff again in 2025 after starring in that role as a sophomore last year. We got an updated look at him earlier this winter at the McHenry Preseason ID; where he was running his fastball up to 88 mph with 2-seam movement for strikes, while also being able to throw both firmer breaking balls for strikes, and to round things out his changeup continues to prove to be an above-average secondary offering with dive and fade. In 2024, he posted an impressive 2.74 ERA over 46 innings, striking out 55 while going 6-1 and pitching in arguably the toughest conference in the state. Look for Borkowski to continue to make strides as the ace of the staff in 2025.

In addition to the previously mentioned Borkowski, Rudnick, Putty, and Visvadra the Red Raiders will bring back RHP Travis Dudycha (2026; uncommitted), RHP Brady Klepfer (2026; uncommitted), and RHP Mason Leske (2025; Missouri Southern State) who all saw time on the mound in 2024.

Leske returns in 2025 after also pitching towards the top of the rotation for the Red Raiders a season ago. His 2024 campaign was very impressive; pitching to a 1.56 ERA over 45 innings with 42 strikeouts, going 6-2 with a save over the course of the year. Leske should provide stability within the Huntley rotation and only bolsters what is already a strength of the team.

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BOTTOM LINE & DIRECTOR’S NOTE

Coach Jakubowski always has his guys ready to play, and gets them to play the game hard and the right way. This team is perennially near, or at the top of one of the better conferences in the state, while winning it the last seven seasons. 2025 will likely be another strong year behind a well-rounded senior class, while their junior class will be relied upon to take the next step and help the program make an even deeper postseason run. While navigating the Fox Valley Conference, we expect the Red Raiders to be one of the top teams in the state all spring long.

"The Red Raiders find themselves at the top of a loaded Fox Valley conference year-in and year-out. There is no reason why this season should be any different as Coach Jakubowski should be led by impact senior bats and plenty of quality arms." Drew Locascio

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Find more information on the 2025 Huntley program below:

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

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