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: Glenwood Titans
Preseason Rank: 16
Head Coach: Casey Erickson
Classification: 3A
Conference: Central State Eight
2024 Record (Finish): 30-6 (Sectionals)
Key Players Lost: OF Cru Erickson (Lincoln Land CC), 1B Krayton Reincke (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical)

 

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ROSTER PREVIEW

No. of Returning Positional Starters: 5
No. of Returning Starting Pitchers: 3
No. of Returning Relief Pitchers: 2

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X-FACTOR

RHP Dylan Huff (2026) will play a pivotal role on this year’s Titan team. The uncommitted junior was a member of Team Illinois’ Future Games team this past summer, and he’s coming off a spring in which he was tied for the most innings pitched (38.1), tallied 44 strikeouts, walked 22, all while pitching to a 2.19 ERA. Although his 2024 campaign was impressive, Huff will likely take a larger role on this year’s squad. We’re uncertain how many innings Appenzeller will throw for the Titans this spring, and with that, the team will be looking to Huff to help solidify an already impressive rotation.

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STAT JUNKIE

Last season, LHP Cameron Appenzeller (2025; Tennessee commit) was truly dominant in his nine appearances, throwing 38.1 innings with 74 strikeouts, 10 walks, two runs and 15 hits allowed. The No. 3 overall prospect in the country and No. 1 in the state, Appenzeller earned Prep Baseball Illinois First Team All-State honors in 2024 and was recently named to our Illinois Player of the Year Watchlist. At the plate, the talented southpaw also tallied six doubles, one triple, 18 RBIs, and led the team in stolen bases with 11. With Appenzeller leading the way for this year’s Titan squad, Glenwood looks like one of the top programs in the state.

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TEAM OUTLOOK

Glenwood is coming off an impressive 2024 campaign in which they won 30 games en-route to a Regional Championship. They lost a couple key contributors to their lineup in OF Cru Erickson (Lincoln Land CC) and 1B Krayton Reincke (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical), but they bring back their two-headed monster on the mound in Appenzeller and Huff which is aruably one of, if not the best, 1-2 punch in the entire state.

Alongside the two, the Titans return RHP Drew Wahlbrink (2025) who tossed 23.2 innings for them with 24 strikeouts and seven runs allowed. Wahlbrink will play a pivotal role in expanding their pitching depth in the 2025 spring season.

They return some key pieces at the plate as well, including C Colten Knoedler (2026) who found time as a sophomore last season where he hit .288 with three extra base hits, 18 RBIs and 13 runs scored.

Due to two injuries that may have SS Michael Lucas (2026) and OF Mason Marshall (2025; Lincoln Land CC) out for the season, the Titans will be looking for a number of offensive pieces to step up and help fill the gaps. A few other names that could fill the void could be INF Joe Anderson (2025) who had 98 at-bats with six doubles and two triples, and 1B/OF Alek Terlecki (2025) had a double and eight RBIs in limited at-bats.

Appenzeller also tallied 18 RBIs and seven extra-base hits in 61 at-bats, while Huff tacked on nine RBIs in 30 at-bats.

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BOTTOM LINE & DIRECTOR'S NOTE

Like most Glenwood teams of the past, this year’s squad is backed behind a quality pitching rotation, with this year’s team featuring Cameron Appenzeller, one of the top prospects in the country, and another highly impressive arm in Dylan Huff. Coming off a 30-win season and a Regional Championship, the Titans return plenty of talent both on the mound and at the plate that will continue to play a big role for them this year. The Titans are perenially one of the top programs in the Central/Southern part of the state, consistently winning 25+ games, and this year's squad looks no different.

"Cameron Appenzeller and Dylan Huff are arguably the most dynamic one-two punches in the entire state and when it comes postseason time, no opponent will feel comfortably facing either one of them." Drew Locascio

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Find more information on the 2025 Glenwood program below:

+ Follow them on X: @Gtitansbaseball (Glenwood Baseball)
+ Visit the Prep Baseball Illinois Preseason Power 25 homepage

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