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: Edwardsville Tigers
Preseason Rank: 2
Head Coach: Tim Funkhouser
Classification: 4A
Conference: Southwestern Conference
2024 Record (Finish): 32-9 (3rd Place - Lost to Providence Catholic in Semi-Final)
Key Players Lost: C Lucas Huebner (SWIC), INF Kolton Wright (SWIC), 1B Bryce Beyers (Lake Land), RHP Alec Marchetto (Kaskaskia), RHP/OF Evan Moore (Kaskaskia), 1B Chase Alwardt (Indianapolis), OF Peyton LeVasseur (East Central), RHP Tristan McMeen (Greenville U.)

 

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ROSTER PREVIEW

No. of Returning Positional Starters: 5
No. of Returning Starting Pitchers: All pitchers return but two
Team Strengths: Pitching & Middle Infield

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X-FACTOR

RHP/OF Joseph Chiarodo (2025; Alabama commit) is one of the top two-way prospects in the state of Illinois, and we expect him to emerge as the team’s leader on the mound and at the plate. He’s coming off a spring where he was sidelined later in the season due to injury, but he was on a tear before he went down. At the plate Chiarodo hit .420 with 12 doubles, two home runs, 15 RBIs, 20 runs scored and five stolen bases. On the mound he was 4-1 with 51 strikeouts and 18 walks in 35.2 innings pitched. With Chiraodo back, the Tigers have a dynamic two-way player that will make a major impact in all aspects of his game.

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TEAM OUTLOOK

The Tigers finished 3rd place in class 4A in 2024, losing to the eventual State Champions in the state semi-finals. To add, Edwardsville finished first in their conference last year which is the fifth straight season they’ve done so. Under Coach Tim Funkhouser, they’ve consistently been one of the top high school baseball programs in the state and the Midwest.

Edwardsville’s pitching staff is always one of the best in the state, and this year’s staff looks to be no different. Chiarodo, who was mentioned above as the team’s X-Factor will be back this spring, and we’ve seen him up to 93 mph with a true bulldog mentality on the mound. Alongside him will be RHP Chase Milburn (2026) and RHP Anthony Eberlin (2026; TCU commit).

Milburn was the ace for the Tigers last season and earned Prep Baseball Illinois Second Team All-State honors as a result of his impressive season. He finished 10-0 with a 0.57 ERA (5 ER) while tallying 57 strikeouts and walking 19 in 61.1 innings pitched. He’s a workhorse on the mound that can throw any of his pitches for strikes, and we’ve seen his fastball up to 87 mph in-game.

Last season, Eberlin went 7-2 with a 2.79 ERA and he struck out 57 in 52.2 innings pitched. We’ve seen his fastball up to 90 mph with quality off-speed offerings, and the Tigers can expect to rely heavily on him yet again in 2025.

They have a plethora of arms that will play pivotal roles this season including: RHP Hunter Baugh (2026), RHP Tyler Powell (2025; SIU-E commit), RHP Ethan Stewart (2025; SWIC commit), LHP Dax Dunnill (2025; John A Logan commit), and RHP Eric Herman (Lincoln Land JC).

Baugh is a competitive arm that works in the mid-80s, and he’s an arm that has shown well for our staff in big-game situations. He finished the 2024 season with 17 strikeouts and six walks in 23 innings pitched.

Powell moves well on the mound and was up to 90 mph at this past summer’s Illinois State Games. In 16.1 innings last season, he struck out 15 batters and worked a 2.57 ERA.

Stewart found himself in a lot of high-leverage situations last season and finished the year with 21 strikeouts, nine walks, and a 1.72 ERA in 20.1 innings pitched. Our staff saw him sit in the low-80s with his fastball this past summer.

Dunnill found limited action in 2024 but will look to provide some depth this season. The fastball has been up to 90 mph in our looks, and he finished last year with 12 strikeouts in 9.1 innings pitched.

Herman is an arm that's made big strides this off-sesaon and will be a key bullpen piece for Edwardsville this season.

Looking over at position players, this year’s roster will return five starters from last year’s 3rd place finishing team, including the aforementioned Chiarodo. Another name to know positionally for the Tigers is SS Lucas Krebs (2025; Illinois commit). He's an athletic middle-infielder that hit .377 last season with 12 extra base hits, two home runs, 35 RBIs, 30 runs scored, 22 walks and 23 stolen bases.

OF Greyson Rathgeb (Maryville commit) is another senior that’s returning after a season where he tallied 10 doubles, three home runs, 23 RBIs, 23 runs scored and 21 walks.

Powell and Baugh are two names that were mentioned above as pitching depth, but they’re both returning starters on the infield as well. Baugh will likely find time in the middle infield, and he’s coming off a season where he hit 13 RBIs, scored 17 runs, walked 17 times and stole three bases. Powell returns a .303 batting average with 14 runs scored, 11 walks and three stolen bases.

Some other names to keep an eye on are C Max Waltenberger (2025) and OF Will Downs (2025). Waltenberger tallied 12 RBIs, eight runs scored and 16 walks last season, and Downs scored 15 runs with five RBIs, while walking 10 times and stealing five bags. C Augie Johnes (2025; Missouri St. Louis) and 1B/OF Jack Kirgan (2026) are two more names that will provide depth for the Tigers. 

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BOTTOM LINE

The Tigers are coming off a 32-win season, 3rd place State Finish, and their fifth straight conference title. They return one of the best pitching rotations in the state with a plethora of depth on the mound that will provide plenty of challenges for opposing teams, as well as a talented crop of positional players that provided plenty of support to their offense last year. With one of the best coaches in the entire Midwest in Coach Tim Funkhouser, the Tigers will be fully prepared to compete this year and look the part as one of the best teams in the state.

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Find more information on the 2025 Edwardsville program below:

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

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