St. Laurence brings back strong pitching and moves up a class, where Brother Rice and Mount Carmel await.
Top 10 Teams
1. St. Laurence (37-5): Moving up to Class 4A, the Vikings return every pitcher who accounted for a victory as they won the program’s first state championship last year in 3A. Junior Jimmy Benson (TCU) and senior Samuel Chin (Ball State) are talented southpaws. Senior utility man Cory Les (Louisville) and senior infielders Daniel Coyle (Lewis) and Mickey Lotus (Lewis) lead a deep offense.
2. Brother Rice (37-5): The Crusaders finished fourth in Class 4A with a young team in 2025 and now look for even bigger things. Infielder/pitcher Brady Cunningham (Texas A&M), infielder/pitcher Colin Campbell (Louisville) and outfielder Anthony Cartolano headline a loaded junior class. Senior leaders include pitcher Braydon McKendrick (John A. Logan) and outfielder Nolan Ramoley (Northwestern).
3. Mount Carmel (25-14): The Caravan lineup is loaded with Division I talent, including senior infielders TJ McQuillan (Wake Forest), Joey Ireland (Illinois) and Anthony Chavez (Illinois). Senior right-hander Jake Matise (Lewis) is coming off a huge season and is joined on the mound by senior righty Connor Elenteny (Notre Dame). Senior left-hander Ian Tosi (Miami) looks to return after missing all of last season with an injury.
4. Lockport (24-14): The Porters return seven players from their starting lineup and several key pitchers, including junior lefty Anthony Farina, senior lefty Trace Schaaf (Morton) and senior righty Jack Schiek (Purdue Northwest). Senior outfielders Adam Kozak (Lewis) and Nick Moerman lead the offense.
5. Lincoln-Way East (28-11): The Griffins have to replace some key seniors from last year, but have major building blocks in junior pitcher/infielder Cooper Johnson (Purdue), junior infielder Evan Riiff (Valparaiso) and senior catcher Jake Newman (Lewis). They expect to have strong pitching depth behind Johnson.
6. Providence (27-13): After graduating the highly decorated 2025 class, the new-look Celtics look to reload behind a talented young pitching staff, featuring junior righty Lincoln Boersma (Illinois-Chicago) and sophomore righty Cole Clower. Outfielder Sammy Atkinson (Heartland) and infielder Bryce Tencza provide senior leadership.
7. Homewood-Flossmoor (15-20): The Vikings certainly have the pitching, led by a trio of senior righties in Henry Humes (Northwestern), Antonio Brown Jr. (Purdue Northwest) and Cormac Saunders. Can they swing the bats well enough to take a big leap? Senior outfielder Jamir Scott (Rust College) and junior infielder Mikey Watson (Illinois-Chicago) will be counted on.
8. Lemont (30-8-1): There’s experience in the lineup, including senior infielder Brett Tucker (SIU-Edwardsville), senior outfielder Grady Garofalo (South Suburban) and junior infielder Zane Schneider. Senior lefty Cannon Madej (Southwestern Illinois) leads a pitching staff that has some holes to fill around him.
9. Marist (20-14-1): Sophomore lefty Collin Lawlor had a big freshman season and is ready to lead a talented pitching staff, along with senior Mark Coffey (Lewis) and junior Tom Hosty, both of whom also contribute with their bats. Infielder Ryan Lawlor (St. Mary’s Minnesota), Collin’s brother, is a senior leader.
10. Andrew (25-12): Senior catcher Nolan Kendall and his twin brother, Caden, a senior infielder, are both Wisconsin-Whitewater commits who lead a veteran team. Senior outfielder JT Iles (Augustana) brings speed, while senior lefty Danny Moss (Oakton) and junior righty Alex Stella anchor the pitching rotation.
The 25 Players to Watch
• Sammy Atkinson, Providence, senior, outfielder.
• Jimmy Benson, St. Laurence, junior, pitcher.
• Brady Cunningham, Brother Rice, junior, infielder/pitcher.
• Quinn Durkin, Sandburg, junior, outfielder.
• Anthony Farina, Lockport, junior, pitcher.
• Aiden Gonzales, Bremen, junior, infielder/pitcher.
• Henry Humes, Homewood-Flossmoor, senior, pitcher.
• Joey Ireland, Mount Carmel, senior, infielder.
• Cooper Johnson, Lincoln-Way East, junior, infielder/pitcher.
• Nolan Kendall, Andrew, senior, catcher.
• Adam Kozak, Lockport, senior, outfielder.
• Collin Lawlor, Marist, sophomore, pitcher.
• Cory Les, St. Laurence, senior, utility.
• Mickey Lotus, St. Laurence, senior, infielder.
• Jazarris Mackmore, Marian Catholic, junior, outfielder.
• Chase Maher, Beecher, junior, catcher/pitcher.
• Jake Matise, Mount Carmel, senior, pitcher.
• Conor McCabe, Lincoln-Way Central, senior, infielder.
• Braydon McKendrick, Brother Rice, senior, pitcher.
• John Olejniczak, Oak Lawn, senior, infielder/pitcher.
• Colin Quinn, St. Rita, senior, catcher.
• Evan Riiff, Lincoln-Way East, junior, infielder.
• Rocco Szambelan, Joliet Catholic, senior, pitcher.
• Brett Tucker, Lemont, senior, infielder.
• Parker Zasada, Reavis, senior, catcher.
