With two weeks of the regular season under our belt, the ScoutConnect staff has updated our ‘Large School’ – which includes 3A and 4A teams inside our coverage map ahead of week three.
As a reminder, teams taken into consideration are those that fall into our ‘Coverage Map’, which includes all of Southern Illinois, the Metro East area, Springfield, and up as high as Mt. Zion. This does not mean that our staff won’t provide coverage to all areas of the state, as well as Missouri, but for team rankings purposes, we will stick to all teams in 3A and 4A that fall underneath the Mt. Zion line.
We’ve detailed some movement in our top-10 below, highlighting a few teams on the rise, one team that debuts inside our rankings this update, and a few teams that are playing well, though on the outside looking in.
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THE TOP TWO…
Edwardsville (6-1) and Triad (6-1) opened the year up as the top two teams in our rankings and the two top teams in Southern Illinois will stick there in this update, in that respective order.
+ The Tigers only loss on the year came this past Friday to Missouri foe Francis Howell. Head Coach Tim Funkhouser’s club has already built a pretty impressive resume, defeating Normal Community (11-0), Joliet Catholic (5-4), and Joliet West (9-5) in their opening weekend. This past week, the Tigers took down DeSmet (12-5), Granite City (14-0), and Illini West (9-0). OF/RHP Joe Chiarodo (2025; Alabama) is slashing .636/.714/.1.045 with two home runs and 11 RBI on the year, while also punching out 10 in 6 ⅓ innings on the mound. INF Lucas Krebs (2025; Illinois) and C Max Waltenberger (2025) are two senior arms that join Chiarodo as strong starters offensively. RHP Tony Eberlin (2026; TCU), RHP Eric Herman (2025; Lincoln Land CC), RHP Tyler Powell (2025; SIUE), and INF/RHP Hunter Baugh (2026) have all thrown well on the mound in the early going.
+ Similarly to the top-ranked Tigers, Triad’s only loss on the year came at the hands of Vianney, one of the top teams on our Missouri rankings. Beside that 2-0 defeat, the Knights have been scorching hot at the plate, scoring 72 runs in their seven games. Five different Triad bats are hitting over .350 with more than 25 plate appearances – OF Hayden Bernreuter (2025; John A. Logan), OF Gabe Deaver (2025; McKendree), INF Hayden Bugger (2025; Kaskaskia JC), C Landon Loomis (2025; Minnesota State), and 1B Keegan Seipp (2027). INF/RHP Nolan Keller (2026), INF/OF Braxton Yates (2026), and 1B Jaxson Vaughn (2027) are three other quality bats that deepen this lineup. Keller has been impressive on the mound as well – he has a 1.56 ERA in nine innings – and RHP Nathan Klucker (2027) has picked up right where he left off last season, allowing two earned runs in 10 ⅔ frames thus far (1.31 ERA). RHP/INF Sawyer Brunson (2025; Lewis & Clark CC) has impressed in both of his outings, fanning 14 without walking anyone over 6 ⅓ innings on the hill.
AT THIRD OVERALL…
+ On the rise, up two spots to No. 3 overall, is O’Fallon (5-1). The Panthers have gotten off to an impressive start, winning five of their six games, with victories over Morris (7-4), Joliet Catholic (12-3), Waterloo (9-8), previously ranked Highland (10-4), and currently ranked Freeburg (6-4). 1B/RHP Connor Blue (2025; Cincinnati) has been integral on both parts of the ball, slashing .318/.423/.773 with three home runs and 16 RBI while also punching out 15, and walking only two, in eight innings on the mound. INF Dane Hrasky (2025; Central Missouri) has tripled three times and stolen seven bags to match a .353/.542/.706 triple-slash in the early going. INF Cole Becker (2026), RHP/OF Sam McCollum (2026), OF Brayden Robertson (2026), and INF Carson Bauer (2026) are all names performing well at the plate for the Panthers. While their pitching is still rounding into form, and is about to get back two integral reinforcements, one bright spot has been sophomore INF/RHP Liam Decker (2027), who has allowed one run in 6 ⅔ innings of work.
THE REST OF THE TOP-10…
+ Mascoutah (4-1) and Glenwood (3-1) both drop one spot, now sitting at No. 4 and No. 5 overall, respectively. No. 6 Mt. Zion (3-0), No. 7 Alton (4-1), and No. 8 Belleville West (4-2) all stayed put at their original spots. Freeburg (3-2) climbed up one spot, now sitting at No. 9, with three quality wins over Champaign Central (13-8), Byron (7-5), and Wesclin (2-0). Their only two losses came to McCracken County (1-0), who’s one of the top teams in Kentucky, and a Friday night loss to O’Fallon (6-4).
+ There is one new team in the top-10, with Highland (1-2) dropping out, and that’s Rochester (5-2). The Rockets have scored 10 or more runs in four of their five wins; Hillsboro (19-2), Joliet West (10-7), Springfield Southeast (11-0, 11-1), and Lakes (6-5). Both of their losses – Normal West (3-2) and Plainfield North (4-3) – were one run defeats to quality teams. INF Eli Carlson (2025; Spoon River CC), INF/RHP Ajay Runkel (2026), INF Jorey Myren (2026), and C Sam Ferris (2027) captain the offense, with Runkel getting off to an impressive start – he’s hitting .500 in 28 trips to the plate, driving in 13 runs with three doubles and two home runs. He hasn’t given up a run in three appearances on the mound either, while Carlson has been this club’s top arm, fanning 19 and walking just two in 7 ⅔ innings on the hill.
NEXT UP…
+ Effingham (4-2) was on the doorstep of jumping into the rankings and is a team we’ll monitor closely this week, especially with their upcoming matchups against No. 5 Glenwood and No. 6 Mt. Zion. Several members of this Hearts’ club have gotten off to strong starts, like Andrew Wagoner (2026), Colton Webb (2025; Kaskaskia JC), Brody Boehm (2025), Jude Traub (2027), and Carter Braddy (2027).
+ Waterloo (3-1) is another team that’s impressed us in the early going, taking down Monticello (6-5), Murphysboro (14-8), and Columbia (3-1), with their only loss being at O’Fallon (9-8). Patrick O’Donnell (2025), Max Oswald (2025), and Chaten Kirchner (2025) are three seniors who have swung it well thus far, while Caleb Papenberg (2026) and Rowan Schilling (2026) are two other names to watch in this lineup. RHP AJ Sensel (2025) has anchored this team on the mound, logging 11 innings with eight strikeouts and just one walk.
+ Belleville East (3-3) will be a team to watch as the season rolls on, as the Lancers have a quality core that’s made up of mostly returners from last year’s team. RHP/INF Tommy Kramkowski (2025; Missouri State) headlines the offense, slashing .526/.571/.947 in 21 plate appearances. CIF Caden Cagas (2025; McKendree), OF/LHP Reid Neumayer (2026), CIF/RHP Nasir Fares (2026), and C/RHP Brody Lindemann (2027) are all hitting over .350 in the early going.
