The ScoutConnect staff is once again updating our IHSA ‘Large School’ – 3A & 4A – team rankings with the fifth week of Illinois high school baseball season under our belt. 

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 makes their season debut, and a few teams that are playing well, though on the outside looking in

THE TOP 10…

+ Winners of nine straight, Triad (14-1) stays put at the top of our rankings after winning all three of their games last week – Civic Memorial (4-3, 12-1) and CBC (10-0). OF Gabe Deaver (2025; McKendree) has been sensational for the Knights out of the leadoff spot, slashing .478/.564/.957 with 13 extra-base hits, four of them home runs, and nine walks to two strikeouts. INF Hayden Bugger (2025; Kaskaskia JC) has a .455 batting average and is getting on base at a .510 clip, with OF Hayden Bernreuter (2025; John A. Logan JC) and 1B Keegan Seipp (2027) both performing at a high level as well. INF/RHP Nolan Keller (2026) has anchored this staff, pitching to a 0.78 ERA over 18 innings of work, and RHP Nathan Klucker (2027) hasn’t missed a beat from last season, holding a 1.17 ERA across his four starts. 

+ O’Fallon (13-2) remains at No. 2, as the Panthers split a Southwestern Conference series with a tough Alton club (8-5 W, 5-4 L) before defeating Highland 12-7 on Friday to end the week. RHP/1B Connor Blue (2025; Cincinnati) continues to build his ‘Player of the Year’ case, as the star two-way has a .510/.600/.939 triple-slash in 49 at-bats, including five home runs and 30 RBI, and a 2.86 ERA over 22 innings on the mound with 42 strikeouts and eight walks. 

+ Edwardsville (8-6), who sticks at No. 3, traveled down to Paducah, Kentucky, and took down one of the top teams in the ‘Bluegrass State’, handing McCracken County an 8-5 loss on Friday night. RHP/OF Joe Chiarodo (2025; Alabama) tossed two scoreless innings in that game and launched a three-run home run, building off the impressive season he’s having on both sides of the ball thus far. The Tigers begin Southwestern Conference play this week with a series against Collinsville, and they’ll play Columbia on Friday at home, too. 

+ Alton (12-5) climbed up one spot after splitting a conference series with No. 2 O’Fallon (8-5 L, 5-4 W), with the Redbirds now sitting at No. 4 on these rankings. Pitching has been the strength for Alton this spring, and should continue to be, as RHP/C Anderson Kaufmann (2028), RHP Reid Murray (2025; Lewis & Clark CC), and RHP Logan Hickman (2026) have all thrown the ball well in bulk roles. Kaufmann, in particular, has a 1.54 ERA in 22 ⅔ innings, striking out 25 to just three walks, and he fired five strong innings in last week’s win over O’Fallon. The Redbirds will draw Belleville East in conference play this week and they’ll finish with a game against Highland. 

+ Mascoutah (9-4) is down one spot after getting swept by Waterloo (3-0, 6-4) in Mississippi Valley Conference play before righting the ship with a 21-6 win over Althoff Catholic later in the week. We still believe in this Mascoutah club and they do have one of the area’s premier all-around talents in RHP Austin Musso (2025). The Arizona State commit has a .458/.567/1.125 triple-slash with four home runs on the year and also has a 0.42 ERA in 16 ⅔ innings pitched with 31 strikeouts to nine walks. The Indians will look to bounce back with a two game conference set against Highland this week. 

+ Glenwood (9-4) rises up one spot, now at No. 6, after beating Jacksonville (8-7) and ranked Mt. Zion (6-0) last week, with a walk-off loss to ranked Routt Catholic (10-9). The Titans are about to get a huge boost to their pitching staff, as LHP Cam Appenzeller (2025; Tennessee), one of the nation’s top arms, is set to make his season debut this upcoming Wednesday. 

+ Mt. Zion (11-3) checks in at No. 7, down one spot from last update, as they lost to Glenwood (6-0) on Friday night after two big wins against Metamora (16-13) and St. Teresa (14-1). The Braves will play one of the top 2A teams in the state on Thursday when they host Teutopolis before a conference double-header against Mattoon Saturday. 

+ Rochester (12-3) stays put at No. 8, but the Rockets continue to roll, winning three games to start the week – Lanphier (21-0), Belleville East (5-3), Pekin (13-0) – before dropping a game on Saturday to Quincy Notre Dame (5-2), their first loss since March 22nd. The middle of this Rockets’ lineup has been nothing but excellent, as CIF Jorey Myren (2026), 1B/RHP Ajay Runkel (2026), C Sam Ferris (2027), and INF/RHP Eli Carlson (2025; Spoon River JC) are all performing at a high rate offensively. 

+ Belleville East (14-5) scuffled some this week, sweeping East St. Louis (17-0, 15-0) and beating Freeburg (11-1), but dropping games to ranked Rochester (5-3) and Columbia (2-0). This team is still talented, with a deep lineup, and their ace Tommy Kramkowski (2025; Missouri State) is close to full-go, which is a welcomed addition to their rotation. The Lancers will have their toughest draw to date this upcoming week, as they have a two game Southwestern Conference tilt with No. 4 Alton on the horizon. 

+ There is a new team in the rankings for the first time this update, as Waterloo (9-4) debuts after sweeping Mascoutah (3-0, 6-4) in Mississippi Valley conference play before losing to Marion (15-9) on Thursday. RHP AJ Sensel (2025) has handled a bulk workload on the mound for the Bulldogs, pitching to a 2.13 ERA over 23 innings thus far, and RHP Conrad Lindhorst (2026) has thrown the ball well in his 18 ⅔ innings. Offensively, Lindhorst and OF Patrick O’Donnell (2025) have led the way, with O’Donnell homering four times with a .413/.481/.717 triple-slash in 46 at-bats. 

NEXT UP…

+ Marion (9-4): Excluding the Wildcats was tough this time around, as their resume warrants a spot in our rankings. Ultimately, Waterloo’s sweep of ranked Mascoutah was what gave them the edge, but Marion is firmly knocking on the door. They’ve won five in a row, including three victories this past week over Notre Dame (8-2), St. Anthony (5-4), and Waterloo (15-9). 

+ Effingham (10-5): The Hearts only played two games last week, but they won them both, beating Richland County (11-7) and North Clay (12-2). They’re a young, talented bunch whose top two arms are sophomores and are definitely a team to keep an eye on in 3A out of that central Illinois pocket. 

+ Belleville West (9-6): The Maroons bounced back last week, sweeping conference rival Collinsville (10-7, 7-4) with a loss to Missouri’s SLUH (10-5) on Wednesday. Belleville West will continue their conference stretch with a two game set against No. 2 O’Fallon, starting this Tuesday. 

Author: Diego