Another Illinois’ junior college program with plenty of history behind it, Parkland is never devoid of success or talent on its roster. The Cobras finished with 33 wins last season and enter 2026 with a roster primed to compete for the top spot in the MWAC. 

POSITION PLAYERS 

There’s a lot of fresh faces on this Parkland offense, but the Cobras do have a few anchors returning, starting with sophomore INF Jayden Patel. The left-handed hitting sophomore can bounce around the infield and has an advanced understanding of the K zone, working 30 free passes to 17 punchouts last spring. In 93 at-bats as a freshman, Patel hit .355 with a .988 OPS, totaling 10 extra-base hits and driving in 20 runs. Still uncommitted, expect Patel to hit towards the top of this lineup everyday and be one of their more stable performers on the offensive end. 

Jayden Patel

Two more key returners to this Parkland offense are sophomore OF/LHP Cody DelFavero (Eastern Illinois) and sophomore INF Alex Schimmel:

+ DelFavero does a little bit of everything, swinging a strong, compact left-handed barrel that consistently put together strong at-bats this fall. His work may be even more impactful on the mound, where he’s a mid-to-upper-80s arm with feel for two secondaries (SL/CH) and hurled 50 innings as a freshman, striking out 55 with 11 walks. 

Cody DelFavero

+ Schimmel was a takeaway from our fall looks, particularly at the SC JUCO Invite in early October, where he racked up three hits in one day, including a no-doubt 101 mph home run that traveled 404 feet, per TrackMan. We’ve seen him get off some aggressive, high intent hacks, but also turn around and shorten up with two strikes to cover the whole field. It’s a mature, polished approach at the plate that drew more walks (25) than punchouts (20) last spring and slashed .351/.477/.500 in 114 at-bats as a freshman. Likely to be their regular at shortstop to start off the year, Schimmel is an uncommitted left-handed hitting sophomore that should stay on college radars. 

Alex Schimmel

Three sophomores, all of whom are uncommitted, are expected to take a jump up in playing time this spring: 1B Ryan Kondrad, C/CIF Matthew Carrano, and OF Nick Guidici. Kondrad and Carrano are two strong, highly physical right-handed hitters that showed juice off the barrel in our looks this fall. Kondrad hammered a 105 mph single at the SC JUCO Invite, and Carrano worked on the barrel a few times in our look at the Dinger JUCO Classic. Guidici also showed bat strength when we saw him this fall, swinging a strong, fluid left-handed barrel that torched a home run at John A. Logan that traveled 407 feet and left his bat at 100 mph. 

Ryan Kondrad

Parkland’s lineup extends past those names to know, though without much experience at the collegiate level. A pair of R-FR to keep an eye out up the middle defensively are INF Max Michalak and OF Matt Knapczyk. Michalak is a strong, athletic, right-handed hitter that logged at-bats towards the top of the Cobras’ lineup in our fall looks, working on the barrel, including a home run. A left-handed hitter, Knapczyk is an above-average runner defensively and on the basepaths that should add more versatility to what this Cobra offense is capable of doing. 

Max Michalak

Turning to the newcomers, FR 1B/OF Cal Hanson was a name that stood out to our staff this fall. He’s a long-levered 6-foot-4, 190-pound athlete with present strength and room for more that really stood out at our JUCO Invite this past fall, finding the barrel through the middle of the field. As he continues to get stronger, Hanson’s going to hit for more impact, and he’s capable of producing positively as a freshman from the get-go for Parkland. Keep an eye out for C/OF Lincoln Cardwell, a strong, physical right-handed hitting sophomore that posted triple-digit in-game exit velocities this fall and is still uncommitted. 

Cal Hanson

The Cobras do have a few notable additions to this roster by way of transfer. Sophomore OF Ethan Borggren heads to Champaign from Northwestern, and has plenty of strength inside his right-handed barrel to match a 6-foot-3, 200-pound frame. Sophomore C Eloy Suarez, a Central Alabama CC transfer, is a left-handed hitting backstop that worked on the barrel twice in our look at the Midwest Classic. Sophomore MIF Cael Karczewski, who joins the Cobras from Palm Beach State, is a do-it-all type. He’s a scrappy, competitive, tough at-bat with an above-average run tool and can provide versatility on the infield, too.

Eloy Suarez

PITCHERS

On the mound, Parkland has one of the top arms in the MWAC returning with sophomore RHP Tyler Tylka, who committed to Florida Atlantic recently. The All-Conference honoree turned in a strong freshman campaign, punching out 53 over 48 ⅓ innings of work, making 12 starts with a 4.66 ERA. His fastball plays in the upper-80s, though capable of creeping up into the low-90s, and he has supreme confidence in a mid-to-upper-70s breaking ball that he’s able to change shape with; can bend it to land for strikes, or tilt it to grab swing-and-miss. 

Tyler Tylka

It’s important to remember the production that DelFavero, highlighted above, will bring to the table for this club, but another impact-type arm of note is sophomore RHP Alec Bergman. Committed to Miami of Ohio, the 6-foot-3, 230-pound sophomore has some of the louder raw arm strength in the MWAC, pitching with effort into the low-90s, and touching 93 mph several times at our JUCO Invite, while spinning a low-80s slider off it. If Bergman can be in the zone consistently, like he was as a freshman, there’s no denying his dynamic stuff can wrack up integral outs for the Cobras throughout the spring. 

Alec Bergman

R-FR RHP Amaan Khan joins the Cobras after transferring from St. Louis, and is another high-octane arm of note on this pitching staff. Khan revved his fastball up to 94 mph this fall, pitching anywhere from the upper-80s to low-90s, and there’s honestly reason to believe he can climb even higher than that. The 6-foot-5, 220-pound right-hander also spun his slider at 82-84 mph when we saw him this fall, and if he’s in the zone consistently with those two pitches, he has a chance to be absolutely dynamic for Parkland this upcoming season. 

Amaan Khan

Freshman RHP Brodie Farrell should be an immediate impact to this pitching staff. A strong, compact right-hander, Farrell carried his fastball at 89-91 mph in our one inning look this fall, averaging 20+ inches of vertical break from a higher release point and spinning it at 2500+ RPM. Paired with that, Farrell ripped off a sharp, hard, downer curveball at 78-79 mph with power spin, giving him an above-average secondary that compliments his heater plenty. Whether it’s as a starter or a high leverage reliever, expect Farrell’s contributions to be positive for Parkland in 2026. 

Brodie Farrell

Two sophomores of note are RHP Cade Starrick and LHP Logan Gale. Starrick took a jump this fall and is a candidate for increased innings this spring, now pitching comfortably in the mid-to-upper-80s with a mid-to-upper-70s breaking ball that he manipulates; able to create more top-to-bottom spin for strikes, or sweep it from a slightly lower arm slot. Gale brings back 26 ⅔ innings from his freshman campaign, where he punched out 30 and made 11 appearances for Parkland. When we saw him this fall, Gale pitched at 83-86 mph with his fastball and consistently pitched backwards, relying heavily on his slider and changeup over his two innings of work. 

Cade Starrick

Four other arms of note on this pitching staff, all of them uncommitted: sophomore LHP Sam Foulke, R-Soph RHP Connor Hale, R-FR RHP Kade Patton, and R-FR RHP Collin Cirks.