With another week of the Illinois’ high school baseball season behind us, it’s time for our second update to our ‘Large School’ rankings. 

 

At ScoutConnect, we break our IHSA rankings into two different categories, grouping the 3A and 4A into a ‘Large’ school bucket, while doing the same for the 1A and 2A programs as ‘Small’ schools.

 

For a look at last week’s rankings, click HERE. 

 

It’s important to note that these rankings do not cover the entire state. Our coverage map extends from Peoria on down, and only teams that fall underneath the Peoria line on the state map will be included within our rankings all season long. It’s also important to note that these are just initial rankings, and they will fluctuate throughout as the season rolls on and gameplay starts. 

 

With that being said, continue reading below to learn more about movement inside our top-15, a few teams on the outside looking in, and more.

 

AT THE TOP…

The top four in our rankings all remain the same in this update:

 

+ No. 1 Normal Community holds onto their top spot, as they have since the preseason. The Ironmen won their only game this week, defeating Yorkville 4-2 in a matchup on Thursday. 

 

+ No. 2 O’Fallon (10-4) had arguably the most impressive week of any team on this list. Head coach Dave Causey’s club kicked off their week with victories over DeSmet (6-2) and Neenah (3-0). Then, they traveled across the river to Missouri and won the Midwest Classic Tournament, finishing the week with a 4-1 record. Their only loss came to Fort Zumwalt West (2-0), one of the top teams in Missouri, but they picked up wins over North Point (12-2), Parkway South (11-3), Francis Howell North (11-4), and also took down the reigning Class 6 Missouri state champions in Blue Springs South (6-2). 

 

+ Third on this list is Triad (8-2), who played three games and won all three of them this past week. The Knights took down Breese Mater Dei (11-0) before defeating two out of town opponents in Appleton North (18-7) and Wheaton-Warrenville South (3-2).

 

+ Rounding out our top four is Sacred-Heart Griffin (9-2). The Cyclones had arguably the most impressive win of the week amongst this group, traveling to Edwardsville and taking down the Tigers 6-5 last Monday. They split the rest of the week, beating Springfield Southeast (16-3) after dropping a contest to Glenwood (9-7).

 

MOVING UP… 

+ Rounding out the top five on these updated rankings is Normal U-High (9-1). The Pioneers continue their torrid start to the spring, rising up three spots after picking up two more wins this week. They defeated Pekin (11-4) and also beat ranked East Peoria in a 2-0 contest. 

 

+ Dunlap (7-3) bumps up two spots to No. 7 after a perfect week. They beat Peoria Notre Dame (10-0) before heading to Tennessee for their spring break trip and winning four games over Portland (16-0), Watertown (4-0), and sweeping Hendersonville (2-0, 6-2) to cap things off. On the week, the Eagles scored 38 runs and only allowed two. 

 

+ The biggest riser in this update is Mascoutah (7-0), as the undefeated Indians climb five spots, and now sit at No. 8 overall. They went on the road and blanked Edwardsville in a 5-0 win before finishing the week with a 9-0 defeat of Collinsville at home. As a pitching staff, the Indians have allowed three or less runs in all but one of their games. 

 

STAYING PUT…

+ No. 6 Waterloo (5-1): With wins over Red Bud (11-1) and Trico (14-3) this week, the Bulldogs hang on to the sixth spot in our update. They’re going to be tested this week, drawing Freeburg on Monday and a double-header against Gibault Catholic on Saturday. 

 

+ No. 10 Glenwood (6-2): The Titans had a perfect week, winning all four of their games, the most impressive of them being a 9-7 defeat of No. 4 Sacred-Heart Griffin. Additionally, Glenwood took down Lincoln (3-0) and swept Williamsville (4-0, 6-1) in a double-header. 

 

+ No. 12 Mahomet-Seymour (7-1): It was a split week for the Bulldogs, who started things off with a 5-0 loss to Teutopolis, one of the top 2A teams in the state, before bouncing back to defeat Urbana 12-0. 

 

+ No. 13 Mt. Zion (4-2) and No. 14 Morton (4-3) did not play this week due to weather. 

 

TRENDING DOWN…

+ Edwardsville (4-6) drops again in this update, falling four spots from fifth to No. 9 overall. The Tigers dropped three games this week, losing to Sacred-Heart Griffin (6-5), Mascoutah (5-0), and Missouri’s Eureka (10-2). They did pick up an impressive win on Friday, traveling to Jackson and taking down the Indians 4-2. 

 

+ East Peoria (6-3) falls four spots, dropping outside of the top-10 and now sitting at No. 11 overall. The Eagles went 2-2 on their spring break trip to Georgia before returning home and dropping a 2-0 game to ranked Normal U-High. 

 

+ Belleville West (5-3-1) is out of the rankings after a 1-3-1 week. The Maroons beat Granite City (11-3) and tied Wheaton-Warrenville South (3-3), but lost games to Gibault Catholic (9-5), Freeburg (4-0), and North Clay (6-1). 

 

WELCOME…

+ Metamora (8-0) debuts in our rankings in the 15th and final spot. Off to an undefeated start, the Redbirds won their three games this past week, beating Louisville (4-3), Goodpasture (9-4), and Birlington (7-0). They also picked up a 6-2 win over Normal U-High earlier this season. 

 

NEXT UP…

+ Alton (6-2): The Redbirds enter southwestern conference play with Logan Hickman (2026; John A. Logan) on the return, and they also have Anderson Kaufmann (2028), who’s arguably the top all-around player in the Metro East. If Alton has a strong week this week, which will start with two conference games against Edwardsville, they will be ranked next week. 

 

+ Marion (8-3): Marion’s won seven of their last eight games and are always one of the more competitive 3A programs in southern Illinois. Their schedule won’t be easy this week, starting conference play with two games against Mt. Vernon followed by a pair of Saturday games against DuQuoin and Johnson City. 

 

+ Washington (5-4): Washington’s record isn’t gaudy, but their schedule’s tough, and they’ve lost some close games against tough opponents. They’ll play Metamora twice this coming week, with Morris and Ottawa on the trail end of their schedule.