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

To see our rankings from a week ago, 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.

It’s a relatively quiet week throughout our board, though one team does crack the top-10 for the first time, and we have some movement at the bottom. All of that, and more, detailed below. 

AT THE TOP…

The top six teams in our rankings remain the same from a week ago, despite a few clubs at the top suffering some losses. Given the body of work that we have throughout the season, and from this week, our staff felt that a shake up of the top of this board wasn’t warranted. 

+ St. Joseph-Ogden (15-1) holds onto the top spot on the rankings after another undefeated week. The Spartans added an impressive win to their resume, taking down ‘Large School’ ranked Normal U-High 7-5 before also beating Pontiac (11-1) and Bloomington Central Catholic (19-5). 

+ Teutopolis (13-3) holds on to No. 2 in this update. The Wooden Shoes had their worst week of the season to date, going 2-2, with wins over Robinson (16-1) and Dieterich (8-1) before the weekend. On Saturday, they dropped both games to Sacred-Heart Griffin (8-3) and Tolono Unity (7-6). Despite the two losses, Teutopolis’ resume is still plenty impressive, and we feel that the Wooden Shoes are still unquestionably one of the top 2A teams in the state, which is why they aren’t dropping down our board. 

+ Freeburg (13-3) had a 3-1 week and maintains at No. 3 this time around. They split their conference series with a tough Breese Central club (17-7 W, 6-4 L) and swept both games over Southwestern Piasa (10-0, 6-0) on Saturday. 

+ At No. 4 is Father McGivney (14-4), as the Griffins went 2-1 on the week, snapping a win streak that extended to nine straight games. Their wins came against Southwestern Piasa (11-1) and Alton (13-5), with a loss to Gibault Catholic (8-7) sandwiched between.

+ St. Anthony (10-3) and Nashville (12-2) are at No. 5 and No. 6, respectively. The Bulldogs beat Tuscola (7-6) and lost to Waltonville (11-9), while the Hornets took down a quality DuQuoin (2-0) club before losing 3-2 to Anna-Jonesboro. 

CLIMBING UP…

+ Tolono Unity (11-2) continues to ascend up our board, jumping up four spots to No. 7 after a highly impressive undefeated week. They kicked things off with a victory over ‘Large School’ ranked Mahomet-Seymour on Monday, beating the Bulldogs 7-1. After that, the Rockets beat Mattoon 13-1, before beating ‘Large School’ ranked Sacred-Heart Griffin 3-0 on Saturday, and also taking down No. 2 Teutopolis 7-6 on the same day. It’s an impressive overall season resume for the Rockets, who are quickly solidifying their case as one of the top 2A clubs in central Illinois. 

+ Carterville (16-3) and Breese Central (14-3) are each up one spot in this update. The Lions tick up to No. 11 after going 3-0 this week, beating Massac County (16-1), Murphysboro (11-0), and Herrin (10-6). As for the Cougars, they had a highly impressive week, finishing with a 3-1 record. They split their series with No. 3 Freeburg (6-4 W, 17-7 L), but also took down New Athens (9-3), and capped the week off by handing previously undefeated Mascoutah their first loss of the season on Saturday, a 2-1 defeat. 

STAYING PUT…

+ No. 8 Harrisburg (13-1), No. 9 Monticello (18-0), and No. 10 Tremont (15-2) all went undefeated this week and are sticking in the same spots they were in a week ago on this board. No. 15 Newton (15-2) also holds onto the last spot after a 3-1 week, dropping an early contest to Richland County (2-1), but bouncing back to beat Dieterich (10-0), Mt. Carmel (10-7), and Mattoon (18-14). 

FALLING…

+ The two teams dropping down our board this update are No. 12 Effingham (8-6) and No. 14 Roxana (12-3). The Hearts are the biggest faller this go around, bumping down five spots after a 0-3 week. They were swept in Apollo Conference action by Mt. Zion (3-2, 8-3) and also lost a 10-9 game to Champaign Central. As for the Shells, they are only dropping down one spot after a 2-2 week. They split a conference series against a quality Columbia team (4-3, W, 11-5 L), beat Alton (12-2), and lost to Altamont (3-0). 

JUST MISSED…

+ Gibault Catholic (10-8): The Hawks tacked on another quality win to their resume, as they beat No. 4 Father McGivney 8-7 this past week. Gibault Catholic also won the only other game they played, beating Sparta 9-4. 

+ Goreville (11-1): The Black Cats continue to look like one of the top teams in southern Illinois at the 1A level, adding two more wins to their total this past week, defeating Trico (14-6) and Waltonville (12-10).