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.

There’s some considerable shuffling throughout our board, with a handful of teams on the rise up, and a few others dropping down. We’ve broken all of that, as well as some teams that just missed the cut, below. 

THE TOP FIVE…

+ St. Joseph-Ogden (19-1) holds on to the top spot of our rankings for the sixth week in a row. The Spartans won all four of their games this past week, scoring 48 runs, while allowing only nine. 

+ Freeburg (17-3) bumps up one spot to their highest ranking of the spring, now at No. 2. The Midgets took two games from Salem (15-1, 7-1) before taking down Teutopolis (2-0) and Gibault Catholic (9-0) on Saturday afternoon. 

+ Teutopolis (16-5) is down to their lowest ranking of the spring, an impressive note considering they’re at No. 3 on our board. The Wooden Shoes went 3-2 on the week, earning wins over ranked St. Anthony (14-3), previously ranked Mt. Zion (14-4), and previously ranked Gibault Catholic (4-0). They lost games to Charleston (4-3) and ranked Freeburg (2-0). Despite the subtle drop, our staff still believes Teutopolis is one of the favorites to win the 2A state championship. 

+ Father McGivney (15-4) is staying put at No. 4 after winning their only game of the week, a 13-3 defeat of Routt Catholic. Nashville (16-2) jumps into the top five for the first time this spring after a 4-0 week, with wins over Frankfort (6-0), Benton (17-2), Sparta (10-0), and Pinckneyville (12-1). 

ON THE RISE…

+ Tolono Unity (13-2) continues to ascend up our board, jumping up one spot, now at No. 6. They’ve won eight straight games, with some impressive wins in that span, and added two more this past week, defeating Prairie Central (10-2) and St. Thomas More (10-2). 

+ Monticello (21-0) is up to their highest mark of the spring, rising two spots to the seventh spot on our board. The Sages, who are the lone undefeated team on this list, won three games this week, defeating Pontiac (3-2), Salt Fork (10-0), and Bloomington Central Catholic (16-5). 

+ Tremont (19-2) has also been one of the hottest teams on this list. The Turks, winners of six straight, are up two spots to No. 8 after a 4-0 week in which they scored 43 runs and allowed only two. 

STAYING PUT…

+ No. 11 Carterville (17-5), No. 12 Effingham (11-7), No. 13 Breese Central (18-4), No. 14 Roxana (13-4), and No. 15 Newton (17-2) are all staying in the same spots as they were in last week’s update. 

FALLING…

+ St. Anthony (11-5) and Harrisburg (17-2) are the two teams dropping down our board this week. St. Anthony went 1-2 this week, beating Mattoon (9-7), but dropping games to Charleston (6-3) and Teutopolis (12-2), which now has them at No. 9. As for Harrisburg, the Bulldogs did win four games this week, but a 10-3 loss to Carterville, plus the rise of three other teams, is the main reason for their two tick drop, now pinning them at No. 10. 

NEXT UP…

+ DuQuoin (16-4): After starting the season in our rankings and dropping out, the Indians have been on a hot streak of late. They’ve won 10 of their last 11 games, including four this past week, and have a massive matchup against Nashville looming shortly. 

+ Goreville (13-2): The Black Cats continue to look like a top contender in 1A, taking two games from Zeigler-Royalton (13-0, 5-2) this past week, though dropping a late game against Hardin County (4-3). 

+ Gibault Catholic (12-9): The Hawks continue to challenge themselves, playing arguably the toughest schedule of any team on this list. Their record won’t be the shiniest come playoff time, but they’ll be battle tested, eerily similar to when they took home the 1A state championship in 2023. 

+ Columbia (8-10): Winners of five straight, the Eagles continue to hang around, and added an impressive win to their resume this past week by beating ‘Large School’ ranked O’Fallon. They will have a tough conference assignment this week against Breese Central. 

+ Red Bud (14-4): The Musketeers have won nine of their last 10 games and have stacked up wins all season. Landon Ruebusch (2027) has had a strong spring on both sides of the ball, batting .404 with a .932 OPS with a 1.58 ERA over 31 innings on the mound.