As we enter the final month of the IHSA regular season, we’re updating our ‘Large School’ rankings for Illinois teams. 

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. 

There’s some important movement throughout our board this week. The “cream of the crop” at the top continues to separate itself from the rest, and we have a team jumping back into the top-five for the first time in a while, as well as a new club making their debut. All of that and more, broken down below. 

AT THE TOP…

The top four spots in this week’s update all remain the same, after all four teams had strong weeks: 

+ No. 1 Normal Community (24-2): The Ironmen continue to roll, barreling through their opposition last week en route to four wins. They beat Richwoods (12-1), swept Urbana (10-0, 10-0), and took a 6-1 game over East Moline. 

+ No. 2 Triad (22-5): An undefeated week for the Knights, who swept their conference set with Jerseyville (9-0, 2-0), beat Columbia (5-1), and capped the week off with a 3-1 win over ranked O’Fallon. Triad has a massive week on the horizon, as the Knights will square off with rival, and ranked Mascoutah for the last ever Mississippi Valley Conference crown. 

+ No. 3 Dunlap (22-5): The Eagles continue to control their destiny in the Mid-Illini Conference. They swept a quality Washington (4-1, 6-2) club to move into pole position in the standings before kicking a non-conference game to Herscher (6-4) on Friday. Dunlap has looked like one of the top teams in central Illinois all spring. 

+ No. 4 Normal U-High (22-3): The Pioneers picked up a 4-0 win over Glenwood to start the week off, capping it with wins over Richwoods (14-4) and Pontiac (16-0). Arguably their biggest matchup of the season is on the horizon, though, when they’ll head to No. 1 Normal Community on Tuesday. 

+ Bumping up into the top five for the first time in almost a month is Edwardsville (18-9). The Tigers, who are the healthiest they’ve been since the start of the season, had a 4-1 week. They swept East St. Louis in conference play, and picked up a massive win to start the Tiger Classic over Teutopolis (8-3), who’s one of the top schools on our ‘Small School’ board. After that, Edwardsville beat Highland 7-1 and lost a 5-2 game to Glenwood to end their week. Edwardsville’s rise up our board is our belief that they’re finally starting to get healthier as a club and playing their best baseball as the playoffs approach. 

ON THE RISE…

+ A lot of the upward movement on our board this week takes place towards the lower half, starting with Glenwood, who’s up a spot, now into the top-10. The Titans have been playing quality ball all spring and had a 2-2 week, beating Edwardsville (5-2) and Highland (5-4), with losses to Teutopolis (6-5) as well as Normal U-High (4-0). 

+ East Peoria (17-9) jumps up two spots after sweeping Morton (6-0, 5-1) to move into second place in the Mid-Illini Conference. The Raiders also beat LaSalle Peru 10-6 and dropped a Saturday game to Barrington 10-4. 

+ Mahomet-Seymour (18-6) ticks up one spot, now at No. 14. The Bulldogs split their conference series with a tough Charleston club (5-3 W, 9-5 L) and also picked up a win over Normal West (14-3) on the week. 

STAYING PUT…

+ No. 8 Waterloo (15-6) and No. 9 O’Fallon (17-10) stick in the same position they were a week ago. The Bulldogs went 3-1 on the week, beating Highland (5-4), Mater Dei (7-0), and ‘Small School’ ranked Carterville (8-6), with a 4-3 loss to ranked DuQuoin mixed in. As for the Panthers, they swept their conference series over Collinsville (4-1, 10-9) before dropping a Saturday game to ranked Triad (3-1). 

+ Metamora (21-5) also stays put from a week ago at No. 13. The Redbirds swept Limestone (7-4, 6-3) in conference play, picking up a win over Streator (11-2) before dropping a contest to Mt. Zion (9-6). 

DROPPING DOWN…

+ Mascoutah (22-3) and Sacred-Heart Griffin (17-6) both tick down a spot, now at No. 6 and No. 7, respectively. Both of these teams falling down the rankings has more to do with Edwardsville climbing up two spots than these two clubs actually dropping. On the week, Mascoutah went 2-1, sweeping Civic Memorial (11-3, 3-0) before losing to Marion 3-2. The Cyclones won their only game of the week, taking down Springfield 12-2. 

+ Washington (20-9) is down one spot, bumping out of the top-10, now at No. 11. They rebounded nicely after being swept by Dunlap in conference play, taking their next three, with wins over Rochester (9-2) and a Saturday sweep of Bloomington (10-0, 10-0). 

+ Morton (18-9) drops out of the rankings for the first time this spring. The Potters went 1-3 on the week, losing both games to East Peoria (6-0, 5-1) and also dropping a game to Geneseo (6-5), with their lone win of the week being a 12-0 victory over Eureka. 

WELCOME…

+ Marion (18-6) debuts for the first time in the rankings this season, breaking in at No. 15, after a 2-0 week. The Wildcats beat Benton 7-3 and took down No. 6 Mascoutah 3-2, which was ultimately their entry point onto our board. 

NEXT UP…

+ Champaign Central (20-6): A preseason rank for us, the Maroons fell off our board early in the year after a sluggish start. They appear to have found their stride, having won 12 of their last 13 games, three of them this past week. 

+ Belleville West (16-8-1): Seven straight wins for head coach Todd Baltz’s club after the Maroons swept Alton (6-0, 1-0) and took down ‘Small School’ powerhouse Father McGivney on Friday. They’ll be tested this coming week, as they play two conference games with O’Fallon with an in-between game at Glenwood mixed in. 

+ Charleston (15-5): The Trojans continue to win games and play a tough brand of baseball up in central Illinois. They’ve put together a quality resume on the season, splitting a conference series with ranked Mahomet-Seymour this week. 

+ Mt. Zion (13-10): The Braves spent more than half of the season on our rankings before dropping out two weeks ago. With that being said, they’re still a quality club capable of beating anyone on the right day, especially with RHP Connor Fox (2027) on the mound. This week, Mt. Zion won the lone game they played, beating Metamora 9-6.