It’s time for an update to our Illinois ‘Large School’ rankings as we head into the final week of the regular season. 

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. 

The top three teams on our update remain the same as they have in each of the past few weeks, and have clearly cemented themselves as the top team within our coverage area. Outside of that trio, we do have some notable movement throughout our board, and a new team jumping back into the rankings for the first time since the preseason. 

All of that, and more, broken down below. 

AT THE TOP…

+ The top three spots on our board are the same from a week ago, and have been the same for the past few weeks, with No. 1 Normal Community (29-2), No. 2 Triad (25-5), and No. 3 Dunlap holding firm into the final week of the regular season. 

+ Edwardsville (21-10) continues to rise, climbing one spot, now at No. 4 overall. The Tigers are near full health for the first time this season and went 3-1 this week, sweeping Collinsville (9-5, 5-0), beating Jerseyville (6-5) on Senior Night, and dropping a game to Columbia (10-9). 

+ Sacred-Heart Griffin (19-6) is another team on the rise this update, rounding out the top five after bumping up two spots. They won both of their games this week, beating ranked Normal U-High (16-10) and taking a game against a tough Maroa-Forsyth (5-1) club as well. 

ON THE RISE…

+ O’Fallon (20-10) has climbed up our board in each of the past two updates, rising two spots this time around, now slotted at seventh overall. The Panthers had an impressive week, sweeping a conference series over a tough Belleville West (13-3, 2-0) club, and taking a Friday night matchup over Freeburg (7-4), who’s one of the top clubs on our ‘Small School’ board. While they’ve had some struggles at times this spring, O’Fallon’s club is full of talent and is capable of making some noise when the playoffs roll around. 

+ Metamora (23-6), Mahomet-Seymour (22-6), and Marion (21-6) are all rising up a spot, sitting at No. 12, No. 13, and No. 14, respectively. The Redbirds split their conference series with East Peoria (2-1 W, 3-1 L), and took a game over Illinois Valley Central (12-1) as well. Mahomet-Seymour and Marion both went undefeated on the week. 

STAYING PUT…

+ Waterloo (19-6) sticks in the eighth spot and the only reason they’re not moving up is a byproduct of some other clubs climbing ahead of them. The Bulldogs have played a high quality brand of baseball as of late, and really all spring, stacking four more wins to their resume this week. They swept their conference series over Jerseyville (4-1, 16-2), taking down Granite City (4-3) and Gibault Catholic (15-0) as well. 

+ Glenwood (21-6) and Washington (22-9) are in the same spot at No. 10 and No. 11 on our board. Glenwood beat Springfield (15-10) and Morton (5-4), dropping an in-between game to Belleville West (3-1), while Washington swept their Mid-Illini conference series over Canton (3-2, 7-1). 

DROPPING DOWN…

+ Normal U-High (23-5) and Mascoutah (24-5) are the two fallers in this update. The Pioneers are down two spots, sitting at No. 6, after dropping their only two games this week, falling to Normal Community (3-0) and Sacred-Heart Griffin (16-10). Mascoutah is down three spots to No. 9 after a 2-2 week. They beat Mater Dei (15-5) and Columbia (9-1), but the main reason why they’re falling is they were swept in their conference series with Triad (11-1, 11-1). 

+ East Peoria (18-12) falls out of our rankings after a 1-3 week. The Raiders split their Mid-Illini set with Metamora (3-1 W, 2-1 L), but dropped games to St. Joseph-Ogden (6-5) and Normal Community (9-0). 

WELCOME BACK…

+ Champaign Central (24-6) returns to the rankings for the first time since our inaugural update. The Maroons have been red hot as of late and are playing like the team we were high on in the preseason. They jumped back into our board at No. 15 after a 4-0 week, where they swept Bloomington (8-1, 12-2) while also taking games over Monticello (7-0) and Danville (15-0). 

NEXT UP…

+ Charleston (17-6): Every week, the Trojans pick up a win over a quality opponent. This time it was Tolono Unity, who Charleston beat 6-5, and they also defeated Marshall 21-13 before dropping a 4-0 game to St. Joseph-Ogden, one of the top 2A programs in the state. The Trojans aren’t going to be an easy out for anyone in the playoffs and have consistently put together a quality stretch of baseball throughout the spring. 

+ Mt. Zion (16-11): The Braves had a strong showing this past week, finishing 3-1. They beat Tolono Unity (6-5) and Springfield (8-0), while splitting their conference set with Taylorville (11-1 W, 11-5 L). 

+ Morton (19-12) and Belleville West (17-10-1) are two teams that had tough weeks but we’re still keeping an eye out for as possible postseason spoilers given the talent on their roster.