These 16 Peoria-area high school baseball players have emerged as sluggers in 2024

Hitting around the Peoria-area high school baseball has seen a huge uptick in production for the 2024 season.

These hitters are making sure their teams remain in contention for conference championships and preparing for the Illinois postseason. Here are 16 sluggers having monster seasons, listed alphabetically with all statistics through Monday, April 22.

Lawson Alwan, Peoria Notre Dame

The junior catcher has been nearly lights-out at the plate, batting .511 on 24 hits with eight doubles, four home runs and 23 RBIs. He's drawn 18 walks and struck out only three times in 67 plate appearances. During an 11-game hit streak, Alwan went 3-for-5 with a homer and drove in five during a 15-4 six-inning win on April 13.

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Keardan Bolen, Pekin

The senior first baseman has been a bright spot in the Dragons lineup. He's hitting .441 on a team-high 15 hits with three doubles, one triple and five RBIs. Bolen has five multi-hit games with a season highlight coming with a 3-for-3 game with a single, double and triple against East Madison (Wisconsin) on March 29.

R.J. Duncheon, East Peoria

The sophomore first baseman has been a model of consistency. He's had nine multi-hit games, batting .400 on a team-best 26 hits with 12 doubles, one triple, one homer and 25 RBIs. Duncheon turned in a 2-for-4 effort with a double, triple, two RBIs and a walk in beating Washington, 12-8, on April 22.

Brady Johnson, Washington

The senior second baseman has been excelling when hitting leadoff for Washington. He's batting .488 on 20 hits with five doubles, 11 RBIs and 12 runs. He's drawn six walks with only three strikeouts in 52 plate appearances. Johnson went 3-for-3 with a double, two RBIs and a walk in a 7-5 victory over Limestone on April 17.

Drew Kieser, Brimfield/Elmwood

The senior third baseman has been the catalyst for an offense putting up nearly nine runs a game. He's batting .436 on 17 hits with two doubles, 10 RBIs, nine runs and five walks. Kieser has five multi-hit games including a trio of three-hit games including a 3-for-4 game with a double and three RBIs against Kewanee on March 13.

Gavin Kleist, Limestone

The junior catcher has produced in the five-hole for the Rockets this season. He's hitting .375, tying for a team-high 21 hits with six doubles, one homer and 12 RBIs. He's drawn 18 walks in 77 plate appearances. Kleist pushed his average back up thanks to a 3-for-4 game with two RBIs against Washington on April 17.

Griffen Landsverk, Illinois Valley Central

The junior outfielder has been tough out as a cleanup hitter for the Grey Ghosts. He's hitting a team-high .333 on 19 hits with three doubles, two homers and 17 RBIs. Landsverk has six multi-hit games including a season-opening 2-for-3 game with a double, homer and three RBIs against East Peoria on March 12.

Teagan McLaughlin, Eureka

The freshman has been a big impact in his first varsity season. He's batting a team-high .396 on 19 hits with four doubles, 13 RBIs and 11 runs. He's struck out just two times on 58 plate appearances. McLaughlin was on a nine-game hit streak where he went 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI against Colfax Ridgeview on April 12.

Carson Rowe, Henry

The sophomore catcher has showed there's no slump in his second season on varsity. He's batting a team-high .431, adding team-bests in hits (22), doubles (five) and RBIs (12). Rowe's average has been hovering right around .500 all season helped by a 3-for-4 game with a triple and two RBIs against Ottawa Marquette on April 16.

Brandon Sieben, Morton

The junior outfielder has been a staple in the heart of the Potters lineup. He's slugging a team-best .410 on 16 hits with 14 runs and three RBIs for the Potters, who are scoring 6.5 runs a game. Sieben has produced big in Mid-Illini Conference play, including a 3-for-4 effort with a double, RBI and a run against Metamora on April 8.

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Gavin Walder, Peoria Christian

The junior first baseman has been hitting cleanup for the Chargers with great success. He's hitting .395 on a team-high 15 hits with two doubles, two triples and 12 RBIs. Walder has one three-hit game where he went 3-for-3 with two RBIs, scoring three runs, walking once and getting hit by a pitch against Knoxville on March 28.

Ben Waller, Richwoods

The junior outfielder has brought great vibes this season to the Knights lineup. He's hitting .340 on 16 hits with two doubles, five RBIs and 13 runs. Waller has picked up nine walks in 58 plate appearances, while having two hit streaks of at least four games this season. He was 2-for-4 with two RBIs in beating Colfax Ridgeview on March 19.

Davis Weeks, Dunlap

The junior shortstop has been great from the cleanup spot for the Eagles. He's leading (or tied for the team best) in hits (25), doubles (seven), homers (two) and RBIs (24), while hitting .391. Weeks had an eight-game hit streak earlier this season, going 2-for-2 with two RBIs with a walk and a hit-by-pitch to beat Ottawa on April 13.

Kyi Westbrook, Delavan

The junior designated hitter has raised his batting average by nearly 100 points during his current five-game hit streak. He's batting .435 on 20 hits with 14 RBIs, eight runs and five walks. Westbrook has gone .714 (10-for-14) over the last five games, including a 3-for-4 game as his run-scoring single beat Heyworth in walk-off fashion on April 20.

Lane Wheelwright, Farmington

The junior shortstop has a big bat in the No. 3 hole for the Farmers. He's posting a .436 batting average on 17 hits with three doubles, a homer and six RBIs. Wheelwright's big game came with a 4-for-4 day with two singles, two doubles and three RBIs in a 9-1 victory over Peoria Heights on April 15.

Cam'Ron Williams, Peoria Heights

The senior shortstop has really come on strong in his final prep season. He's hitting .449 on 22 hits with four doubles, two homers and 15 RBIs. Williams has produced five three-hit games including a 3-for-4 outing with a single, double, homer and three RBIs in a walk-off loss to Bushnell-Prairie City on April 20.

Adam Duvall is a Journal Star sports reporter. Email him at aduvall@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @AdamDuvall.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: IHSA baseball: List of important hitters in high school season around Peoria