Who is No. 1? Hononegah? Byron? Forreston? Rockford's best baseball teams ranked 1 to 10
Last year was a strong one for Rockford-area baseball teams. No local team made it to state, but Hononegah and Byron made it to the Elite 8, the third-place team in Class 1A had to rally several times to edge Dakota in the sectional finals, and Boylan was eliminated by the third-place team in 3A.
Will someone break through this year? These are the teams with the best chance. Here is our beginning of the season Rockford-area baseball power rankings for 2024.
More: Rockford-area high school baseball's brightest stars: 25 players to watch for in 2024
No. 1 Hononegah
Last year’s record: 29-7 (16-2 NIC-10, 1st (tied)
Last year’s playoffs: 4A sectional title; lost 4-0 in supersectionals to state fourth-place finisher Elmhurst York.
This year: Six all-conference players return for the NIC-10 this year; four of them are Hononegah Indians: senior second baseman Austin Dresser, senior outfielder Logan Edward, senior outfielder Landen Seymour and sophomore pitcher Jackson Stahl. Hononegah has long had a strong baseball program, winning at least 20 games in 16 of the last 19 seasons, with 10 regional titles in that span. But Hono has taken it up another notch in the last three years, winning two of its three career sectional titles in that span. Last year, Hono fell one win short of the school record of 30, set in 2004 and 2009. That record could be in jeopardy again this year.
More: Hononegah's storybook season comes to an end against Major League prospect
No. 2 Byron
Last year’s record: 26-7 (12-5 BNC, 3rd)
Last year’s playoffs: Class 2A sectional title, lost 13-3 in supersectionals to Chicago DePaul Prep, which finished fourth in state.
This year: Dixon (61-5 in the BNC the last four years) has won four straight Big Northern titles and will be hard to pass with a team deep in both pitching and seniors. But the Dukes were only 3-7 outside the BNC last year. The pick here is for Byron to win its first conference title since the Tigers went a school-record 36-6 in 2014 and finished second in the state in Class 2A. Byron is 48-15 the last two years, with its first two 20-win seasons since that 2014 season. Last year’s sectional title was the fourth in school history. Andrew Talbert might be the best freshman in the conference. Three-sport star Caden Considine (1.249 OPS last year) is certainly the best sophomore. Braden Smith graduated as one of the greatest players in Byron baseball history, but Braylon Kilduff (.325, 8-1 as a pitcher with a 1.63 ERA and 57 strikeouts), Brayden Knoll (.304, 41 runs scored, 3-1 as a pitcher) and Kye Aken (.310, 27 runs) give Byron a lot of experience. Ashton Henkel (.363, 26 RBIs) is currently out with an injury but is expected to return in a month.
No. 3 Forreston
Last year’s record: 20-13 (8-2 NUIC South, 1st)
Last year’s playoffs: No. 4 seed Forreston lost 11-3 to No. 1 Fulton in the Class 1A regional finals.
This year: Forreston has won NUIC titles in seven of the last eight years, including the first two as a co-op with Polo, going 96-10 in the conference since 2015. Last year’s team was loaded with freshmen and sophomores, including all-NUIC South picks Kendall Erdmann and Brendan Greenfield. Erdmann, Carson Akins, Greenfield and Alec Schoonhoven may be the best 1-4 batting combination in area small-school baseball. They combined for 15 hits and 17 RBIs in lopsided season-opening wins over Harlem and Lena-Winslow. Those four were the Cardinals’ top four RBI men last year, driving in a collective 145 runs.
No. 4 Stillman Valley
Last year’s record: 17-16 (10-8 BNC, 5th place)
Last year’s playoffs: No. 4 seed Stillman lost 5-4 to No. 5 Rock Falls in regional semifinals.
This year: Stillman Valley returns six starters, including four who have started since their sophomore year. “We also have several other seniors who made contributions last year as well as a solid junior class coming up,” coach Scott Wilhite said. “We should have a lot of depth in all areas.” Top returners for the Cardinals include: CF Braden Engel (1.117 OPS), SS/P Aiden Cicona (.320 hitter, 5-3, 1.57 ERA, 67 strikeouts in 53 ⅔ IP); C Keaton Rauman (.371), 2B Kaenan McDevitt (.312) and 3B Luke Tompkins (.266).
More: Why this might be Rockford's best baseball race in 24 years
No. 5 Freeport
Last year’s record: 23-9 (16-2 NIC-10, 1st (tied)
Last year’s playoffs: The No. 2 seed Pretzels were upset 4-3 by No. 8 seed Sterling in the Class 3A regional semifinals.
This year: Freeport will greatly miss two graduated all-conference pitchers (Mason Lei and Cole Trickel), but returns the bulk of its lineup. The Pretzels will be especially strong in the outfield, returning Coen Stewart (first-team all-conference as a junior), Zach Arnold (second-team as a junior) and Ryan Coon (who made All-Area two years ago when he hit .422 as a sophomore). Cam Verner (4 home runs) and Zac Matz (3 homers) give the lineup some pop while Payton Woker and Noah Summers are experienced infielders. Cooper Hathaway, a transfer from Aquin, was all-conference in the NUIC North last year.
No. 6 Boylan
Last year’s record: 21-13 (15-3 NIC-10, 3rd)
Last year’s playoffs: No. 4 seed Boylan lost 7-3 in the regional finals to No. 1 seed Sycamore, which went on to finish third in the state.
This year: Boylan returns seven starters from a team that split with co-champs Hononegah and Freeport last year and finished just one game out of first in the NIC-10. Four-year starting SS/P Connor Dennis (.270 batting average, 3.15 ERA), senior 1B Nico Contreras (.373, 34 RBIs, 20 runs), senior 2B/P Austin Alonso (.311, 27 RBI, 37 runs, 20 SB), junior SS/P Henry Berg (.330, 19 RBIs, 21 runs, 15 SB) and Chayce Nowling (.352) give Boylan a deep lineup. Will the Titans have enough pitching?
No. 7 Dakota
Last year’s record: 16-9 (8-2 NUIC North, 3-way tie for 1st)
Last year’s playoffs: Lost 10-7 in sectional finals to Sterling Newman, which finished third in the state in Class 1A.
This year: Dakota returns six starters from one of its best teams, including No. 1 pitcher Brody Keeney and No. 3 pitcher Isaiah McElyea. Junior 1B Braxton Niedermeier returns as the team’s top hitter. Dakota should be especially strong in the infield, with returning veterans at all five positions.
No. 8 North Boone
Last year’s record: 19-9 (11-7 BNC, 4th)
Last year’s playoffs: No. 3 seed North Boone lost 3-0 to eventual sectional champion Byron in the 2A regional finals.
This year: The Vikings graduated their best player in history (NCAA Division I recruit Chandler Alderman), but have one of the BNC’s six returning first-team all-conference players in junior JJ Ford and one of the eight returning second-team choices in senior Eli Lopez. The two will anchor North Boone’s pitching staff as well as its infield, with Ford at shortstop and Lopez at third base. Ford batted .398 last year and had 36 strikeouts in 28 innings. Lopez is a four-year starter who hit .392 last year and had 39 strikeouts in 34 innings.
No. 9 Warren/Stockton
Last year’s record: 14-9 (6-4 NUIC West, tied for 2nd)
Last year’s playoffs: No. 6 seed Warren/Stockton lost 8-7 in the regional finals to No. 3 Dakota.
This year: The NUIC West was the most competitive area conference last year, with five teams bunched between 8-2 and 5-5 (and West Carroll at 0-10). This could be a repeat. East Dubuque (17-13, 8-2) returns most of its team. Fulton and River Ridge/Scales Mound also should be good. But Warren/Stockton has the best baseball history in the division, winning five league titles since 2014, including two of the last three. The Warhawks' top two hitters were sophomores last year. P/Inf Will Stietz, OF/P Treyton Pafford and infielder Colby Tucker lead six returning starters. “If we can develop our pitching, I think we can be an excellent team,” said Jim Nielsen, the team’s coach for more than 40 years.
No. 10 Harlem
Last year’s record: 16-14 (12-6 NIC-10, 4th)
Last year’s playoffs: Harlem, a 4 seed, lost a narrow 5-4 game in the regional finals to eventual Class 4A sectional champ Hononegah.
This year: Harlem returns five starters, led by senior Elija Skidmore, one of the league’s two returning all-conference pitchers. Skidmore (5-1, 1.34 ERA in the conference) struck out almost two batters per inning in NIC-10 play last year with 60 in 31 innings. Skidmore also batted .442 with seven doubles. Junior second baseman Jaxen Tank (.380) was second-team all-conference last year. Harlem doesn’t have as much returning on paper as Hononegah, Freeport and Boylan, but this year could be as much about the new players as the old ones. “The NIC-10 graduated a very good class last year,” Harlem coach Scott McCloy said. “There will be a lot of youth this year. Whichever team has those young players step up and produce in those vacant roles will come out on top.”
Contact: mtrowbridge@rrstar.com, @matttrowbridge or 815-987-1383. Matt Trowbridge has covered sports for the Rockford Register Star for over 30 years, after previous stints in North Dakota, Delaware, Vermont and Iowa City.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Ranking Rockford area's 10 best high school baseball teams for 2024
