Rockford-area high school baseball's brightest stars: 25 players to watch for in 2024
The best baseball teams in the NIC-10 last year — Hononegah, Freeport and Boylan — all bring back many of their best players. So does Big Northern contender Byron and defending NUIC South champ Forreston. Other top players are spread all around the area.
Here are our top 25 baseball players to watch for the 2024 Rockford-area high school baseball season, with players listed alphabetically:
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Austin Alonso, Boylan
The senior second baseman/pitcher had 27 RBIs, 37 runs scored and 20 stolen bases as a junior, when he hit .311 with three triples and two home runs.
Aiden Cicogna, Stillman Valley
Cicogna made second-team all-Big Northern as a junior. The shortstop/pitcher was 5-3 with a 1.57 ERA and 67 strikeouts on the mound and batted .320.
Caden Considine, Byron
Considine batted .412 with a 1.249 OPS and 30 RBIs on only 33 hits as a freshman. As a sophomore, he ran for 1,630 yards and 27 TDs and led the defense in tackles on one of the most dominant undefeated state football champions in history. He was also a top sub on the state third-place Class 2A basketball team. If the fall and winter are any indication, Considine could be THE player to watch in the entire Big Northern Conference.
Nico Contreras, Boylan
The senior first baseman hit .373 last year with 34 RBIs and 20 runs. He was also hit by a pitch 10 times. He was also a star as a sophomore, hitting .396.
Ryan Coon, Freeport
Coon is a three-year star in the outfield. He stole 33 bases last year and was thrown out just once. He also batted .333, tied for the team lead with nine doubles and walked 25 times vs. only seven strikeouts. He scored 35 runs and had 19 RBIs. He was even better as a sophomore, hitting .422 with 35 steals
Connor Dennis, Boylan
Dennis, a four-year starter at shortstop, had a somewhat quiet year last season, batting .270 with 10 RBIs and 28 runs scored. But he hit .418 as a sophomore. He also should be one of the top pitchers in the conference. He won three games with a 3.15 ERA and 31 strikeouts in 33 ⅓ innings last year and was 3-0 as a sophomore with a 2.33 ERA. He was also a three-year star as Boylan’s starting quarterback on the football team.
Austin Dresser, Hononegah
The senior second baseman made first-team all-conference last year. He batted .353 with 23 RBIs, 25 runs and a team-leading 28 walks for the Class 4A sectional champs.
Logan Edward, Hononegah
The senior outfielder was one of six Hononegah players to make the 15-team all-NIC-10 first team last year. He hit .392 with 15 RBIs, 28 runs and 16 stolen bases, which was second on the team.
Braden Engel, Stillman Valley
Engel, a senior center fielder, is one of only three returning players from our 20-man All-Area team last year, along with Hononegah’s Landon Seymour and Jackson Stahl. Engel batted .404 with 29 RBIs and 30 runs scored as a junior. He had a 1.117 OPS.
Kendall Erdmann, Forreston
Erdmann made first-team all-conference as a freshman last year when he led Forreston in hits (46) and finished second to NUIC South MVP Owen Greenfield in batting (.422), OPS (1.041) and runs scored (48). He also drove in 34 runs and had a 2.17 ERA in 19 innings as a pitcher. He has two older sisters who signed NCAA Division I volleyball scholarships.
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Brendan Greenfield, Forreston
Greenfield, a junior third baseman, is one of five returning first-team All-NUIC South players. He hit .333 with 37 RBIs and 36 runs as a sophomore. “Greenfield is a very heady player at third base,” Dakota coach Kyle Kampmier said. “He should have a big season and be an impact player for the Cardinals. He will provide a big bat in the middle of their lineup.”
Ashton Henkel, Byron
The senior outfielder/pitcher is expected to miss the first month of the season with an injury. He batted .363 as a junior with a 1.055 OPS and 26 RBIs.
Brody Keeney, Dakota
Keeney was 6-1 with a 2.42 ERA and 55 strikeouts in eight starts as a sophomore last year to help Dakota win a regional title and a share of the NUIC North title. He also batted .375, stole 10 bases, led the team with 32 runs scored and drove in 25.
Braylon Kilduff, Byron
The senior pitcher/infielder/DH hit .325 with 24 RBIs and a .947 OPS as a junior. He was 8-1 on the mound with 57 strikeouts and a 1.63 ERA.
Brayden Knoll, Byron
Knoll, a versatile junior outfielder/pitcher/infielder, hit .304 last year with a .906 OPS, 20 RBIs and 41 runs scored. He was 3-1 as a pitcher.
Karter Livengood, Milledgeville
Livengood, a sophomore, made first-team all-conference in the NUIC South as a freshman, when he hit .357 and got on base nearly 60 percent of the time (.591 on-base average).
Luke Madigan, Lena-Winslow
Madigan was the only freshman to be named first-team all-conference in the NUIC North last year. He should be one of the top pitchers in the league and is also a steady bat. “I have seen him hitting around 88 mph on his fastball,” Dakota coach Kyle Kampmier said. “He can also add some power in the middle of their lineup.”
Hunter Miller, Eastland
Miller, a junior shortstop, is one of five returning NUIC South first-team all-conference players. He hit .338 with a 1.002 OPS as a sophomore last year with 12 extra-base hits, 19 RBIs and 25 runs scored.
Braxton Niedermeier, Dakota
Niedermeier hit .382 as a sophomore with a team-leading 31 RBIs and 26 runs scored. He also had a .960 fielding percentage in 100 chances at first base.
Landon Seymour, Hononegah
The senior center fielder leads a Hononegah team that is on its best three-year run (77-15 with two sectional titles and a fourth-place finish at state) in school history. Seymour batted .464 last year with 31 RBIs, 21 steals and a league-high 52 runs scored. He had a 1.271 OPS.
Jackson Stahl, Hononegah
Stahl, a sophomore, had one of the best freshman pitching seasons in NIC-10 history. He finished 9-1 with a 2.02 ERA and a team-high 70 strikeouts last year.
Coen Stewart, Freeport
The senior outfielder is one of four Pretzels who made first-team all-conference last year but is the only one returning. Coen hit .307 last year with a .492 on-base percentage, scored a team-high 40 runs for the co-conference champs and drove in 24. He also stole 26 bases and was caught just three times.
Alex Schoonhoven, Forreston
One of three returning first-team all-conference picks for the defending NUIC South champs, Schoonhoven hit .314 with 35 RBIs and 19 runs scored as a sophomore last year.
Elijah Skidmore, Harlem
Skidmore, a senior, went 5-1 in the conference with a 1.34 ERA and struck out 60 batters in 31 NIC-10 innings. He also batted .442 with seven doubles as an outfielder in conference play.
Jack Washburn, Oregon
Washburn is a dual threat who had a 2.10 ERA as a pitcher last year and batted .380.
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: Here are top 25 Rockford high school baseball players to watch in 2024
