Top 10 Teams
1. Brother Rice: Scoring runs shouldn’t be a problem. Cameron Hill (Purdue) will be big power source. Infielders Luke Lawrence, Nick Cipriani, Nathan Mosqueda, Will Flanigan, Zion Rose (Louisville), Amir Gray (Purdue) and catcher Bryce Nevils will push for playing time. Jack Lausch will make impact at plate and on mound. Pitching staff will be led by lefty Mike Bernas (St. Leo), Ben Guzek (Maryville) and Dylan Warda (Wichita State).
2. Mount Carmel: Young team with loads of potential. Major power arms on mound led by Tom Egan and Chris Whelton and lefties Shane Curtin (Creighton), and Julien Hachem (Oklahoma). Offense will need time to develop behind Brandon Rogers (Oklahoma), Jorgie Vazquez, Colin Small and Jacob White.
3. Marist: Versatile lineup with infielders Noah Smith (Louisville), Jack Harmon (John Carroll), Luke Sefcik (Central Michigan), Jimmy Rolder (Illinois) and Nate Voss (Michigan). Jack Carney (Loras) and Chazz Clark (Xavier) have two spots locked down in outfield. Southpaw George Bilecki, Nicholas Verzoni, Collin Amsden and Mark Brannigan provide quality arms. Cal Sefcik will see time in the infield.
4. Lincoln-Way Central: Boasts star-studded trio of pitchers in lefty Ryan Kraft (Indiana), Caden Leonard (Kent State) and Matt Maloney. Offensively, infielders Mike Maloney and Matt Maloney, Turner Doran and Liam Rossi and outfielders Charlie Graefen, Cory Fulkerson and Ethan Rossow can run and swing the bat. Watch out for freshman Collin Mowry (Louisville), a big-time talent.
5. Providence: May lack proven power arm, but there’s depth everywhere. Offense will be led by a pair of three-year varsity members in catcher Jake Rybka and infielder Ryan O’Neil. Infield should be strong with Brant Singler (Benedictine), Justin Janowski, Sebastian Biggs (Ava Maria), Mike Swanson (Wisconsin-Oshkosh) and Ryan Jefferson (Illinois). Pitching staff is anchored by Austin Jones (Loras) and Ryan Hussey (Notre Dame).
6. Homewood-Flossmoor: Vikings have impressive mix of veteran leadership and youth. Rotation of Chad Readey (Northwestern), hard-throwing Keegan Buksa and lefty Carter Andersen offers mix of power and savvy. Buksa, who will also catch, and infielders Josh McAlister (Ohio State), Gallien Coupet (Creighton), Shai Robinson (Illinois State), Shane Jones and Dillon Head (Michigan) should be fun to watch.
7. Marian Catholic: What Spartans lack in power, they will make up for with speed. Pitching staff is fueled by Tyler Fullman (Michigan), who has electric stuff. Justin Johnson (Marian University) will be the No. 2 and play some outfield. Eddie King (Louisville) is in line for a monster season. Infielders Jaylon Nauden (Butler) and Kevin Denty and outfielder Donovan McIntyre (Kent State) should be big-time contributors.
8. St. Laurence: Going to need young pitchers, led by DJ Helwig and lefty Morgan McFarlane (Illinois Wesleyan), to step up. Infielder Kevin McCormick (Evansville) and catcher Jason Krol (Lewis) bring experience and strong skills. Infielders Michael Laudando (Rockhurst), Jimmy Gurgone (Illinois Wesleyan), Tony Tado (Carroll) and Dan Baumgartner can get after it. Luke Stulga and Angelo Luna are keys in the outfield.
9. Lockport: Infield defense is superb, led by slick-fielding shortstop Ryan Moerman (Illinois), Riley Pfeiffer (Wisconsin-Oshkosh), Victor Izquierdo (Navy), Anthony Martinez and catcher Joe