It wasn’t exactly the storybook ending Cole Latimer and the seniors on the DeKalb baseball team wanted for their senior season.

The senior center fielder and future two-sport athlete at NIU said it was still a fun final year.

“We kept showing up to the field every day with smiles on our faces,” Latimer said. “We were just happy to play the game we love. Especially for us six seniors. Those last couple weeks, when it came down to it, we were just focused on having fun. ... Our heart got us through the rest of the year.”

With a loaded roster back from last year, the Barbs lost once in their first 11 games, with Latimer hitting .500 in those games. But Latimer went down with an ankle injury, missing 2½ weeks and kicking off a run of injuries across the roster.

The Barbs still won 17 games and reached a regional championship game, but fell to Huntley for a third straight year despite high hopes of finally getting past the Red Raiders.

Latimer hit .348 with two home runs and 14 RBIs, scoring 27 times. He was a unanimous all-DuPage Valley Conference selection and four-year starter. He’s also the Daily Chronicle 2026 Baseball Player of the Year.

“We thought we were going to make it this far, but not everyone thought we were going to be the team we were,” Cole Latimer said. “Having the season we did means a lot. Wrapping up my last year of high school with my dad [head coach Josh Latimer] too, that means a lot. Last time he’ll coach me. That means a lot, too.”

The Barbs won two games the year before Josh Latimer arrived in 2022, then went 4-22 under the new coach. Cole Latimer and the current group of freshmen joined in 2023, and the Barbs went 16-18, their winningest season since 2015.

The Barbs won 22 games in 2024 and a program-record 25 games 2025, reaching a regional final both times but falling to Huntley.

“That means everything,” Cole Latimer said. “Coach came in with a certain culture and everyone bought into it. We had some great ballplayers here and being a part of it with my dad too was huge. Every single year we improved, just a little bit. And we turned around the program.”

This year ended at the hands of the Red Raiders once again, with the Barbs losing No. 2 starter Breydon Marin to illness just before the final. DeKalb lost 4-1.

Josh Latimer said Cole Latimer brought a lot of things to the program. He was the absolute leader, MVP and batting champ. But he was also a shutdown center fielder. He committed one error last year and none this year.

“When he was out there it was a no-fly zone,” Josh Latimer said. “If there was a ball hit to him and it wasn’t caught, it was hit perfectly, 45 degrees in the gap.”

The coach said Cole Latimer has a rocket for an arm. Teams would not run on him often on balls hit to center field.

The center fielder, who will also be on the NIU football team this fall, gave credit to assistant coach Jeremy Morton for helping him with his defense.

“The outfield defense doesn’t get a lot of recognition,” Cole Latimer said. “The ball goes up in the air and we’re just supposed to be catching it. But we got to make sure nothing falls and I have to do what I can. I take a lot of pride in my defense.”

At the team’s end-of-season banquet earlier this month, Josh Latimer said he noticed his son getting emotional.

“He said ‘This program is legit dad,” Josh Latimer said. “’DeKalb baseball is a legit contender every year and we’ve done some very good things here.’ I couldn’t agree with him more.”