Here is a team-by-team 2026 season preview for baseball teams across The Times coverage area.

Editor’s note: Separate team previews for Ottawa, Woodland/Flanagan-Cornell and Streator have run in print and online at shawlocal.com/illinois-valley, with Marquette’s to come.

Seneca Fighting Irish

Coach: Tim Brungard (7th season)

Last season: 9-23 (4-12 Tri-County)

Top returning players: Cam Shriey, sr.; Jace Mitchell, sr.; Brady Haines, sr.; Cody Clennon, sr.; Griffin Hougas, sr.; Landyn Ramsey, sr.; Vinny Corrado, sr.; Joey Arnold, jr.; Brant Roe, jr.; Wyatt Holman, so.

Top newcomers: Tommy Watkins, jr.; Rayce Aukland, jr.

Worth noting: The Fighting Irish are expected to be led by Shriey (42 ⅓ IP, 58 K, 3.12 ERA, Times All-Area and Tri-County all-conference honorable mention), Arnold (.308, 28 hits, Times All-Area and Tri-County all-conference honorable mention), Roe (.256, .408 OBP) and Mitchell (29 IP, 19 K). “We will look to have a much-improved season this year,” Brungard said. “Last year we were young and inexperienced. We hope that after a full year of varsity play that these guys will have a good year. Our starting pitchers (Shriey, Mitchell and Holman) have looked great so far, and we have a competition right now for the fourth starting pitcher spot. The Irish will need to be scrappy on offense while letting our defense and pitching staff keep us competitive in games.”

Dwight Trojans

Coach: Jerry McDowell (28th season)

Last season: 25-12 (10-6 Tri-County)

Top returning players: Joey Starks, sr., P/SS; Jake Wilkey, sr., 1B/P; Evan Cox, sr., 2B/P; Ayden Collom, jr., 3B/P

Worth noting: It was an outstanding season for the Trojans last year, and they’ve got enough coming back that they should be excited about 2026. Starks was an all-state selection after hitting .424 with a .504 OBP while going 8-2 with a 2.16 ERA on the mound. Wilkey went 5-0 with a 2.34 ERA, while Cox hit .293 with a 0.70 ERA.. Collom should provide stability in the lineup after hitting .287. McDowell says the three senior pitchers will lead the team as they hope younger players step up as the year goes on.

Earlville/Leland Red Raiders

Coach: Dillon Reel (8th season)

Last season: 8-13 (6-6 Little Ten)

Top returning players: Declan Brennan, jr.; Aaden Browder, jr.; Hayden Spoonmore, jr.; Lane Rohrer, so.; Landen Tirevold, sr.

Top newcomers: Alex Portillo, fr.

Worth noting: For the past two seasons, the Red Raiders have been playing a lot of underclassmen in key roles. This year, Earlville/Leland will have a lot of upperclassmen in the starting lineup, and Reel hopes that pays off. “The strength is hopefully our varsity experience,” Reel said. “All of our juniors and Landen Tirevold, who is a senior, have played varsity since they were freshmen. Hopefully that experience of seeing 80 mph-plus pays off. The jump from eighth grade to freshman is probably the biggest jump you can make. To be able to see that for two years and develop by only seeing varsity level pitching I think is going to be one of our biggest strengths.” Spoonmore, who scored 14 runs and stole 17 bases last year, will likely lead off. Brennan is expected to play a key role offensively after he was limited to 12 games last spring due to a broken leg. He hit .313 with a .438 slugging percentage and was an all-conference pick last year. Browder will once again lead the pitching staff after striking out 66 batters in 51 2/3 innings with a 2.43 ERA last spring. He was all-conference as a sophomore. The Red Raiders look to once again increase their win total after improving from four wins two years ago to eight last spring. “I expect to be over .500 just to continue that growth,” Reel said. “We’ve doubled our wins every year (the juniors) have been in the program.”

Newark Norsemen

Coach: Josh Cooper (7th season)

Last season: 12-21 (10-2 Little Ten co-champs)

Top returning players: Eastin McBroom, so., P/IF; David Ulrich, jr., P/C/OF; Toby Steffen, sr., IF; Kiptyn Bleuer, jr., OF/P; Jacob Seyller, sr., IF/OF

Top newcomers: Colin Shields, so., P/IF; Jimmy Kath, so., C/P/IF

Worth noting: McBroom, coming off a stellar freshman season, leads five key Newark players back from a conference co-championship. McBroom posted a 7-1 record with a 0.55 ERA and 74 strikeouts over 51⅓ innings, his only loss to eventual state champion Marquette in the regional final. He also hit .330 with 22 RBIs. Ulrich hit .309 with 19 RBIs while pitching 38⅓ innings with 40 strikeouts. Illinois College commit Steffen batted .281 with a .444 on-base percentage 31 runs scored. Bleuer hit .300 with a .457 OBP, scored 30 runs and stole 22 bases while also striking out 42 in 36⅓ innings. “With strong leadership guiding the culture, this group has the potential to compete for another conference title and make a strong postseason run,” Cooper said.

Serena Huskers

Coach: Jeremy Foreman (2nd season)

Last season: 6-19 (3-9 Little Ten)

Top returning players: Payton Twait, sr., C; Ian Watkins, sr., UTL/P; Wesley Hendricks, jr., CF; Carter Meyer, jr., 1B/P; Nolan Muffler, jr., LF/3B/P; Ethan Stark, jr., RF/P; Tucker Whiteaker, so., IF/P; Nate Kelley, so., IF/P; Ryne DeBernardi, so., IF/P

Top newcomers: Cash Raikes, sr., 3B/P

Worth noting: The Huskers return a solid core from last season and hope that experience will help lead to more victories this season. “We were pretty inexperienced at the varsity level last season, which showed in our record,” Foreman said. “We lost first-team all-area and two-time all-conference pitcher Beau Raikes, but return the rest of our starting lineup. We have put an emphasis on hitting in the early-going after having several games last year that were decided by one or two runs where one or two hits would have been the difference. I believe our strength is going to be our experience that we have coming back. The boys have been eager to play competitive baseball this year, and I am excited to see what we can do this season.”

Sandwich Indians

Coach: Jason VanPelt (15th season)

Last season: 18-17 (12-2 Kishwaukee River)

Top returning players: Braden Behringer, sr., P/IF; Nick Michalek, sr., P/IF; Jeffrey Ashley, sr., C; Griffin Somlock, sr. P/OF; Nolan Oros, sr., P/OF; Brody Cole, sr., P/IF; Chase Clark, jr., P/IF; Cash White, jr., P/IF; Anthony Wade, jr., P/IF; Clayton Anderson, jr., P/IF; Arlo Budd, jr., P/OF; Waylon Michael, jr., OF

Worth noting: The Indians return all but two players from last year’s team. Leading the way is Times All-Area first-team selection Behringer, who posted a 6-1 record with a 2.01 ERA and 62 strikeouts and batted .410 with a .520 on-base percentage, nine doubles, three triples, two homers and 40 RBIs. Michalek (307 with a .457 on-base percentage and 39 runs scored; 6-2 pitching record with a 3.52 ERA and 60 strikeouts.) and Ashley (400 with a .592 on-base percentage with 57 runs) are also returning first-team all-conference selections. The Indians also anticipate the return of Clark, who started as a freshman two years ago but was limited last year due to injury. “All of our players saw good time last year and look to compete and contribute on the field this season,” VanPelt said.

Fieldcrest Knights

Coach: Mark Brown (25th season)

Last season: 13-14 (6-5 Heart of Illinois)

Top returning players: Eli Gerdes, sr.; Layten Gerdes, sr.; Lucas Anson, sr.; Lucas May, sr.; Drew Overock, jr.; Noah Anson, so.

Top newcomers: Madduc McDonough, so.; Zach Overocker, fr.; Caleb Hartley, fr.

Worth noting: The Knights return five starters from last year’s team, including four who have been two- or three-year starters. “Their experience should help us stay calm and steady throughout the year,” Brown said. “I think we have a great group of seniors who have done a fantastic job of helping our freshmen adapt already to the high school game.” Offensively, the Knights must replace Jordan Heider, who hit. 534 with three home runs, eight triples, 11 doubles, 35 runs, 10 RBIs and 30 steals last season. “I do not expect, nor am I putting pressure on, any one player to fill that gap,” Brown said. “As a team, we are focusing on quality at-bats and finding ways to keep the line moving to the next person. It is going to have to be a total team effort for us to find and have success offensively.” The pitching staff is experienced, with three starters back in Layten Gerdes (4-2, 1.75 ERA), Lucas Anson (3-2, save) and Drew Overocker (4.43 ERA). “There are five guys who we have on staff who have started for us as pitchers in the past,” Brown said. “The key will be for us to command the strike zone and pitch to outs.” Brown said he expects the Knights to be solid defensively, but added “we will have a lot of moving parts” based on who is pitching." Brown said the team’s mantra is to find a way every day. “I am excited to see what this year brings,” Brown said. “Our boys have been upbeat and focused. If we can find a way every day, I think we have a chance at being pretty solid.”

• Hart Pisani, Kevin Chlum and Josh Welge contributed to this report.