The Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp are a little bit less experienced and a little bit younger going into the 2026 season.

The Shrimp, who went 31-23 last summer, return only six players who have experience with the team and have 10 2026 high school graduates on the roster.

Pitchers Daniel Strohm (26 appearances, 13 starts, 64 innings pitched, 8.16 ERA, 69 strikeouts, 73 walks) and Joe Richardson (21 app, 4 GS, 44 1/3 IP, 3.86 ERA, 42 K, 24 BB) and catcher Nick Weaver (45 G, .221 batting average, 29 RBIs, 31 runs, 15 stolen bases) have played multiple seasons with the Shrimp.

Other returners are Camden Loomis (8 app, 1 GS, 14. 1/3 IP, 3.77 ERA, 15 K, 5 BB), Izzaq Zrust (12 app, 3 GS, 28 1/3 IP, 4.76 ERA, 21 K, 14 BB) and Tyler Deleskiewicz (11 app, 3 GS, 20 IP, 3.60 ERA, 18 K, 11 BB).

“We graduated a fair number of guys from last year’s team, so there’s no question we’re a younger team this year,” manager/owner John Jakiemiec said. “But I still have some solid veteran leadership, so I’m not worried.

“I expect (the returners) to set the tone in terms of how we do things here, what our culture is, how we treat the game, how we treat one another and to lead from the front when they’re in the game. Joe Richardson and Nick Weaver have been with us a long time. They had outstanding seasons for their respective schools and I expect them to have a fantastic summer. It’s great when you get guys like that who call and say they want to come back.”

The Shrimp’s recent high school graduate players are headlined by Mount Carmel first baseman Anthony Chavez and Oswego East outfielder Dominic Battista, who are both top prospects in the state. Chavez will play in college at the University of Illinois, while Battista will play at Illinois-Chicago.

The other high school players are Mount Carmel’s Joey Ireland (Illinois), East Peoria’s Ryan Ducheon (Illinois State), Brimfield’s Kaeden Schatsiek (Illinois State), Lane Tech’s Ronan Owens (UMass-Ameherst) and out-of-staters Ethan Silva (Hawaii), Jordan Walczykowski (San Diego) and Hunter Weller (San Diego) and Griffin Carney (Illinois State).

“That’s a significant number of younger guys who have not played at this level,” Jakiemiec said. “The challenge is going from being the best player on your team to being one of 40, facing guys who are 4 or 5 years older than you and playing every day and making that adjustment.

“I do think we’ve got some really good high school guys who are going to make some noise for us this summer when it’s all said and done. I think most of them are going to be contributors their very first year in college, so I’m excited to get them all in here and get going.”

IN THE HUNT

Jakiemiec expects the Shrimp to be in the mix to make the playoffs this summer after missing the postseason last year.

The Shimp open the season Tuesday at Clinton and play Quincy in Wednesday’s home opener.

“It’s a different vibe early than last year,” Jakiemiec said. “We could stumble coming out of the blocks, but I just think this team is going to be in it.”

Jakiemiec said he expects the Western Conference’s Northwest Division to be a battle. Along with the Shrimp, the division includes the Burlington Bees, Clinton LumberKings, Normal CornBelters and the Quincy Doggy Paddlers.

“I may be biased, but I do think our division is the toughest in the Prospect League,” Jakiemiec said. “Normal is significantly better this year. Clinton and Burlington are always tough. If we can get out of our division, we can make some noise at the end of the year and be one of the last teams standing. I’m excited.”

LOCAL FLAVOR

Shrimp fans will likely recognize several players on the roster who were standouts in the area during their high school careers.

The Shrimp have more than 20 players on the roster from Illinois, including six from the Illinois Valley in Loomis, an Ottawa graduate and Zrust, a Hall alumnus along with Hall’s Max Bryant, St. Bede’s Alan Spencer and Serena’s Beau Raikes and Carson Baker.

Andrew Pyszka, a Putnam County grad who plays for Illinois-Chicago, is expected to contribute later in the season after recovering from a broken hand.

“I wouldn’t say it was necessarily a conscious choice (to have more local players), but we always want to have local guys who can play at this level because it’s good for the fans, it’s good for their families and it’s good for the players,” Jakiemiec said.

‘I LIKE WHAT WE HAVE’

Jakiemiec said he doesn’t think the offense is going to be a problem this summer.

“I like what we have,” Jakiemiec said.

A pair of players from Penn State are expected to be key contributors in catcher/outfielder Jimmy Gray and shortstop Chase Roberts. Both redshirted this season.

“They’re the typical DI athlete we get a lot of who didn’t play a lot this spring for their school, but the school is counting on them next year, so this summer becomes really important for guys like that,” Jakiemiec said. “You just have to have patience with guys like that and trust their athletic ability will come through.”

Brothers Justin Szymanski (Northwestern State) and Dawson Szymanski (Louisiana Tech) also are expected to play key roles.

“I really liked what I saw from them offensively,” Jakiemiec said. “I think they’re going to be very, very good for us.”

Brayden Stufft is a catcher who hit .407 with nine home runs, 15 doubles, 63 runs, 44 RBIs and 38 steals for Northeastern Junior College and is transferring to Kansas State. He’ll start as a temporary player who could potentially be on the roster the whole season.

The Shrimp will add Illinois infielder AJ Putty for the second half of the season. Putty, who was named to the All-Big Ten Freshman Team, hit a team-best .313 with nine home runs, 13 doubles, a team-high 52 RBIs and 41 runs for the Fighting Illini this spring.

PLENTY OF ARMS

Jakiemiec expects several local products to log a lot of innings for the Shrimp in Zrust (15 app, 8 GS, 44 IP, 4-0, 5.11 ERA, 52 K, 20 BB at Des Moines Area CC), Spencer (16 app, 1 GS, 24 2/3 IP, 25 K, 16 BB at Danville Area CC) and Bryant (18 app, 8 GS, 50 IP, 5-3, 5.22 ERA, 54 K, 23 BB at Southwestern Illinois).

The Shrimp also have a graduated college senior with plenty of experience in Matt Hannafin, who started nine games, went 4-5, had a 3.91 ERA and struck out 50 batters with 17 walks in 48 1/3 innings at Dominican University.

Jakiemiec said the Shrimp will add two pitchers later in the season coming off Tommy John surgery in Cole Scott, who was redshirted at Southeast Missouri, and Carson Kuehne, who was recruited by Alabama out of high school and who Jakiemiec has had several schools contact him about.

“I’ve seen their bullpens and their schools are ready for them to come back and get active,” Jakiemiec said. “I think we’re going to have those guys in a couple weeks and they are going to really turn some heads.”

POSSIBLE PISTOL SHRIMP DRAFTEES

The Shrimp have had players drafted each summer and Jakiemiec said there are a couple players this season who could add to that list.

Tate Foxson played for the Shrimp in 2024 and will return as a temporary player this summer as he’s been invited to “a bunch of pre-draft workouts with a lot of different major league clubs,” Jakiemiec said.

Foxson will pitch in the home opener Wednesday.

Jakiemiec said Battista is getting a lot of looks from area scouts.