The Northwest Herald baseball preview will appear in print next week with top players to watch and info on every local team. Until then, here are five storylines to watch in McHenry County for the 2026 season.

What will McHenry do for an encore?

The Warriors had the best season in program history last year, capping it off with a berth in the Class 4A state championship game. While they lost to Libertyville 4-1, it was their best finish ever.

Led by hard-throwing righty Brandon Shannon, who set school records for career wins (26) and single-season strikeouts (111), McHenry finished 36-5-1, putting together winning streaks of eight, 10 and 14 games. The Warriors also won the Fox Valley Conference championship.

While Shannon is now pitching for the University of Louisville, McHenry is still loaded. The Warriors feature two NCAA Division-I commits in junior pitcher/third baseman Kaden Wasniewski (Louisiana State), whose fastball hits the mid-90s (mph), and junior middle infielder Landon Clements (Illinois-Chicago). Plus, switch-hitting center fielder Carver Cohn might have been the best freshman in Illinois last year.

McHenry graduated pitchers who threw a combined 190 innings, but the lineup should be produce plenty of runs with Wasniewski (.331 BA, 14 extra-base hits), Clements (.333 BA, 8 2B, 20 SB), Cohn (.378 BA, 18 extra-base hits, 27 RBI, 18 SB, school-record 61 R) and senior outfielder/pitcher Jeffry Schwab (.296 BA, 28 RBI, 22 SB).

Who’s the team to beat in FVC?

McHenry sure looks like the favorite to capture the FVC for the second year in a row, but every coach in the conference will tell you it is one of the best in the state year in and year out.

“The FVC will be loaded again this year with five or six teams that have a legitimate shot of winning the FVC title,” said Huntley coach Andy Jakubowski, whose team’s seven-year reign in the FVC ended last year. “Teams from the FVC will definitely be battle-tested, and there should be some teams that will make long playoff runs.”

Prairie Ridge was in the FVC race until the final week of the season last year. The Wolves finished second in the final season for IHSBCA Hall of Fame coach Glen Pecoraro, but they were hit hard by graduation, as were Huntley and Cary-Grove. Huntley had won the FVC every year since 2017, while C-G finished fourth in Class 3A last year. Austin Padjen has replaced Pecoraro as Prairie Ridge’s coach.

Watch for Crystal Lake South, a 25-game winner last year, which boasts two D-I commits in senior lefty Devin DeLoach (NIU) and junior shortstop/pitcher Carson Trivellini (Illinois).

Can Johnsburg light it up again?

Johnsburg was maybe the feel-good story of last season. The Skyhawks debuted their new lights and artificial turf, and the product on the field was equally impressive.

Johnsburg went from winning six games in 2024 to 24 wins under first-year coach Eric Toussaint. Along the way, the Skyhawks won the Kishwaukee River Conference championship and advanced to the Class 2A Mendota Sectional final.

They graduated ace Evan Pohl (MCC) and several other key contributors, but they return senior pitcher/shortstop Ashton Stern, who committed to Carthage College this week, and rock-solid catcher Jack Thompson.

Who will be the Player of the Year?

There will be a new Northwest Herald Baseball Player of the Year after the graduation of McHenry’s Shannon, who put together a 12-0 record with a 0.82 ERA in leading the Warriors to a runner-up finish in the 2025 Class 4A state tournament.

The only All-Area first-team selection who did not graduate is McHenry’s Cohn, who put together a memorable freshman campaign. The switch-hitting center fielder batted leadoff and showed off five tools. He hit .378 with 10 doubles, four triples, four homers (two grand slams), 27 RBIs, 18 stolen bases and a school-record 61 runs, and his speed allowed him to blanket the outfield.

All-Area second-team selections who return this season are Crystal Lake Central junior pitcher Danny Adams, Jacobs senior shortstop Andrew Deegan (Belmont), South’s Trivellini and McHenry’s Wasniewski.

Honorable mention selections who are back this season are Woodstock North senior outfielder Braeden Berner, Marian Central junior outfielder Jaxson Christensen, McHenry junior shortstop Landon Clements, Huntley junior pitcher Sean Dabe, Dundee-Crown junior catcher Ikey Grzynkowicz, Marengo senior first baseman Brady Kentgen, Woodstock senior shortstop Sonny Marsalla (Kishwaukee), Richmond-Burton senior third baseman/catcher Cooper Nagel, Harvard senior outfielder Logan Nulle, Hampshire senior shortstop Shane Pfeiffer (Elgin), Dundee-Crown senior outfielder Ryan Pierce and Johnsburg’s Stern (Carthage).

Will a local team make it to state again?

McHenry County had two teams advance to state last spring. McHenry finished second in Class 4A, while Cary-Grove took fourth in Class 3A.

Two years ago, Crystal Lake Central won the Class 3A state championship after entering the tournament with a 15-14 record.

The best candidate to make it to state this year would be McHenry, but there are always teams that surprise in the postseason, especially in the FVC. Cary-Grove and Crystal Lake Central are the latest examples.