Sauk Valley Baseball 5 Players to Watch in 2026

Shaw Local

Here are five of the top returning baseball players to watch in the Sauk Valley area this season as the 2026 season gets underway.

Garret Matznick, Newman, sr., SS

Matznick is the reigning SVM Player of the Year, an Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association All-State pick in Class 2A and All-Three Rivers Athletic Conference East unanimous first-team selection. He hit .381 with a .529 OBP, 1.037 OPS, 45 hits, 13 doubles, 33 walks, 51 runs scored, 25 RBIs and a school-record 49 stolen bases.

He was just one run and one walk short of Brendan Tunink’s single-season school records of 52 runs scored and 34 walks. He was 6 for 6 in save situations on the mound, helping the Comets reach state for the third straight year. Matznick is a Kaskaskia College commit.

Newman’s Garret Matznick is the Sauk Valley Media 2025 baseball player of the year. — Newman’s Garret Matznick (Alex T. Paschal)

Chase Dykstra, Fulton, sr., P

He was an IHSBCA All-State pick in Class 1A, a unanimous All-NUIC West first-team selection who was 6-1 on the mound with 126 strikeouts in 67⅓ innings and a 0.73 ERA. He hit .426 with a 1.059 OPS and 20 RBIs for a Steamers team that reached the Elite Eight. Dykstra is an Iowa Central Community College commit.

Fulton's Chase Dykstra pitches against Rockford Lutheran at the 1A Lena-Winslow Sectional last season. The Steamers won the game 4-1 to advance to Saturday's sectional final. (Earleen Hinton)

Kendall Erdmann, Forreston, sr., SS/P

He was an All-NUIC North first-team pick and hit .400 with an area-best 50 hits, including 26 RBIs, 50 runs scored and 15 stolen bases last season. Erdmann also went 3-1 as a pitcher with 51 strikeouts and two saves in 42 innings pitched.

Forreston's Kendall Erdmann pitches in relief against Lena-Winslow last season at Forreston High School. (Earleen Hinton)

Evan Bushman, Newman, sr., P/IF

Bushman was an All-TRAC East first-team selection who went 9-1 in 12 starts with a 3.13 ERA and 45 strikeouts in 71.2 innings pitched last season. He’s lost just twice on the mound the last two seasons, both setbacks coming at the state tournament. Newman has taken home two fourth-place trophies the past two seasons and took third in 2023.

Newman’s Evan Bushman fires a pitch against Chicago Hope last season during the Class 2A Supersectional at Northwestern Medicine Field in Geneva. (Alex T. Paschal)

Eli Penne, Sterling, sr., P/IF

Penne was the team’s opening day starter this season and got the win after five innings pitched with one unearned run allowed. He posted a 1.93 earned-run average last season in 61.1 innings pitched. Penne is a University of Wisconsin-Platteville recruit.