DeKalb Preps

Check out some photos from the past year of Davon Grant, 2025 Daily Chronicle Boys Athlete of the Year.

After a fourth straight 20-win season and graduation of the winningest class in school history, DeKalb is officially in rebuild mode. The Barbs have spent the summer breaking in a new group of underclassmen.

The Illinois Coaches Association held their 48th annual Senior Baseball All Star Game on Monday, June 30, 2025 at Schweickert Stadium in Peru.

Davon Grant, the Daily Chronicle's two-time Boys Athlete of the Year, faces a pivotal fork in his journey, opting for early graduation to join the Illinois football team and potentially ending his time on the Barbs' basketball team.

The DeKalb boys basketball team took on Streamwood Friday in the DeKalb Live summer boys basketball tournament at the high school.

Big boppers dominated the softball season, with school record falling and big numbers going up. We look at all the best offensive and pitching talent on the Daily Chronicle All-Area Softball Team.

DeKalb's Brodie Farrell and Kaneland's Kanon Baxley shined both at the plate and on the mound and Sycamore's Davis Collie had a monster year the plate. They are just a handful of players named to the Daily Chronicle 2025 All-Area Baseball Team.

DeKalb pitcher and outfielder Brodie Farrell was selected to the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association Class 4A All-State Team released Wednesday. DeKalb’s Cole Latimer and Jackson Kees, and Kaneland’s Preston Popovich were honorable mention selections.

School records, freshman phenoms and lockdown defenders - we honor the best players with the Daily Chronicle 2025 Girls Soccer All-Area Team.

Fresh off a strong season with 20 wins, the DeKalb girls are poised for more breakthroughs. With four returning starters and promising newcomers, coach Brad Bjelk is stressing growth and efficiency during the team's summer slate.

Huntley faces DeKalb in the IHSA Class 4A Sectional Semifinal softball game on Wednesday, June 4, 2025, at Barrington High School in Barrington.

Ava McFadden had three hits, including a home run, as Huntley advanced to the Class 4A Barrington Sectional final with a 6-1 win over DeKalb on Wednesday, ending the Barbs' most successful season in almost a decade.

It took less than a year from Brittney Patrick to go from 'Ew, I hate it,' about coaching to loving it. The DeKalb native and Bolingbrook grad just joined Jacey Brooks' staff at NIU.

Aidan Wyzard and Dylan Hodges won state titles and help Sycamore claim the team points crown on Saturday at the Class 2A boys track and field state championships. Indian Creek, Kaneland and DeKalb also had medalists.

A.J. Putty had a key hit late to spark Huntley past DeKalb for a regional title. The Barbs' got a strong pitching performance from Brodie Farrell and a homer from Cole Latimer in the loss.

Aidan Wyzard qualified in four events and Dylan Hodges in three as Sycamore will be represented in 11 events on Saturday in the state finals, while DeKalb softball won its first regional title since 2016.

Three Indian Creek athletes advanced in the IHSA Class 1A state boys track and field meet along with state tennis and regional baseball results in Thursday's Daily Chronicle roundup.

The DeKalb baseball team rolled past Jefferson, DeKalb softball used a late rally to continue its season, and Brynn Woods' gem powered Kaneland softball.

We take a look at each Daily Chronicle-area competitor at the boys track and field state championships and what to expect at the tournament.

The Class 3A and 4A baseball and softball playoffs are set to begin this week. We check in on where DeKalb, Sycamore and Kaneland stand heading into the postseason.

Alyssa Stacy was stumped. For some reason, one she couldn’t figure out, the Sycamore sprinter couldn’t drop times on the track last year. Saturday, she earned Class 2A state medals in the two sprint races, while Genoa-Kingston's 4x100 relay also earned a state medal.

Genoa-Kingston's winningest girls soccer season came to an end, DeKalb boys tennis sent two doubles teams to the state tournament and more in the roundup.

Cary-Grove junior Logan Abrams, who had foot surgery last November, is "almost there" as he showed in the Class 3A Huntley Boys Track and Field Sectional Thursday. He won the shot put and discus, convincingly, while Kaneland comfortably won the team title.

Local athletes compete in the Huntley IHSA Class 3A Boys Sectional Track and Field Meet on Thursday, May 22, 2025, at Huntley High School.

A day after DeKalb scored 17 runs, Allie Abell tossed a three-hitter and became the first pitcher to shutout the Barbs this season in a 4-0 win for Dixon on Tuesday.

The Dixon softball team traveled to DeKalb Thursday to face the Barbs in a nonconference matchup.

Illinois commit and DeKalb rising senior Davon Grant leads a talented group of returning football players in the Daily Chronicle area next season. We look at five, most of whom have D-I offers under their belts already.

Aidan Wyzard qualified for state in four events as Sycamore won its sectional, DeKalb softball beat Metea Valley in a slugfest and more in the roundup.

We take a look at all the area girls track qualifiers, including three-time qualifier Natasha Bianchi of Genoa-Kingston and two-time qualifier Alyssa Stacy of Sycamore.

Both Kaneland and DeKalb were struggling to get runs across the plate Saturday until Natalie Naab came through with a two-out, two-run single in the top of the eighth that gave the Knights a 3-1 win.

Huntley, with 159 points, easily rolled to the Class 3A Huntley sectional championship Wednesday night. Dominique Johnson paced the Red Raiders with first-place efforts in the triple jump and long jump.

Sycamore and DeKalb sent girls track athletes threw to state, Avery Boehne tossed a perfect game as Indian Creek topped Hiawatha, Kaneland baseball finished its sweep of La Salle-Peru, and more in the roundup.

Avery Boehne hit for the cycle in Indian Creek's win, Brynn Woods homered for Kaneland and more in the roundup.

A Sycamore-DeKalb soccer match that came down to one goal. An Interstate 8 girls track championship that came down to the final few races. There was no shortage of great games this weekend, and with that came outstanding performances. Here’s a look at a few of the best.

Cortni Kruizenga took a feed from Izzie Segreti and punched it home the game's only goal in Sycamore's win over DeKalb in El Classicorn on Saturday.

Erica Swan spent five years as Genoa-Kingston’s head softball coach before taking over at DeKalb this season. Her players were well aware of this when the Barbs headed north to take on the Cogs, posting four runs to break open a tie game in the fifth inning of a 7-3 victory.

The Genoa-Kingston softball team hosted DeKalb Thursday in a matchup of two DeKalb County teams.

The girls soccer playoff brackets are set. So as the season winds down, we take a peak at how the postseason lines up for the Daily Chronicle area teams.

With the DeKalb vs. Sycamore baseball and softball games in the book after this weekend, we take a look at four hidden plays that made a difference in the two games.

Sawyer Valdez drove in two runs and allowed three hits in 4⅓ innings on the hill to help Sycamore knock off rival DeKalb 7-4 on Saturday.

Sycamore starter Addison Dierschow retired 13 of the last 16 DeKalb batters, seven on strikeouts, as the Spartans came back for an 11-3 win over DeKalb in a rain-shortened rivalry game on Friday.

The Sycamore softball team traveled to DeKalb Friday afternoon to take on the Barbs.

Brodie Farrell launched the ball over the fence in left-center, breaking a tie and giving DeKalb a 4-3 win against Naperville Central in the opening game of a DuPage Valley Conference series.

The DeKalb baseball team welcomed Naperville Central Monday for a DuPage Valley Conference matchup.

Sycamore's Luke Curtis leads the Spartans to a 4-3 win over DeKalb in thrilling rivalry match. DeKalb's Ryan Lottes and Matthew Williams stayed hot with their third win of the week at No. 1 doubles.

The DeKalb boys tennis team made the short trip to Sycamore High School Thursday to take on the Spartans.

Riley Silvers’ home run with two outs in the third inning broke up Cassidy Cavazos’ no-hitter and set the stage for Naperville Central’s comeback in an 8-4 win over DeKalb on Wednesday.

The DeKalb softball team welcomed DuPage Valley Conference foe Naperville Central Wednesday afternoon.

Elizabeth Davis homered in a Genoa-Kingston victory, Ellie Peck pitched a gem in a Kaneland loss, plus more in Tuesday's Daily Chronicle sports roundup.

After starting the season undefeated through 12 games, DeKalb ran into a couple of hiccups. But a dominant pitching performance by Brodie Farrell got things back on track for DeKalb Tuesday. He struck out 12 in an 11-1 win in six innings against Naperville North.