Jason Held has been an assistant girls basketball coach for six years and will take over as the head coach this season

Jeremy Fears Jr., a Joliet West alum and current Michigan State basketball star, threw out the ceremonial first pitch Friday at the Chicago White Sox game against the San Francisco Giants. Fears is a part of local NIL initiative funded by the White Sox.

Here is a look at some of the best softball players the area had to offer in the 2025 season, the 2025 Herald-News All-Area Softball Team.

Lisabella Dimitrijevic of Lincoln-Way Central earned her second straight Herald-News Softball Player of the Year honor after going 23-1 with a 0.47 ERA and 349 strikeouts against 29 walks.

See if your favorite player made the 2025 Herald-News All-Area Baseball Team, featuring the best of the best across the Will/Grundy County area.

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Football teams including St. Francis, Hinsdale Central, Glenbard West and Lincoln-Way East participated in a 7 on 7 tournament on Thursday, June 25, 2025 at Naperville North.

Lincoln-Way West's Conor Essenburg was the Herald-News Baseball Player of the Year last season and improved in almost every statistical category, making him an easy choice to repeat in 2025.

Jeremiah Fears, who spent the first two years of his high school career playing for Joliet West, was a star for Oklahoma last year and will now play alongside Zion Williamson and Trey Murphy. Fears was selected seventh overall in Wednesday's NBA Draft by the New Orleans Pelicans.

Lauren Dellangelo and Aniya Poindexter of Plainfield North were a part of two Class 3A state championship relay teams and are the 2025 Herald-News Girls Track and Field Athletes of the Year.