Player of the year
Ethan Storm, sr., P/OF, Sycamore
First team
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Nate Nunez, jr., C/SS, DeKalb - Nunez led the Barbs in batting by a wide margin, hitting .462 with a 1.075 OPS. He drove in 18 runs, scored 17 times and was All-DuPage Valley Conference for the second straight year.
Byron Blaise, sr., C, Sycamore - Blaise hit .333 with five home runs and 33 RBIs for the Spartans this year. He also was a key factor behind the plate handling a dominant Sycamore pitching staff.
Martin Ledbetter, fr., C/P, Hinckley-Big Rock - In his first year, Ledbetter made an impact as a unanimous all-conference selection in the Little Ten after hitting .507 with an OPS of 1.576. He hit a school-record six home runs and also led the team in runs (35), RBIs (32), batting average, stolen bases (19) and BABIP (batting average on balls in play, .651)
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Tommy Townsend, jr., 1B/P, Sycamore - Not only did Townsend lead the team in home runs (nine), RBIs (40) and OPS (1.353), but he also had the second-best batting average at .434. He also was the team’s closer, notching seven saves with a 0.61 ERA, striking out 34 in 23 innings.
Johnny Spallasso, jr., SS, Kaneland - Spallasso hit .309 on the year and was an All-Interstate 8 Conference first-team selection. He hit a home run, drove in 20 runs and scored 36 times.
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Owen Piazza, jr., 3B, Sycamore - Piazza hit .388 with five home runs and 28 RBIs, scoring 33 times and racking up a 1.055 OPS. Batting second most of the year, his 40 hits were third on the team.
Declan Creadon, sr., 3B/P, Genoa-Kingston – Creadon hit .381 this year with a homer and 14 RBIs. He was an All-Big Northern Conference first-team selection.
Jack Keck, sr., 3B/SS, DeKalb – Keck hit .377 and led the Barbs with three home runs. He drove in 19 and scored 13 times with a team-best 1.208 OPS and was All-DVC special mention.
Ben Jourdan, sr., IF/OF, Hinckley-Big Rock – Playing everywhere on the field except third base, he fielded his various positions at a 98% clip on 110 total chances. He also hit .343 on the year.
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Kiefer Tarnoki, jr., CF, Sycamore – The table setter at the top of the Sycamore lineup, Tarnoki hit a team-best .448 for the Spartans, who reached a Class 3A supersectional. He had a 1.188 OPS, hit a home run and scored 40 times while driving in 19.
Parker Violett, so., OF, Kaneland – Violett led the Knights with a .340 batting average, blasted seven home runs and had an OPS of 1.094. He drove in 33 runs, scored 38 times and was an All-Interstate 8 Conference selection.
Alex Panico, jr., OF, Kaneland – Panico set a school record with 40 stolen bases. He hit .312 with a home run and had an on-base percentage of .488, mostly out of the leadoff spot for the Knights.
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Griffin Hallahan, sr., P/OF, Sycamore – Hallahan hit .347 this year and shined as the Spartans’ No. 2 starter. He went 5-3 with a 2.12 ERA, striking out 76 and walking 23 in 43 innings. He led the team, throwing a strike on 68.7% of his first pitches.
Logan Kottmeyer, sr., P, Kaneland – An All-Interstate 8 selection, Kottmeyer went 4-4 on the year with a 3.07 ERA. He struck out 66 in 52 1/3 innings and walked only 16 batters.
Honorable mention
Jackson Kees, fr., P/SS, DeKalb; Bryson Buhk, sr., 1B, DeKalb; Nolan Perry, jr., SS, Genoa-Kingston; Ben Younker, sr., 3B/P, Genoa-Kingston; Ben Hintzsche, jr., SS/P, Hinckley-Big Rock; Elliot McGuire, sr., P, Hinckley-Big Rock; Anthony Campise, so., DH, Kaneland; Sam Genslinger, jr., P, Indian Creek; Jimmy Amptmann, jr., DH, Sycamore; Joey Puleo, jr., 2B, Sycamore; Nik Nelson, fr., P/INF, Indian Creek; Jeffrey Probst, so., OF/P, Indian Creek