Five baseball storylines to watch in Kane County for the 2025 season

The first pitch of the 2025 baseball season has been thrown, but the fun is just beginning. Here are five storylines to watch in Kane County for the 2025 season.

A new look for St. Charles North

St. Charles North had a memorable 2024 season, which saw the North Stars win a DuKane Conference championship and a regional championship for the first time since 2021. Along the way Hall of Fame coach Todd Genke surpassed the 500 career win mark.

But in order for the North Stars to repeat that success in 2025, they’ll have to do it with some new faces in the dugout.

The North Stars had 16 players graduate at the end of last season, including Kane County Chronicle Player of the Year Josh Caccia, and only have four players with varsity experience returning for the 2025 season.

But Genke, who’s entering his 20th season at the helm at North, isn’t too worried about the predicament.

With a pitching core headlined by junior Keaton Reinke and sophomore Matt Ritchie, as well as a plethora of versatile athletes like senior Ty Heimbuch leading the way for the newcomers, Genke said that he’s hoping that the team will be ready to carry on the tradition of winning that’s helped the North Stars finish with a winning record in all but one season under Genke.

Geneva also faces major roster reconstruction

The North Stars aren’t the only DuKane Conference team that’ll showcase plenty new faces on their roster.

Geneva, who finished third in the conference a season ago, faced a similar situation at the end of the 2024 season after having 17 players graduate, including all of its primary starters.

While coach Brad Wendell isn’t too worried about the young core that’s coming in to fill in the field, his main concern is with the lack of experience on the mound. The Vikings enter the season with only 29⅓ innings of varsity experience shared between senior Miles Dibble (11⅔ innings last season) and junior Blake Kopec (17⅔ innings).

And while the Vikings will be bringing in plenty of new pitchers in the early games, including sophomore Mason Bruesch and senior Sophia Broderick, Wendell knows that the pitching staff will need to develop quickly to be ready to take on the DuKane Conference.

Batavia, St. Charles East look to make leap in conference standings

While the top teams of the DuKane Conference from a season ago face some major changes in their rosters, a few teams that finished in the middle of the pack are hoping to make the leap in 2025.

One team that will see that opportunity is St. Charles East. After finishing 14-14 and fourth place in the conference in their first year under Derek Sutor, the Saints returned multiple starters both on offense and defense, including college commits Joey Arend (Xavier), Matt Steinberg (Manhattan) and Nathan Beers (North Central College).

Batavia is another team that has a chance to make a splash in the conference standings. While the Bulldogs, who were sixth in the conference standings last year, did see some loss in the offensive department, they did return a good chunk of their pitchers, which includes Eastern Illinois commit Gavin Rosengren and Northern Illinois commit Connar Temple.

Both teams will also be looking to secure their second regional title in three seasons after losing in the regional championship last year.

Kaneland’s Aversa nearing another milestone

Longtime Kaneland coach Brian Aversa has picked up several accolades in his first 17 seasons at the helm.

From being inducted into the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association (IHSBCA) Hall of Fame on Jan. 11, to helping the Knights win their first-ever state championship back in 2011, he’s seen his fair share of milestones since his first season with the Knights in 2007.

And he’s one win away from picking up another: 400 career wins.

Aversa currently sits at 399 wins, and will be looking to square the milestone away in the early parts of the season. The Knights' season is set to open March 24 at home against Aurora Christian then play March 26 at Wheaton Academy.

Can St. Francis make a run at the Chicago Catholic League title?

Prior to the 2024 season, St. Francis made the move to leave the Metro Suburban Conference to take on the Chicago Catholic League.

In its first baseball season in the new conference, the Spartans went 7-6 to finish fifth in the Blue division, breaking a streak of four straight seasons of either winning the conference or coming in second.

So with a year of experience in the CCL, can St. Francis get back to its winning ways and work its way to the top of the conference?

The Spartans boast a roster filled with college-level talent, including All-Area recipient and Missouri Southern commit Joey Gainer (batted .383 last season), Webster commit Colt Armbrust (batter .366 and recorded 1.67 ERA on mound) and St. Xavier commit Zack Maduzia (hit .356).

Spartans coach Tom Ciombor said that the combination of talent, along with a tough nonconference schedule against teams like Benet and Nazareth will have the team ready to take on the conference.