Prep Baseball Report

Illinois Class of 2020 Rankings Updated


By Drew Locascio
Illinois Scouting Director

Over the past few weeks we have updated the Illinois rankings, starting with the 2018 class. Today we unveil the updated and expanded class of 2020 rankings. The No. 1 in the class stays the same and the only changes in the top 10 come from two infielders who had impressive falls.

Jack MahoneyRHP/SS Jack Mahoney (St. Viator), a South Carolina commit, remains the top player in Illinois. The two-way standout has been at the top of the class ever since his scintillating performance at the Future Games. Mahoney attended the event as a shortstop but had all the coaches in attendance buzzing over his one-inning stint on the mound. Mahoney pounded the strike zone with a fastball that sat 86-88 mph, touching 89 and flashed a 75 mph slider that is a true out pitch.

Dynamic infielder Christian Knapczyk (Joliet Catholic) vaults up to No. 2 in the class after multiple strong showings this fall. The Louisville commit, more than held his own against players two years his senior at the PBR Fall Championship and in Jupiter. The left-handed hitter is the ultimate spark plug at the top of the lineup, providing speed and highly advanced bat-to-ball skills. Defensively, he has all of the attributes to stick at shortstop. Ranges extremely well to both sides, has plenty of arm strength, plays with bounce and has a high baseball IQ.

Christian Knapczyk (9.17.17)

The other infielder to make noise at the top of the class is INF/RHP Alec Gonzalez (Mount Carmel), who now sits at No. 5. Like Knapczyk, Gonzalez stood out multiple times this fall and looks to be one of the top uncommitted 2020 prospects in the Midwest. The 6-foot-1, 180-pounder is an advanced defender with athletic actions and agility. He has soft, sure hands and a strong, accurate arm. Ultimately he may profile best at third base where his bat projects to be more than enough for that position. The right-handed hitter, takes consistent, competitive at-bats and can handle velocity. He has poise in the box and hunts the fastball. On top of that, Gonzalez is highly-intriguing on the mound. In a quick bullpen this fall he pounded the strike zone with an 84-86 fastball, touching 87. His breaking ball is thrown with conviction, showing tight spin and late action at 73-76.

The rest of the Top 10 stayed largely intact with 1B Drake Westcott (Edwardsville), RHP Ben Wiegman (Carmel Catholic), LHP Noah DeLuga (Lake Zurich), C Trevor Davis (Danville) and OF Marquis Jackson (Brother Rice) rounding out the list.

Top 10

RANK   NAME STATE SCHOOL CLASS POS COMMITMENT
1 Jack Mahoney IL St. Viator 2020 RHP South Carolina
2 Christian Knapczyk IL Joliet Catholic 2020 SS Louisville
3 Briar Stinson IL Rushville-Industry 2020 OF Kentucky
4 Edward Howard IV IL Mount Carmel 2020 SS Oklahoma
5 Alec Gonzalez IL Mount Carmel 2020 SS  
6 Drake Westcott IL Edwardsville 2020 1B Louisville
7 Ben Wiegman IL Carmel Catholic 2020 RHP Louisville
8 Noah DeLuga IL Lake Zurich 2020 LHP  
9 Trevor Davis IL Danville 2020 C  
10 Marquis Jackson IL Brother Rice 2020 OF Oklahoma

Stay tuned over the next couple of days as we touch on a few notable risers and newcomers in the class.

CLICK HERE for the complete Illinois 2020 Rankings.

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