Preseason Power 25 Countdown: No. 10 New Trier

March 12, 2018
By Andy Sroka
Staff Writer

The Illinois high school season kicks off on March 12th, the first day for regular season games.

Leading up to the opening week of games we will be rolling out team previews of high school teams all across the state and across all classifications, eventually launching our Preseason Power 25.

We will bring you a snapshot of what to expect along with top players and keys to success for that particular team.

Team: New Trier
Preseason Rank: 10
2017 Record: 30-6
Conference: Central South Suburban
IHSA Class: 4A
Head Coach: Mike Napoleon
Playoff Run: Fourth place at 4A state
2017 Final Rank: 4
Returning Starters: 5
Returning Pitchers: 4

KEY PLAYERS LOST

Dylan Horvitz, C
Matthew Kann, OF (Franklin & Marshall)
Sean Douaire, OF/RHP
Kevin Donahue, SS
Thomas Nugent, RHP
Eric Nicholas, OF

TOP PLAYERS

Name	State	School	Class	Pos	Commitment
Anthony Calarco	IL	New Trier	2018	RHP/1B	Northwestern
Cam Redding	IL	New Trier	2018	C/DH	St. Louis
Payton Burch	IL	New Trier	2018	2B	Denison
Nathan Shapiro	IL	New Trier	2018	SS	Case Western
Spencer Beacom	IL	New Trier	2018	RHP	University of Chicago
Joe Bullard	IL	New Trier	2018	LHP
Henry Pelinski	IL	New Trier	2019	LHP/OF
Andrew Kost	IL	New Trier	2019	RHP
Peter Burnside	IL	New Trier	2019	RHP
Eddie Harvey	IL	New Trier	2020	OF

NEWCOMER TO WATCH

As it stands, sophomore Eddie Harvey should get an opportunity to start in center field to begin the season. The 6-foot, 195-pound, Harvey is athletic and strong for his age and has the tools to impact the Trevians lineup right away. He has sneaky pop in his bat and can go get it in the outfield.

X-FACTOR

Senior 1B/RHP Anthony Calarco. Calarco is a Northwestern commit and arguably the most talented player on the Trevians roster. The physical 6-foot-4, 200-pound, switch-hitting Calarco, handles the bat well from both sides of the plate and should hit in the middle of the order this spring. When he is not at first base he will be asked to provide some valuable innings on the mound, where he is more than capable. If Calarco plays up to his potential this spring, New Trier will be as dangerous as ever come playoff time.

Anthony Calarco (7.11.17)

OUTLOOK

The Trevians won 30 games in 2017 en route to a fourth place finish at 4A state. They were eliminated from championship contention by the eventual winners Crystal Lake South but still wound up taking home some hardware, ending their season with a fourth-place trophy. Coach Mike Napoleon is rostering a similar squad to last year’s, led by some impact position players, namely seniors Calarco, Cam Redding (St. Louis), and Payton Burch (Denison).

New Trier’s strength is in its defense. The strong, switch-hitting Calarco will probably man first base again, where he’s very athletic for the position. Redding is going to shift from designated hitter back into his natural home behind the plate where he’ll fit well, taking over for the graduated and talented Dylan Horvitz. And Burch will return as the team’s starting second baseman. Senior third baseman-turned shortstop Nathan Shapiro will attempt to fill the void left by last year’s heartbeat of the team, Kevin Donahue, who graduated. Donahue was voted team MVP, as well as a two-time selection to the all-CSL South team, and the Class-4A all-state team. He was ranked as the 18th-best shortstop of his class by our measure, so Shapiro has big shoes to fill but it’s a pair he can comfortably grow into.

Joining Donahue on that 4A all-state team from New Trier was Thomas Nugent, who also graduated after the 2017 season. Douaire, one of the team’s go-to relievers, left, too, leaving the Trevians’ pitching staff with quite a bit of turnover.

Calarco will be called upon to help the rotation, senior Spencer Beacom is prepared to step into a larger role, and Joe Bullard, the senior lefty, will grab some key innings, too. Henry Pelinski is a junior who will help the team in the outfield and at plate, as well as a lefty on the mound. Andrew Kost and Peter Burnside are two more juniors who are both in the running to aid on the Trevians inexperienced pitching staff. Many of these arms are untested in big games but their talent is capable of superseding this inexperience.

BOTTOM LINE

New Trier celebrated a very successful 2017 with a fourth-place trophy at state. Every team has to deal with the losses from its graduating class, and New Trier is no exception. They lost real talent across their pitching staff and at critical, up-the-middle positions. But, unlike most schools in the Trevians’ spot, this team has skilled players ready to step up into new roles. The right formula of returning starters -- including Redding, Calarco, Burch, Shapiro, and Beacom -- will keep the Winnetka high school formidable in 2018.

Find more information on the 2018 Trevians below:

+ Full Schedule
+ Team Website
+ Gamechanger
+ Twitter

Make sure to follow @pbrillinois on Twitter for the most up-to-date coverage throughout the season.