Preseason Power 25 Countdown: No. 14 Mundelein

Johnny Buckner, RHP (Lake County CC)
Will Michalski, RHP (Wisconsin-Oshkosh)
Brendan Murphy, LHP/1B (MLB Draft: Brewers, 4th-round)

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Believe it or not, four years with one of the best players in the state, LHP Brendan Murphy (MLB Draft: Brewers, 4th round), will help any team reach four straight sectionals. He was their best hitter and one of the state’s best pitchers last season. He hit over .500 for Mundelein but was more importantly the arm they could most often rely upon to soak up easy outs in their biggest games of the season. He was named to PBR’s First Team All-State two years in a row for his junior and senior accomplishments.

State runner-ups in 2016, the Mustangs’ atypical defensive miscues cost them another shot at the title in last year’s super-sectionals against the eventual champs Crystal Lake South. As good as Mundelein has been over the past six seasons, they’ve gone without the grand prize of earning a state championship. It just goes to show you how difficult winning that honor is.

What will make Mundelein’s march back to state this spring even more laborious in 2018 is that they’ll be doing it this time without their 23-year veteran head coach Todd Parola, who won over 600 from Mustangs’ dugout since he took over in 1995. The good news is Randy Lerner, an assistant of Parola’s for the past 11 seasons, is taking over, so the Mustangs will maintain some familiarity on the coaching staff.

Murphy aside, Mundelein is going to need depth behind its ace Sanchez. He and Murphy combined to headline one of the fiercest rotations in Illinois for the past few years, but on his own Sanchez is more than capable of anchoring the front of this staff.

After Sanchez, things get a little more thin. It’s a wonder who exactly will become the Mustangs’ de facto No. 2. Senior SS Ryan Patel is set to eat some innings on the mound this year, same with fellow senior OF Ethan Ekstrom. But after that, there appear to be many jobs up for grabs within this pitching staff. The sophomore righty Greco is all primed for an expanded role. He was mostly used as a reliever last season but he has the makings of useful arm in a starting role. Senior LHP Jeff Morton, junior RHP's Justin Binz and TJ Yakimisky are all capable in adding quality depth on the mound. 

Offensively, the Mustangs are actually returning quite a bit of talent, including two three-year varsity starters: OF Jeff Morton (Triton JC) and 2B Drew Breitenreiter. The aforementioned Patel will return to shortstop, where he looks best, and senior C Mason Schaller will be the handling Sanchez & Co. from behind the plate. But if it isn’t Schaller receiving on any particular day, it’ll probably be Swiss Army knife senior Ben Holly (Carroll). He’s going to catch, DH, and play the occasional third base for the Mustangs this spring. The aforementioned Binz and Yakimisky should also compete for playing time as well.