The Illinois high school baseball season kicks off on March 11, opening day for regular season action under IHSA regulations. Over the next two weeks, leading up to opening day, we’ll be publishing our team previews ahead of the 2024 spring season, touching on programs spanning all state classifications, counting down through the official Prep Baseball Illinois Preseason Power 25 Rankings.

Perennially, we’ve submitted a preseason questionnaire to high school head coaches across the entire state. Their responses have been flooding in and we’re using the detailed insight they’ve provided in our team-by-team preseason analysis.

Our 2024 preseason coverage continues today.

High School: O’Fallon Panthers
Head Coach: Joe Bauer
Classification: 4A
Conference: Southwestern
2023 Record (Finish): 25-9 (Sectional Semi-Finals appearance)
Key Players Lost: Will Millard (2023; Hillsdale College), OF Haidyn McGill (2023; John Wood CC), INF Xavier Deatherage (2023; John Wood CC). 

ROSTER PREVIEW

No. of Returning Positional Starters: Three
No. of Returning Pitchers: Five
Team Strengths: Pitching depth. 

ROSTER TABLE

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X-FACTOR

RHP Connor Blue (O’Fallon, 2025; Cincinnati commit) is one of the top arms in the Illinois  2025 class. His entire arsenal is highly conducive to missing bats, starting with one of the best breaking balls in the entire state; a real swing-and-miss curveball at 75-77 mph that he’ll have success with against any hitter in any count. We saw Blue sit 88-91 mph in a ‘pen this winter and he’s starting to throw a diving changeup in the low-80s that’s going to bolster his arsenal as a whole. Last year, as a sophomore, Blue punched out 68 batters over 51 innings on the hill with a 1.78 ERA. Additionally, Blue was also one of the Panthers’ top offensive performers last year - a title he’ll hold this year too - reaching base at above a .400 clip with a .289 batting average. 

NEWCOMER TO WATCH

Expected to handle a bulk amount of the duties behind the dish for O’Fallon is C/1B Keegan Seipp, a highly physical left-handed bat that’s one of the top prospects in the state’s 2027 class. Seipp’s blend of polish and power make him a real candidate to impact the middle of this lineup right away, as he’s routinely shown our staff the ability to produce high level impact in a game setting. How he handles the litany of arms that the Panthers will trot out on a game-to-game basis may ultimately be more important than his bat, but look for Seipp to be a positive, welcomed contributor to this team in 2024. 

OUTLOOK 

Located just outside St. Louis in the Metro East, O’Fallon has consistently been a name-to-know program at the 4A classification. The Panthers went to state in 2021 and year-over-year, under head coach Joe Bauer, have a club capable of making a return to Joliet.

It’s possible that this Panthers’ club has the top pitching staff in the state, in terms of talent and depth that trickle down throughout the roster. It starts at the top, however, with RHP David Barker (2024; Arkansas State signee) and Blue, who we highlighted above, as each of them were spectacular last season for the Panthers: 

+ Barker paced this club with 59 ⅔ innings in his junior year, pitching to a 1.17 ERA and 1.01 WHIP with 55 strikeouts. He’s a lean, loose-bodied 6-foot-4, 175-pound athlete who's fastball plays in the upper-80s to low-90s with a real swing-and-miss slider, though he’s highly effective at inducing weak contact. 

RHP Jack Velino (2024) and RHP Michael Barker (2024; Arkansas State signee) are two other strong candidates that’ll draw starts for O’Fallon. Velino consistently fills up the strike zone with a low-80s fastball and he can really spin a breaking ball too, excelling last spring over 39 ⅓ innings to the tune of a 2.31 ERA with 40 strikeouts and 12 walks. Like his twin brother, Barker is a long, lean-limbed athlete that’s reportedly ticked up in stuff this winter and also has an arsenal capable of missing bats. 

The depth comes in bunches now, starting with two seniors in RHP Alex Tame (2024; Lincoln Land CC) and RHP Evan Day (2024; SWIC). Tame works in the zone consistently and did so over 12 appearances in 2023, posting a 2.71 ERA over 20 ⅓ innings on the hill. Day was a winner from the Southern Illinois Preseason ID in late February, pumping strikes with a fastball at 83-84 mph while showing an above-average slider in that look. RHP Alexander Ross (2025) is another upperclass arm to know on this staff. 

O’Fallon’s current sophomore class, as in their 2026 grads, has a chance to impact this year’s group and create an incredible foundation for years to come as well. It’s a multitude of arms that are all plenty talented and have the stuff to consistently get outs at the varsity level, and we saw all of them this winter at one point or another: 

Dylan Jantz RHP / O’Fallon, IL / 2026 From 2/14/24: "...a highly physical 6-foot-6, 215-pound athlete Jantz came away from this event as a winner after an impressive ‘pen. Jantz cleaned up his delivery and arm action since this same event last year, now moving in a cleaner, more polished pattern down the mound. His fastball played at an easy 85-86 mph for strikes with presumably plenty more to come given his size and low-effort operation. Jantz’s changeup flashed late tumble and fade at 74-75 mph and he spun a slider in the low-70s as well."

Anthony Perez OF / O'Fallon, IL / 2026 From 2/14/24: "...is a follow left/left athlete with a lean, projectable 6-foot-2, 165-pound frame. Perez showed a loose, athletic, and level left-handed swing in BP that flashed line drive feel to the pull-side in BP. He was up to 88 mph from the outfield, the day’s third-highest mark, with a loose clean arm action. Perez took the rubber later on and pitched at 83-84 mph with his fastball while flashing feel to land his slider for strikes at 75-76 mph."

Sam McCollum OF / O'Fallon, IL / 2026 From 2/14/24: "...is a sophomore to follow with tools on both sides of the ball. A strong-bodied 5-foot-11, 180-pound athlete, McCollum ran a 7.10 60-yard dash, improving on the 7.54 mark he ran last year, and he was up to 89 mph from the outfield, which tied for the second-highest mark of the day. Offensively, he worked mostly line drives to the pull-side from a strong, level right-handed swing. On the mound, McCollum pitched at 84-86 mph with a firm 79-80 mph changeup and he spun a lateral slider at 75-77 mph as well."

Kaleb Weber RHP / O'Fallon, IL / 2026 From 2/20/24: "...has plenty of projection to come on a long-limbed 6-foot-3, 170-pound frame. He worked exclusively from the stretch and is an athletic mover on the mound with a full arm path to pair. Weber’s fastball came out of his hand clean, topping out at 85.5 mph, and sitting mostly 83-85 mph throughout his ‘pen. He mixed in a mid-70s slider with tight, horizontal break, and a change-up in the upper-70s with slight arm-side fade. Weber’s frame, control of his levers, and current make-up are all positives, and he’s a follow arm in the state’s 2026 class."

Tyson Filyaw OF / O'Fallon, IL / 2026 From 2/20/24: "...a lean, lanky 6-foot-1, 188-pound athlete Filyaw pitched at 83-85 mph with his fastball in his ‘pen. He flashed feel to land a short wrinkle 69-79 mph curveball for strikes, while limiting spin and lift on a 72-75 mph changeup."

Where the key departures are for this club come on offense, as the Panthers will be without several key contributors from last year’s team and the key to their season may ultimately be how much they’re able to replace that offensive production. 

Blue, as mentioned above, is going to be one of this team’s main offensive pillars, just like he was last year. INF Grant Tebbe (2024; John Wood CC) saw a large chunk of the reps at shortstop last spring and hit .273 and reached base at a .368 clip, swiping 10 bags as well. Right next to him at second base was INF Dane Hrasky (2025), who’s a high level athlete (6.55 60, 33.7” vertical) that can really pick it on the infield and showed improvements at the plate this winter. A sophomore to watch with this bunch is INF Carson Bauer (2026), a quality left-handed hitter that’s sure-handed on the infield as well. 

There’s going to be some new names in the O’Fallon outfield this upcoming season with 273 at-bats from last year’s outfielders graduating, including standout center fielder Haidyn McGill. OF Camden Cox (2025) should slot into an everyday role and he had success in a brief 55 at-bat sample as a sophomore, slashing .309/.397/.473 with seven extra-base hits. OF Drew Vanderheyden (2025) is a physical right-handed hitting junior to know and, though we highlighted him for his efforts on the mound earlier, Perez swings a clean, athletic left-handed swing that could factor into this offense, too. 

BOTTOM LINE 

There’s an earned, well-respected pedigree behind the O’Fallon Panthers program. You can count on the Panthers to be near the top of the Southwestern Conference each year and 2024 shouldn’t differ from the norm. Their pitching staff is going to give them a chance to win each game they play in, and if the Panther offense can support their arms as the year goes on, this team could certainly find themselves in Joliet come early June. 

Find more information on the 2024 O’Fallon program below: 

+ Follow the Panthers on X: @othsbaseball
+ Find the Panthers' 2024 schedule HERE.

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