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Preseason Power 25 Countdown: No. 24 Sycamore

March 4, 2024
By: Gavin Smith
Area Scout, Content

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: Sycamore Spartans
Preseason Rank: No. 24
Head Coach: Jason Cavanaugh
Classification: 3A
Conference: Interstate 8
2023 Record (Finish): 34-6 (3rd Place at State, lost to Nazareth Academy)
Key Players Lost: Kiefer Tarnoki (Lake Land JC), Jimmy Amptmann (Heartland CC), Tommy Townsend (Butler), Owen Piazza (Aurora Universtiy), Conner Williar (Rock Valley JC), Lucas Winburn (Kaskaskia JC), and Joey Puleo (Augustana Football).

 

ROSTER PREVIEW

No. of Returning Positional Starters: Three
No. of Returning Pitchers: Two
Team Strengths: Top of the Pitching Rotation.

NAME STATE CLASS POS COMMITMENT
Kyle Hartmann IL 2024 C Western Kentucky 
Matthew Rosado IL 2024 RHP/3B Southwestern IL JC
Collin Severson IL 2024 OF Cornell College
Teague Hallahan IL 2024 RHP Lake Land JC
William Klumpp IL 2024 OF -
Kyle Prebil IL 2025 OF -
Davis Collie IL 2025 1B -
Cal Harbecke IL 2025 RHP -
Evan Munch IL 2025 RHP -
Devin Shaulis IL 2025 RHP -
Tyler Townsend IL 2026 RHP/OF -
Nathan Lojko IL 2026 SS -

X-FACTOR

C Kyle Hartmann (2024) was one of the Spartans top offensive threats in 2023, hitting to a .382 average with seven home runs, 36 RBIs and nine doubles. One of the leader’s on the team as a senior now, it’s easy to assume Hartmann is poised for another successful season, just like last year. He’s one of the top backstops in the state’s senior class, and our scouts have continually seen him find success throughout the summer and fall circuit in 2023. An advanced defender, Hartmann will likely be a vocal leader on the field, spending most of his time behind the dish defensively where we’ve seen him record a pop time as low as 1.90, and record his best bullet down to second at 84 mph. After making a trip to state in 2023, Hartmann knows what it takes to get to Joliet, and he will look to lead the Spartans on another trip to the 3A State Tournament.

NEWCOMER TO WATCH

RHP/OF Tyler Townsend (2026) had a big 2023 in front of our staff, and we expect to see him make a big impact on this year’s Sycamore squad. His brother, Tommy Townsend (2023; Butler) was a threat at the plate and on the mound in 2023, and it seems Tyler is set for a similar career at Sycamore. He has a lively arm on the mound, touching 86.7 mph in our looks, with two above-average off-speed pitches that he’s shown the ability to throw for strikes. At the plate, Townsend looks like a potential power threat, creating easy juice from his right-handed swing (99.1 mph EV/355’ distance). We expect that Townsend will have a major impact on this year’s team, both at the plate and on the mound.

TEAM OUTLOOK

The Spartans had a historic 2023 going 34-6 on the year, and finishing 3rd in the State Playoffs, losing to eventual champion, Nazareth Academy. This was the Spartans first trip to state in school history, and it was their first 30-win season under Coach Jason Cavanaugh, who has been at the helm for 25 years, accumulating a 564-295 record in that time.

In 2024, the Spartans return three starters in C Kyle Hartmann (2024; Western Kentucky commit), mentioned above, RHP/3B Matthew Rosado (2024; Southwestern Illinois JC commit), and OF Collin Severson (2024; Cornell College). Rosado is coming off a stellar season where he hit .381 with two home runs, 16 RBIs and 10 doubles. He pitched 32 innings on the mound and recorded 41 strikeouts while only allowing four walks and two runs (0.44 ERA) all season. Severson led the team in batting average last season (.425) and tallied one home run, nine extra base hits, 23 RBIs, and was tied for a team leading 47 runs scored.

OF Kyle Prebil (2025) and 1B Davis Collie (2025) are a pair of impact junior’s joining this year’s team. Prebil found brief time on varsity last year, only recording three at-bats. We saw him at the 2023 Illinois State Games, and he showed all kinds of power in his 6-foot-2, 213-pound athletic frame. He recorded a 96.5 mph max EV and a max batted distance of 354 feet, and we expect to see Prebil become a run-producing asset for this year’s Spartan team. Collie could show similar production from the left side of the plate, as we saw him consistently produce 90 mph exit velocities and a max batted distance of 351 feet at an event this winter. Both players are middle-of-the-order types, who could replace much of the offensive production lost from the 2023 class.

RHP Teague Hallahan (2024; Lake Land JC commit) and OF William Klumpp (2024) are a pair of seniors looking to make a big impact in 2024. Hallahan threw 23 innings on the mound in 2023, struck out 46, allowed 10 hits and posted a 3-1 record. After losing most of their innings on the mound from last season, Hallahan will be expected to take on a bigger role in 2024. Klumpp found limited time on the field last year, but in 25 at-bats, he hit .320 with a triple, double and three RBIs. Klumpp will be a threat on the base paths, as we’ve seen him run multiple sub-7.0 60s.

SS Nathan Lojko (2026), RHP Cal Harbecke (2025), RHP Evan Munch (2025), and RHP Devin Shaulis (2025) are a group of newcomers to mention that are set to fill some of Sycamore’s holes this upcoming season.

Find more information on the 2024 Sycamore program below:

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