Kane County Chronicle 2025 Baseball Player of the Year: St. Francis senior Nolan Galla

Before his senior season, Nolan Galla never thought that he would find himself on the pitching rubber in a high school game.

The last time he had pitched was when he was 13 years old. But after breaking his elbow while throwing a pitch, he swore off taking to the mound ever again.

But when St. Francis coach Tom Ciombor saw Galla, who had transferred in from Providence Catholic before the season, throwing a bullpen session during winter training sessions, he knew one thing for sure.

Galla needed to pitch.

And luckily, Galla knew it, too.

“I just really picked it up and really went for it and it went really well,” Galla said. “Now it’s something I’m trying to pick up in college because of this year. I probably would have never thought I would be able to do the things I’m able to do on the mound if it weren’t for my coaches.”

Galla finished the season going 6-2 on the mound with a 2.38 ERA and 63 strikeouts over 47 innings.

Galla was named Pitcher of the Year in the Chicago Catholic League White Division.

He also posted a .405 batting average and recorded a .489 on-base percentage with two home runs and 36 RBIs from the heart of the order.

Considering the accolades, Galla was named the Kane County Chronicle Baseball Player of the Year.

“We basically ended up getting two players for one,” Ciombor said. “We thought we were getting a good position player who would fit well in our lineup, but we didn’t know we were going to get a frontline starter as well.”

Going to the mound wasn’t the only change that Galla had to endure in his senior season. While he knew a majority of his teammates from going to elementary and middle school with them, he still had to adapt to his new team’s ways.

Ciombor said that also was not a problem for Galla.

“He was just a spectacular teammate and had such a passion,” Ciombor said. “He was helping out the freshmen and sophomores and he came into the program as a St. Francis Spartan and adapted to the program. He was just nothing short of spectacular and checked all the boxes.”

Galla also dealt with a new position in the field. He primarily had been a shortstop heading into the season, but with fellow senior Zack Maduzia heading into his fourth season at the position for the Spartans, Galla ended up making himself at home at third base.

“I just felt like I could really play anywhere and I’m sure coach Ciombor knew that as well,” Galla said. “So wherever he told me to play, I played. As long as I could hit and get in the lineup, that made me happy. And as long as we’re winning games and I could help the team succeed, it just felt great.”

His production translated into on-field success for the Spartans, who had 18 of their 26 wins on the season come in a row. During that stretch, the Spartans went 9-0 in conference play and finished 12-2 to take the league title before making it all the way to a sectional championship game, where they fell to eventual state runner-up Benet.

After winning a state title with the Celtics the season before, Galla was more than happy to see that the wins followed him.

“I hate losing more than I like winning, so being a part of that success was awesome,” Galla said. “I’m a very competitive person and being around other people that feel the same way as I do also gives us an edge over everyone else. And going to a different team from that state-winning team and seeing that success still, it’s just great. And we felt like we did whatever we possibly could have done to get to where we were and what we had.”