2025 Northwest Herald Male Athlete of the Year: Dundee-Crown’s Jared Russell

Dad and Aunt Michelle are members of Dundee-Crown’s Athletic Hall of Fame.

Jared Russell just might have secured his own future spot among Chargers’ greats after a senior year that was nothing short of spectacular, both athletically and academically.

Much as he did most of his four years at D-C, Russell made a habit of hitting targets. His accuracy when hitting shots on the golf course and basketball court and hitting the strike zone when pitching resulted in him earning All-Fox Valley Conference honors in each of his three sports, all while maintaining a 4.0 GPA (4.0 scale).

Russell, who played 10 varsity seasons (four golf, three basketball, three baseball) in his four years at D-C, is the Northwest Herald Boys Athlete of the Year as voted on by the sports staff.

Besides earning a medal in the FVC Golf tournament, he qualified for sectionals by shooting an 86 in the Class 3A Dundee-Crown Regional at Randall Oaks, where he’s a member.

In basketball, the 5-foot-11, 170-pound guard averaged a team-leading 17.2 points a game, sank a school-record 87 3-pointers, including a school-record-tying 10 in one game, and shot 81% (110 of 136) from the foul line.

The righty capped his D-C career by winning nine games and posting a 1.39 ERA with 69 strikeouts in 60⅓ innings as the Chargers improved their win total by 11 games from last season. When not pitching, Russell patrolled shortstop, batted .340 and posted a .465 on-base percentage.

He also pitched D-C to its first postseason win in 10 years and set the school career ERA record (1.65).

What would you expect from a Russell?

Jason Russell [Jared’s dad] excelled at basketball and baseball at D-C, and he serves as a Chargers assistant coach in basketball and baseball. Jason’s sister Michelle was a basketball star for the Chargers and played collegiately at Valparaiso. Kristina Russell, sister of Jason and Michelle, pitched a no-hitter for D-C’s softball team. Jake Russell, Jared’s brother, was a three-time All-FVC golfer and an all-conference baseball player his senior year at D-C.

Jared, the baby son of Jason and Sonja and a likely future member of the D-C Athletic HOF, recently answered some questions from sports reporter Joe Aguilar. He talked about all three of his sports, the fact that he’s bilingual and his decision to play basketball at Judson University in Elgin, where his dad is a hall of famer.

You set school records in basketball and baseball your senior year. How about golf?

Russell: No [laughs]. I wish. That would be cool.

What was your best score for 18 holes?

Russell: My best score was a 76 at Randall Oaks, at our Charger Invite. ... I’m a member there so I get to play there a lot. [I’ve played golf] since I was little. My brother was really into it, and my dad would just always take us golfing. We’d go play the links course at Randall Oaks. He’d get us lessons, and we’d just have fun.

On Jan. 17, you scored a career-high 36 points in a 70-41 win over visiting Crystal Lake Central. You sank 10 3-pointers to tie the school held by Rob Stupar in 2009. What do you remember about that night?

Russell: It was still in the first half, and I think I made like six [3-pointers] in a row. The fans were going crazy, and then [Central] called a timeout, and all of my teammates were chest-bumping me and going crazy. I remember at halftime our other guard, Terrion Spencer, told me that he’s going to make sure that I got that record. That was pretty cool for him to say that to me.

You had eight 3-pointers at halftime. Were you aware that you were that close to the school record?

Russell: I was aware of [the record], and then after the 10th one, I got subbed out. There was still like a quarter left. We were up like by 30, so it was a running clock. [Coach Lance Huber] was aware of it, because after he subbed me out, he told my dad he was sorry.

The baseball team enjoyed a resurgence, going from four wins in 2024 to 15 this season and winning four FVC games after winning none last year. How fun was the baseball season?

Russell: The FVC is loaded, so it was just nice being able to play all of those good teams close most of the time. The vibe was so much better.

What was your arsenal on the mound, and how hard did you throw?

Russell: I threw a fastball, curveball, changeup and a slider. I liked to work off my curveball. My curveball was probably my best pitch. ... I think they clocked my fastball this year at 86 or 87 [mph].

You pitched a five-hit shutout with 11 strikeouts and no walks in a 4-0 win over Grant in a Class 4A regional semifinal. It was D-C’s first playoff win in 10 years. What was that like?

Russell: Come playoff time, we were on a nice little winning streak [four in a row]. When we won that regional game, that was awesome. And then we almost won the regional championship [3-2 loss to Barrington after taking a 2-0 lead in the top of the seventh]. Even though we didn’t, it was cool to be in that game.

And you speak Spanish?

Russell: I’ve been taking Spanish since I was in kindergarten and had an AP Spanish class.

Are you fluent?

Russell: Yeah. ... I’ve used [Spanish] at Mexican restaurants before, things like that.

You probably could play golf, basketball or baseball in college. Why did you choose basketball?

Russell: I’ve always loved all three of the sports. Golf was always the third. Growing up, I just always loved basketball a little more, and then the past couple of years in high school that love for basketball grew more and more. So I wanted to play basketball in college. It was tough. I was getting money from a lot of places academically. But Judson was nice and close, I like the campus, and then I also was getting money academically and athletically there, so I almost was getting a full ride to go there. It was hard to turn that deal down, so I pulled the trigger on that.

You also graduated with a 4.0 GPA. What are you going to study at Judson?

Russell: I’m not sure what I want to study. I kind of want to coach when I get older. I love being around the game [of basketball], and I want help with little kids. I actually took an interest with a couple of law classes I took at school, so maybe go in that direction, or maybe try to become a sports agent, or something like that.