High School Sports

Dixon's Katie Drew won the 102nd Ladies Lincoln Highway golf tournament individual title on Saturday at her home course. Dixon's Reese Dambman also helped Timber Creek win a third straight team title as she competed in her first Lincoln Highway.

Here is a look at the top baseball players from the Sauk Valley area for the 2025 season.

Setting the tone as the leadoff hitter and shut-down closer for a fourth-place state finisher has earned Newman junior Garret Matznick the title of 2025 Sauk Valley Media Baseball Player of the Year.

McHenry County Youth Sports Association’s Summer International Championships fans will have an improved experience this summer after the renovations of the Mickey Sund Baseball Complex at Crystal Lake’s Lippold Park. Games began Friday morning.

Fresh off of a fourth-place finish at the inaugural IHSA State Finals last year, the Bradley-Bourbonnais girls flag football made an early statement as a state contender yet again in 2025 this week

Ethan Vahl and his coach both agree that his first instinct is to pass the ball. But Vahl can also fill it up. The Oswego rising sophomore guard provided the latest evidence to that effect with a 40-point game the last weekend of June at the Romeoville Live Summer Shootout.

Reed-Custer is turning to Joe Turek as its new head football coach, who brings more than a decade of program-building experience from Lincoln-Way East to his new role with the Comets.

Mason Lockett did not get the maximum opportunity last season to showcase himself as one of Illinois’ top prospects in the Class of 2026. He’s back now, however. That’s good news for Oswego East.

Lemont's boys basketball team will feature an entirely new starting five this season, with big graduation losses and the transfer of Gabe Sularski. But the team, led by senior guard Ryan Crane and junior guard Zane Schneider, has shown progress this summer.

Longtime Central girls track and field and girls basketball coach Rebecca Swigert-Fenton had her team with the Comets come to and end this spring as she takes a step back from coaching duties.

Kaneland senior Freddy Hassan, who led the basketball team to 31 straight wins and their first sectional title since 1982 and took second place in the high jump at the boys track and field state meet, is the Kane County Chronicle 2024-25 Male Athlete of the Year.

Braydon Porter and Joey Jakstys’ assimilation to varsity basketball last season at Yorkville was gradual, but the two talented rising sophomores appear primed to lead the Foxes after putting their their names on the map with their performances at June live events.

Benet 7-foot senior center Colin Stack hopes to lead the Redwings to a second straight Class 4A state championship this season and collect numerous Division I offers along the way. Stack is up to five offers after an impressive June.

Here is a roundup of the results from the 40th annual OSF Tennis Classic over the weekend.

Former Kankakee star and current Michigan player Jyaire "Suga" Hill hosted his second annual Suga Summer Camp at Kankakee High School on Saaturday.

Dixon's Aaron Conderman and Dean Geiger finished 1-2 in their hometown race at the 25th annual Reagan Run 5K on Saturday. Melissa Winchester was the top female finisher.

Anchored by strong athletes both on the track and in the field, check out this year's Daily Journal All-Area Boys Track and Field team.

From dominant freshmen to speedy seniors and everything in between, there's plenty of state pedigree on this year's Daily Journal All-Area Girls Track and Field Team.

It was a busy day for football at Bradley-Bourbonnais Wednesday, as former quarterback Ethan Kohl returned to coach the quarterback camp he used to attend at the same time as the final day of girls flag football summer camp.

After a challenging season, the Sycamore Spartans, led by a determined Quinn Carrier, aim to reclaim their dominance in girls basketball, leaning on experience and ambition as they gear up for the 2025-26 campaign.

Gabe Sularski transferred from Benet to Lemont last season. The top-rated boys basketball prospect in Illinois for 2026 is now transferring to Layton Christian Academy in Utah

Recent Seneca High School graduate Sebastian Deering has committed to continue his education at Aurora University and his basketball career at the NCAA Division III level with the Spartans.

Kankakee graduate and Kankakee Community College volleyball standout Aniya Lewis is making the jump from KCC to the SEC, signing Tuesday to play volleyball at the University of Mississippi.

Former Harvest Christian Academy boys basketball coach Lafeyette Bell has been named the new coach at Marian Central. Bell led Harvest Christian to 21 wins and a Class 1A regional championship in 2024.

After developing into one of the state's most feared long jumpers in the state, Bradley-Bourbonnais' Malachi Lee is the Daily Journal Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year.

After a fourth straight 20-win season and graduation of the winningest class in school history, DeKalb is officially in rebuild mode. The Barbs have spent the summer breaking in a new group of underclassmen.

After completing arguably the most prolific career in the sport's local history, Kankakee's Naomi Bey-Osborne is the 2025 Daily Journal Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year.

Sycamore's boys basketball team, which is coming off its best record since 2001-02, has dedicated this summer to chasing another dominant season.

With their unique mix of younger and older players, the Beecher Muskies are once again being propelled to a strong season in the Chicago Suburban Baseball League by a large crop of local baseball talent.

Yorkville Christian guard Jayden Riley is enjoying a breakout summer, with up to six scholarship offers after his performances at Riverside-Brookfield and Romeoville. Riley, last year's Record Newspapers Player of the Year, has set lofty goals for his senior season.

Jeremy Fears Jr., a Joliet West alum and current Michigan State basketball star, threw out the ceremonial first pitch Friday at the Chicago White Sox game against the San Francisco Giants. Fears is a part of local NIL initiative funded by the White Sox.

After powering the Boilermakers to back-to-back regional championships against some of the best teams in the state, Bradley-Bourbonnais' Cody Freitas is the Daily Journal Baseball Player of the Year.

Lydia Hammond capped off one of the best pitching seasons in the state with a Class 4A postseason run for the ages, earning the title of Daily Journal Softball Player of the Year.

Here is a look back at the top boys basketball players in the Sauk Valley area for the 2024-25 season.

Whether at the plate, on the mound or in the field, top-tier players abound on this year's Daily Journal All-Area Baseball Team.

As an encore to a stellar junior season when he scored more points than any Dixon player, Darius Harrington obliterated his own scoring record on his way to taking over the top spot on the Dukes’ all-time scoring list. He is the 2024-25 SVM Player of the Year.

With 27 all-state standouts and several more all-conference selections that helped fuel spostseason runs, the Daily Journal All-Area Softball Team is as good as it gets.

Jeremiah Fears, who spent the first two years of his high school career playing for Joliet West, was a star for Oklahoma last year and will now play alongside Zion Williamson and Trey Murphy. Fears was selected seventh overall in Wednesday's NBA Draft by the New Orleans Pelicans.

With the Kaneland Knights poised for an evolving season, new talent emerges to fill the void left by graduated stars Kendra Brown and Sam Kerry, as young players embrace fresh roles and aim to sustain last year’s 24-win momentum.

With Wilmington's Kyle Farrell having his high school sports career come to an end, it also brings an end to the time he and his father Chad Farrell have spent representing the Wildcats together as player and coach.

From goalkeeper to forward and everywhere in between, this year's Daily Journal All-Area girls soccer team features some of the state's top stars.

One of four local all-state players and the leader of a Peotone team that was two wins away from a trip to state, Allie Werner is this year's Daily Journal Girls Soccer Player of the Year.

The 32-team Morris Boys Shootout, scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, has been canceled due to the expected heat

In addition to the Watseka Tackling Disabilities camp coming up on July 26, Manteno hosted its first annual version of the camp on June 12, giving young athletes with disabilities an afternoon of football and fun.

LIV Golf hosted a special media day at Bolingbrook Golf Club on Tuesday, offering an exclusive preview of what fans can expect when LIV Golf Chicago returns to Bolingbrook this coming Aug. 8. The event brought together community leaders, local students and media.

Rick Peterson resigned as boys basketball coach at Marian Central after one season and was officially named the Alden-Hebron coach this week. Peterson previously coached the Giants for three years.

Take a look at this year's local baseball standouts that made the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association All-State team.

Wilmington’s Kyle Farrell and Ryan Nelson, Coal City’s Landin Benson and Milford-Cissna Park’s Caleb Clutteur are all set to take place in the 2025 Shrine Game to wrap up their high school football careers.

A dozen Bradley-Bourbonnais athletes from across six spring sports earned spots on All-SouthWest Suburban Conference teams for their 2025 seasons

The Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association released its All-State teams, and players from Newman, Rock Falls, Fulton and A-FC were selected.