The IHSA’s board of directors this week finalized expectations for the 35-second shot clock, which will be required for varsity boys and girls basketball contests beginning with the upcoming 2026-27 IHSA season.

"If we get them to be close with us and trust us a little bit more, I think it'll benefit everybody." — Callie Countryman on the freshmen and sophomores stepping up for Sycamore. And they've had plenty of reps for the Spartans so far this summer.

Calvin Works will be taking over as athletic director at Bishop McNamara on July 1, where the 2006 Momence grad said he's excited to contribute to the longstanding history of Fightin' Irish athletics.

Huntley's Giovanni Baggio, who earned All-FVC and All-State first-team honors while becoming the program's first-ever All-American, is the 2026 Northwest Herald Boys Lacrosse Player of the Year. Baggio, who won 84.1% of his face-offs, led Huntley to a sixth straight FVC title.

"All of a sudden the kid who broke the school record for assists last year has more weapons to feed." — Coach Doug Brewington on how Ari Rich's emergence is changing things for Presley Meyer and the Cogs' offense.

The Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association released its All-State teams on Tuesday and five area players were selected.

Eight different area teams had players earn spots on the 2026 Illinois Coaches Association All-State softball team.

Crystal Lake Central co-op's Anna Starr, a Villanova recruit who scored 110 goals with 23 assists and led her team to a fifth straight FVC title, is the 2026 Northwest Herald Girls Lacrosse Player of the Year. Starr earned All-FVC, All-Sectional and All-State first-team honors.

Only two starters return from Sycamore's 27-win regional champion team. Seniors Logan Hodges and Xander Lewis must lead a rebuild and chase back-to-back-to-back regional titles. "I just hope this year I can do that for the younger guys," Hodges said.

Although he'll be staying on as girls basketball coach, Watseka's Barry Bauer is retiring as athletic director after 16 years and softball coach after 24 years, with longtime volleyball coach Krista Pufahl taking over as AD.

LeMarrio Moore spent the offseason in the weight room getting stronger for a reason: DeKalb basketball needs him. The rising junior is one of only three main varsity-experienced players back after a 13-19 season. Summer league is showing promise.

Marquette defeated Freeburg 4-1 in the IHSA Class 2A State third-place game on Saturday, June 13, 2026, at the University of Illinois in Champaign.

Marquette fell 6-1 to St. Joseph-Ogden in the IHSA Class 2A State semifinals on Friday, June 12, 2026, at the University of Illinois in Champaign.

Next weekend, eight members of the Bradley-Bourbonnais Unified Basketball team and coach Duke Wilson will begin their quest at the Special Olympics USA Games in Minnesota.

Meet the final Daily Journal Athlete of the Week for the 2025-26 school year, Wilmington senior baseball player Ryan Kettman.

Davion Thompson, a consensus top 25 recruit in the country, made his college commitment to Arkansas on Wednesday evening.

Grace Brunscheen is ready for her junior year. The Kaneland star averaged 10.7 points a game last season and is working to expand her post game this summer. "Mentality and mental health is super-important," she said.

At 5-10, Emma Craig is undersized for her position. But the DeKalb sophomore isn't backing down. She's using summer league to build strength and confidence against bigger competition. "This team really pushes me to be my best," she said.

Crystal Lake South faces Fenwick in the IHSA Class 3A Wintrust Field Supersectional on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, in Schaumburg.

Sixteen girls basketball teams from across the area gathered for the Braidwood Shootout hosted by Reed-Custer on Tuesday, playing four games apiece to gain some valuable in-game experience this summer.

Just over two years after a cardiac arrest during her senior year of high school, former Rochelle track standout Alivia Henkel, now competing at North Central College, raced to a first-place finish in the 400 hurdles during the NCAA Division III National Championships.

Mike Rembert, a 41-year-old graduate of St. Rita who played collegiately at Bradley and Southeast Missouri State, and overseas in Austria, and most recently as an assistant for two years at Benet, has been named the boys basketball coach at Yorkville Christian.

Congratulations to The Times Athlete of the Week, Marquette baseball's Anthony Couch!

Led by six first-team selections, a total of 29 Kankakee area softball players were named Illinois Coaches Association All-State players.

Crystal Lake South's Gracey LePage, who competes for Rockford Raptors FC and was an All-State soccer selection during her freshman season with the Gators, has announced her commitment to play at Notre Dame. LePage was named an ECNL All-American in 2025.

Kankakee's Lincoln Williams signed to continue his basketball career at the University of Illinois in a ceremony at Kankakee High School on Monday evening, with family, friends and community members showing up to celebrate

Outside of Lincoln-Way West softball's historic state championship, it was a busy weekend around the Herald-News coverage area. Here are a few of the other top stories in our Weekend Rewind.

The University of Illinois' men's basketball program announced Monday that Kankakee's Lincoln Williams will be continuing his college basketball career in Champaign, ending the wait to see where the state's top player in the class of 2026 would end up.

Here are the 2026 All-Kishwaukee River Conference selections, as voted on by KRC coaches. Johnsburg’s Liz Smith was named Player of the Year and Woodstock’s Erin Doherty was named Goalkeeper of the Year.

Here are the 2026 All-Fox Valley Conference girls soccer selections, as voted on by FVC coaches.

Rochelle Township High School's Andrew Nuyen cleared 17-6 and placed second.

Addison Schaffer scored two goals, including one on a penalty kick, while Ella Bechler hit a goal from long range in the final seconds as Crystal Lake Central defeated Morton 3-1 to win the IHSA Class 2A state girls soccer championship at North Central College on Saturday.

It has become very difficult to contain the Minooka baseball team's offense as Edwardsville found out on Saturday as the Indians pounded out 14 hits in a 15-1 win to claim the Class 4A Normal Community Sectional title.

Crystal Lake South defeats Grayslake Central in an IHSA Baseball Class 3A Sectional Championship game on Saturday, June 6, 2026 at Grayslake Central High School.

The Marquette baseball team racked up 16 hits in an 11-2 win over Wilmington in Saturday's IHSA Class 2A Herscher Regional championship, clinching the 11th sectional title in program history and third in a row following a pair of 1A titles.

Marquette pulled away from Wilmington for an 11-2 victory in the IHSA Class 2A Herscher Sectional championship on Saturday, June 6, 2026.

Ella Bechler scored in the first 25 seconds, Addison Schaffer had a goal and three assists and Crystal Lake Central took down Lemont 5-0 in the IHSA Class 2A state girls soccer semifinals at North Central College on Friday. The Tigers will play Saturday for the championship.

Johnsburg defeated Timothy Christian 1-0, in the IHSA Class 1A State Girls Soccer third-place match on Friday, June 5, 2026, at North Central College in Naperville.

Here are the McHenry County-area girls lacrosse players who earned All-State and All-Sectional honors from the IGLCA for the 2026 season. Crystal Lake Central co-op's Anna Starr and Huntley's Mya Holmberg were each named All-State first team.

Sterling baseball player Eli Penne is the Sauk Valley Athlete of the Week, presented by Loescher Heating and Air Conditioning. He pitched a one-hitter in a 2-0 win over Dixon in the regional semifinals. Here is a Q&A with Penne, who will attend UW-Plateville.

Breaking school and state records, Rochelle pole vaulter Andrew Nuyen finished second with a personal-best height of 5.35 meters (17 feet 6 1/2 inches) during the IHSA Class 2A state boys track and field meet at Eastern Illinois. Nuyen is signed to compete at South Florida.

Wheaton Academy boys lacrosse and York girls lacrosse won their state semifinal matches on Thursday.

Charlie Eastland notched a goal late in the second half as Johnsburg, playing without injured forward and leading scorer Liz Smith, suffered its first loss of the season, falling 5-1 to Pleasant Plains co-op in the IHSA Class 1A state girls soccer semifinals Thursday.

Gardner-South Wilmington's softball team dropped a 10-inning thriller 2-1 to Waltonville in Thursday's IHSA Class 1A state semifinals in Peoria before bouncing back with a 10-5 win over Okawville in Friday's third-place game, ending the program's historic season with a win.

Here are the 2026 All-Fox Valley Conference boys lacrosse selections, as voted on by FVC coaches.

Here are the 2026 All-Fox Valley Conference girls lacrosse selections, as voted on by FVC coaches.

Here are the McHenry County-area girls soccer players who received All-State and All-Sectional awards from the IHSSCA for the 2026 season. Addison Schaffer (Crystal Lake Central), Rylie Mensik (Dundee-Crown) and Julie Silva (Harvard) earned All-State honors.

Lincoln-Way Central baseball broke out for three runs in the first inning, added four in the second and never looked back in claiming an 8-2 win over Marist to advance to the Class 4A Lincoln-Way Central Sectional title game against Sandburg at 10 a.m. Saturday.

Oswego sophomore Adalynn Fugitt, who was 8-for-11 with four runs scored across three playoff wins to help lead Oswego back to state for the third straight year, is the Record Newspapers Athlete of the Week in an online vote. Here is her Q&A with Sports Editor Joshua Welge.

Congratulations to The Times Athlete of the Week, Ottawa boys track and field state qualifier Joey Liebhart!