NewsTribune-area softball players have hit more home runs in each of the last five seasons. This spring, 44 players combined to hit 146 home runs, with four players hitting double-digit homers.

In the short term, when the Marquette baseball team won the Class 2A St. Bede Supersectional, it sent the Crusaders back to the IHSA State Finals. In the long term, it also guaranteed Marquette will remain in Class 2A for baseball through at least the 2028 season.

Downers Grove North senior and Virginia commit Philip Cupial, who won the Class 3A 1,600-meter state championship and also ran on the championship 4x800 relay, is the Suburban Life boys track and field Athlete of the Year.

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

Yorkville senior Owen Horeni, who took second place in the Class 3A 800-meter run and led the Foxes to conference and sectional titles, is the Record Newspapers boys track and field Athlete of the Year.

Putnam County's Johnathon Stunkel, Henry's Carson Rowe earn IHSBCA First-Team All State, IVCC is offering basketball and volleyball camps and more in the NewsTribune sports briefs.

Morris graduate Jack Wheeler is putting up strong numbers in the Texas Rangers organization competing in the Arizona Comple League, hoping an single A invite is soon on the way.

The Watseka football program will be fielding only a junior varsity team in 2026, with coach Anthony Swanson and the rest of the athletic department looking to build up dwindling participation numbers and continue a football tradition to goes back well over a century.

Last year, Logan Philhower set the school record for ERA at 1.20, becoming Bureau Valley’s first player to receive first-team All-State honors For an encore, the Storm ace lowered his school ERA record to 0.84 this season, going 4-2 with 89 strikeouts.

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.

The Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp return home for four games this week after going 0-6 on a road trip.

Sandwich senior and Duke commit Sunny Weber, who won the Class 2A 1,600-meter run state championship and took second in the 3,200 to finish her career with six total state titles and eight medals in track, is the Record Newspapers girls track and field Athlete of the Year.

Downers Grove South senior Karen Boakye, who won the Class 3A state triple jump championship, is the Suburban Life girls track and field Athlete of the Year.

Chandler Creedon won the 78th annual Pine Hills Invitational at Pine Hills Golf Course in Ottawa on Sunday. Creedon defeated Jeremy DeBernardi on the first sudden death playoff hole after the two had tied at 143 in regulation at the two-day, 36-hole event.

A Whiteside County man has been sentenced to 5 years in prison after pleading guilty to theft and weapon charges in Whiteside County and to break-ins, unlawful restraint and battery charges in Bureau County

Putnam County seniors Traxton Mattingly and Johnathon Stunkel left their legacy with the Panthers, leading them to a Class 1A second-place finish. Now, they'll continue their careers together at Illinois Central College.

The City of La Salle Police Department announced plans for July Fourth traffic enforcement with a focus on impaired and unbuckled drivers.

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.

Here's a list of Lee, Whiteside, and Ogle counties' property transfers for June 1-5, 2026

After an uncharacteristically quiet performance the night before, Marquette baseball's offense came out swinging Saturday with three runs in the home half of the first inning. It proved to be the difference in Marquette’s 4-1 win over Freeburg in 2A's third-place game.

The Putnam County baseball team lost 10-0 in five innings to Tremont in the Class 1A state championship game Saturday in Champaign.

Crystal Lake South's five-run seventh inning wasn't enough as East Peoria walked off a 7-6 win during Saturday's Class 3A state third-place game at Joliet Slammers Stadium. "I’m super proud of our group."

Here is the 2026 All-BCR Baseball Team representing players from Bureau Valley, Hall, Princeton and St. Bede

The Marquette baseball team managed just four hits off St. Joseph-Ogden's Asher Pruemer in a 6-1 loss in Friday night's IHSA Class 2A State semifinal at Illinois Field in Champaign. The Crusaders play Freeburg for third place at 4 p.m. on Saturday.

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.

Carson Trivellini had three hits, but he and his Crystal Lake South teammates didn't score for only the second time this season in a 2-0 loss to Triad in a Class 3A state semifinal Friday at Slammers Stadium in Joliet.

The Putnam County baseball team beat North Clay 4-3 in 8 innings on Friday in Champaign to advance to the Class 1A state championship game. The Panthers will play Tremont at 1 p.m. Saturday.

A number of Joliet area baseball players earned all-conference honors for their play this season.

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

A tornado had touched down Thursday in an open crop field off East 12th Street near South Streator, leaving those nearby scrambling for shelter.

Putnam County Panthers got some preparation for Friday's Class 1A state semifinal, making at stop at the Corn Crib in Normal and Yard Goats indoor facility in Champaign. The Panthers (25-11) will face North Clay (35-4) at 1 p.m. Friday at Illinois Field.

Here's a list of Whiteside County property transfers for June 1 to 5, 2026.

Class 4A state softball champion Lincoln-Way West highlights the list of area all-conference selections.

First camp done. Players impressed. Rob Stover's debut as Sycamore football coach shows continuity with Joe Ryan's winning culture. Running back Vasilios Arhos: "I love the program he's got going."

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

The Marquette baseball team hopes to stay hot when it faces St. Joseph-Ogden (38-2) in Friday’s IHSA Class 2A semifinals at 7 p.m. on Illinois Field in Champaign. The Crusaders, which are coming off back-to-back 1A state championships, enter the contest with a 37-3 record.

Led by a handful of returning first team stars, including a trio of Coal City seniors, more than two dozen Kankakee area talents are back on the gridiron after earning first team, second team or honorable mention All-Area recognition last fall.

Crystal Lake South's baseball team started only two seniors in its supersectional win over Fenwick, but an experienced group of athletes, primarily basketball players, has helped the Gators earn a berth to state for the first time since 2022.

The Tri-County, Three Rivers East and Little Ten announced all-conference teams, plus more in the NewsTribune sports briefs.

The Putnam County baseball program has qualified for state in every full decade since the school opened. The 2026 Panthers play North Clay in Friday's semifinals in the school's seventh state appearance.

A look at the four teams competing this weekend in the Class 1A state baseball tournament in Champaign.

Braden Curran will be playing baseball for Augustana College next spring, but first he will put the football pads back on. He will represent Hall High School in the upcoming 52nd Annual Shrine All-Star Football game on Saturday, June 20 in Bloomington

The Illinois Coaches Association this week announced its lists of ICA All-State selections from the recently completed 2026 softball season, with numerous Times-area standouts honored.

The Illinois Coaches Association announced its 2026 ICA All-State teams this week, with 11 Herald-News area softball standouts selected for first-team honors and dozens more for other ICA accolades.

Here is a look at BCR Softball Players of the Year from out of the past dating back to 1996. Avah Oertel is the ninth different Princeton player chosen, the fourth to repeat.

A look at the top boys tennis players in the NewsTribune area for the 2026 season.

The Marquette baseball team earned a third consecutive trip to the IHSA State Finals with a 9-6 victory over Brimfield in Tuesday's Class 2A St. Bede Supersectional. The Crusaders entered the season back-to-back Class 1A champions.

Crystal Lake South's Michael Silvius worked out of a sixth-inning jam to pitch a shutout and went 3 for 4 with an RBI single, leading the Gators to a 4-0 win over Fenwick in the Class 3A Schaumburg Supersectional at Wintrust Field.

The Putnam County baseball team beat Galena 7-4 on Tuesday to win the IHSA Class 1A NIU Supersectional and earn its first trip to state since 2013.