Kankakee hosts Nazareth for the first of two games with state champions to open the season while Bradley-Bourbonnais and Bishop McNamara also start their seasons at home. Check out previews on those games, as well as the rest of the Week 1 slate for the Daily Journal area.

Kankakee made a strong statement to start the boys soccer season and more in Tuesday's Daily Journal roundup.

Team-by-team previews of the Daily Journal area's girls volleyball teams for the 2025 season.

Manteno, Iroquois West and St. Anne/Central all scored boys golf victories in Wednesday's Daily Journal roundup.

Team-by-team previews of the Daily Journal area's boys soccer teams for the 2025 season.

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.

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.

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.

A look at the area baseball and softball athletes that were named to All-River Valley Conference and All-Iroquois County teams this season.

The Kankakee girls track team qualified for the state finals in the 4x100 relay, 4x200 relay and 4x400 relay and had Naomi Bey-Osborne qualify in the 400 meters, and more in Friday's Daily Journal Roundup

Wilmington pitcher Kyle Farrell did not allow a hit for the first 6 1/3 innings Wednesday, finishing with a one-hit shutout for the Wildcats in the IHSA Class 2A Coal City Regional semifinals, and more in Wednesday's Daily Journal Roundup

Rhaya DePaolo and Bishop McNamara held off Reed-Custer's upset attempt in softball regional quarterfinal action and more in Monday's Daily Journal roundup.

Storylines to watch for in the 2025 baseball postseason, including intriguing potential matchups between local Class 2A teams and a Bradley-Bourbonnais team looking to recapture some of last season's playoff magic.

From Beecher battling through a challenging Class 2A Seneca Sectional to Bradley-Bourbonnais looking for a regional four-peat in 4A, here are some storylines to look for as the 2025 postseason gets underway.

The Coal City baseball team extended its winning streak to four games with a nonconference win at Kankakee and more in Thursday's Daily Journal Roundup.

Tristin Woods hit a home run and had five RBIs for the Bradley-Bourbonnais softball team in their SouthWest Suburban Conference win over Stagg, and more in Tuesday's Daily Journal Roundup.

The Wilmington baseball team held Kankakee to just one hit in a 12-0 win, the Wildcats third shutout win in a row, and more in Thursday's Daily Journal Roundup.

The Bishop McNamara baseball team got another shutout win to sweep St. Edward in a Chicagoland Christian Conference series and more in Tuesday's Daily Journal Roundup.

Lydia Hammond threw a perfect game with 17 strikeouts as Bradley-Bourbonnais won a pitchers' duel with a ranked Fremd team and more in Saturday's Daily Journal Roundup.

Lydia Hammond threw a nine-inning shutout and hit a walk-off double against Benet and more in Friday's Daily Journal roundup.

Kankakee saw Jaden Villafuerte's pinch-hit two-run double tie it before Alexander Grill's walk-off single against Bloom and more in Wednesday's Daily Journal roundup.

The Central baseball team beat Beecher 9-3 in a matchup of the top two teams in the River Valley Conference standings and more in Tuesday's Daily Journal Roundup.

Bradley-Bourbonnais' Cody Freitas hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning Saturday to end the Boilermakers' 12-2 win over Herscher and more in Saturday's Daily Journal Roundup.

The Bishop McNamara boys and Central girls both picked up team wins at the Manteno Invite on Friday.

The Bradley-Bourbonnais softball team lost an extra-inning SWSC battle to top-ranked Lincoln-Way Central, Beecher's Ava Lorenzatti and Taylor Norkus were dominant in a doubleheader sweep and more in Tuesday's Daily Journal Roundup.

The Bishop McNamara baseball team scored three runs in the fifth inning to win a Chicagoland Christian Conference contest over Wheaton Academy 3-2, and more in Thursday's Daily Journal Roundup.

Bishop McNamara's Joslynn Dole and Kankakee's Kylee Cunningham both threw no-hitters Wednesday to lead their teams to wins and more in Wednesday's Daily Journal Roundup

The Bishop McNamara baseball team picked up its first Chicagoland Christian Conference win of the season, Peotone's Sophie Klawitter threw another no-hitter and more in Tuesday's Daily Journal Roundup.

Wilmington baseball kept its perfect ICE record in tact, Peotone's Sophie Klawitter threw a perfect game and more in Monday's Daily Journal roundup.

A 12-run fourth inning fueled the Kays in Southland Athletic Conference action and more in Friday's Daily Journal roundup.

Bradley-Bourbonnais senior Nick Allen and Kankakee junior Lincoln Williams made the Illinois Media All-State first teams in their respective classes while four players earned honorable mention.

Beecher pitcher Taylor Norkus threw a perfect game Thursday as the Bobcats improved to 6-0 on the season, and more in Thursday's Daily Journal Roundup.

The Kankakee baseball team blew out Thornton 19-0 at home and more in Tuesday's Daily Journal roundup.

Central outlasted St. Anne-Donovan in a pitchers' duel on Tuesday, improving to 3-5 on the season with the 1-0 win.

Central secured a 1-0 victory over St. Anne-Donovan in the River Valley Conference matchup on Tuesday, April 1. Purchase photos here: https://heraldnews.smugmug.com/April-2025/Central-vs-St-Anne-Baseball

Manteno freshman Klarke Goranson won both the girls Class 2A 800 meters and 1,600 meters at the Illinois Top Times Championships and more in Saturday's Daily Journal roundup.

The Daily Journal 2024-25 All-Area boys basketball team.

Rich Zinanni, Fred LeSage, Irish O'Reilly, Jack Sikma, Ben Zobrist and Michelle Bartsch-Hackley are the six people with local ties that will be inducted into the new Illinois Sports Hall of Fame in June.

St. Anne students flexed their minds and their muscles during the newly-consolidated district's arithmetic-themed Math Madness event.

The Boilermakers improved to 4-0 on the young season behind Lydia Hammond's 14-strikeout effort and more in Wednesday's Daily Journal roundup.

The Bradley-Bourbonnais baseball team won 17-4 in Alabama to improve to 2-1 on the season and more in Tuesday's Daily Journal roundup.

The Daily Journal 2024-25 All-Area girls basketball team.

The Bradley-Bourbonnais boys track and field team competed in the SouthWest Suburban Conference Boys Indoor Meet, placing ninth as a team, and more in Friday's Daily Journal Roundup.

The Kankakee baseball team lost its season opener on Tuesday as St. Anne-Donovan's Carter Ponton flirted with a no-hitter, and more in Tuesday's Daily Journal Roundup.

Jacob Onnen had the go-ahead RBI single and earned the win on the mound and more in Monday's Daily Journal Roundup.

Behind Ray Lee's 37 points, Manteno got past rival Peotone in double overtime while Bishop McNamara earned a regional championship rematch and more in Wednesday's Daily Journal roundup.

The Grace Christian boys basketball team won its first postseason game as IHSA members with Monday's regional victory and more in Monday's Daily Journal Roundup.

Mason Schweizer previews the local boys basketball scene ahead of regional play, which begins with quarterfinal action Monday.

In the final AP Boys Basketball Polls until the postseason, Kankakee tied its highest state ranking of the season while BBCHS, Bishop McNamara and St. Anne all received votes.

After the Bobcats spent the middle quarters methodically crawling back, St. Anne senior Deion Fifer exploded for 17 fourth-quarter points to lead the Cardinals to their first-ever RVC Tournament crown Friday.