On Nov. 7, Prep Baseball Report unveiled its national Preseason ID showcase schedule, including the seven events on the PBR Illinois’ Preseason ID calendar. It all starts on Feb. 4 in Aurora, with events spanning the state, leading to the start of the IHSA season in the early spring. These events serve as identifiers for the Preseason All-State, which takes place at the end of the month, as well as the Illinois State Games. 

If you’re curious to learn more about the Prep Baseball Report’s showcase structure, here’s an idea of what you can expect while attending and following a PBR showcase.

WHAT IS A PRESEASON ID EVENT?

The Preseason ID series is unique in several ways. It serves as an identifier heading into the spring high school season, giving our scouts as well as college recruiters, a list of prospects to follow as they plan their spring coverage. We also tend to see prospects’ best performances in the Preseason, as most athletes are fresh and coming off of strict and targeted off-season training programs that have resulted in big gains, primed for updating their PBR profile. All of which lends the perfect opportunity to secure invitations to some of the summer's biggest invite-only events such as the Top Prospect Games, PBR Future Games, and more. 

Our staff strategically hosts Preseason ID events throughout the state in search of players who have taken advantage of the offseason, identifying new prospects to add to our follow lists or players our staff is already familiar with who are on the rise.

All player information including tech metrics, stats, videos, scouting reports and more will be hosted to the Prep Baseball Report website, bolstering the player profile, which is subscribed to by more than 800 colleges across the country.

AURORA PRESEASON ID 

Our calendar kicks off on February 4th at the Aurora Sports Zone for the second straight year. This event last year provided our staff with a strong view at several prospects early on, headlined by RHP Dominic Voegele (Columbia, 2023; Kansas commit) and RHP Michael Belbot (Stevenson, 2023; Illinois-Chicago). Voegele saw a meteoric rise throughout this past year, vaulting into the top-15 in the Illinois’ 2023 class while earning invites to the PBR ProCase Midwest and Illinois State Games. He capped a productive 2022 by committing to Kansas and is a name that should garner some pro looks this spring. Belbot broke out at this event, pitching in the upper-80s with an advanced breaking ball and earning an invitation to the Preseason All-State as a result. That positive momentum carried over into the summer for Belbot, and he committed to UIC at the end of June. INF Josh Polubinski (Oswego East, 2023) and LHP Luke Brown (Plainfield North, 2023; Lewis commit) were two winners from this event as well. 

MCHENRY PRESEASON ID 

Scheduled for February 11th, the McHenry Preseason ID has been an annual staple on our calendar dating back to 2016. We’ve routinely seen the top prospects from the northwestern part of the state, and 24 players from last year’s roster have already committed to play college baseball. Leading that group are LHP Chandler Alderman (North Boone, 2023; Middle Tennessee), RHP Andrew Ressler (Huntley, 2023; Southern Illinois - Edwardsville), and INF J.R. Nelson (Stevenson, 2023; Ohio). INF Ryan Quinlan (Huntley, 2023; Eastern Illinois), LHP Lucas Foley (Lake Zurich, 2023; Valparaiso), and 3B Christian Graves (Jacobs, 2023; Bradley) all came away as winners, and all three of them committed to Division I schools throughout the summer. INF AJ Putty (Huntley) also attended, and the 6-foot-4, 205-pound sophomore looks to be a premier right-handed bat in the Illinois’ 2025 class. 

*Note: We will not run the 60-yard dash at this event and all batting evaluations will take place in the facilities’ batting cages. 

O’HARE PRESEASON ID 

We’re headed to the state-of-the-art Bo Jackson Elite Sports Dome in Bensenville on February 12th to host the O’Hare Preseason ID for the third straight year. We saw more than 100 players at this event last winter and that group certainly wasn’t lacking talent. INF Dayton Murphy (Crystal Lake South, 2024; Michigan State) truly broke out after this day, earning an invitation to the PBR Future Games and recently committing to Michigan State. CIF Cash Campbell (Montini Catholic, 2024; Iowa) further solidified his status as an elite left-handed bat in the state’s junior class, while INF Troy Stukenberg (Lyons Township, 2023; Saint Xavier commit) soared up our 2023 rankings after a loud workout that included a 6.63 60, 98.5 mph max exit velocity, and a 351 ft. peak batted distance. It was here that we saw RHP Anthony Solis (Waukegan, 2023) for the first time, too. The 5-foot-11, 165-pound senior showed an upside two-pitch that included a devastating swing-and-miss slider, and he committed to Eastern Illinois at the start of the summer. RHP Drew Koenen (Maine South, 2023; Dartmouth) started his massive ascent here, paving the way for his dominant spring and summer seasons. We also saw recent Louisville commit LHP Anthony Karbowski (Hampshire, 2025) here for the first time, where he provided us a slight glimpse to the bright future that lies ahead. We’re expecting a packed house at this event and our scouts are excited to see yet another wave of talent flow through. 

CHICAGO PRESEASON ID 

Our staff will make the trip to the Pullman Center on February 18th to host the fifth annual Chicago Preseason ID. This event has offered us an opportunity to check-in on a multitude of quality prospects over the years and the 2022 crop was another strong group. OF William Hill (Brooks, 2023; South Suburban JC), a former PBR Future Gamer, stood out as a high upside follow. OF Lance Moon (Brother Rice, 2025) left a positive impression on our scouts after an all-around impressive workout. Both RHP Kenneth Jackson (Simeon, 2023; Southeastern CC) and OF Kolin Adams (Mount Carmel, 2025) earned invites to the Illinois State Games after strong showings at this event, too. 

LOCKPORT PRESEASON ID 

Year after the year, the Lockport Preseason ID is usually the most attended event on our winter calendar. We’ll host it this year on February 20th at Bo Jackson’s Elite Sports Dome in Lockport and it’s consistently one of the best events we run all year. We saw more than 200 players here last winter and with that came an abundance of talent scattered throughout the roster. Last year’s group was no different, as the roster was headlined by INF Jake Zitella (St. Charles East, 2023) and OF Dennis Butler III (Simeon, 2024), both of which are Power Five commits and nationally-ranked prospects in their respective classes. OF Tommy Atkinson (St. Rita, 2023) continued to prove he’s a top right-handed bat in the Illinois’ 2023 class here and this event was also where INF Zan von Schlegell (Saint Viator, 2023; St. Thomas commit) debuted to our staff, catapulting up our rankings as a result. We saw INF James Love (Joliet West, 2024; Eastern Illinois) take one of the loudest BP rounds of the entire winter here and kickoff a season that would ultimately land him inside the top-25 prospects in his class. INF/C Enzo Infelise (Providence Catholic, 2025) started his productive 2022 campaign off here - one that featured an invitation to the Future Games and the Illinois State Games. The expectation is for this year’s group to be full of quality prospects again, and our staff is always looking forward to this winter staple. 

PEORIA PRESEASON ID 

Our winter tour makes a pit stop in the central part of the state on February 22nd for the annual Peoria Preseason ID. We’ve now run this event six years in a row and it routinely provides us with an up-close opportunity to check in on an area of the state that consistently produces quality talent. More than 60 players made the trip to the Louisville Sluggers Sports Complex last winter and multiple names stood out. LHP Landen Patton (Sangamon Valley, 2024), INF Dane Hrasky (O’Fallon, 2025), OF Reed Drabant (Columbia, 2023; Vincennes CC) all attended the Illinois State Games, while RHP/C Ryan Schaffnit (Morton, 2025) emerged as a high-upside follow in the sophomore class on the mound from this event. 

JOLIET PRESEASON ID 

We wrap up our Preseason ID circuit with a trip to Rhino Baseball Academy in Shorewood to host the third ever Joliet Preseason ID. This event concluded our winter calendar last year and 14 players from that roster have already committed to play baseball at the next level. INF Easton Harris (Washington, 2022) showed out as the day’s top prospect and committed to Bradley shortly afterwards. We saw C/RHP Blaine Williams (Tremont, 2025) here for the first time and he showed out as one of the top prospects we saw all winter. Williams slotted inside the top-15 prospects on the state’s 2025 board in his initial debut and he committed to Illinois in early July. 

**Click here to view the 2023 PBR Illinois showcase calendar**

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