The Illinois 2022 Prep Baseball Report First Team All-State squad features a talented group of prospects that helped their respective teams to successful seasons. Our All-State teams pull from the entire state, all classifications.

The players below, we believed, were the most dominant at their respective positions. Some positions were more loaded than others, especially outfielders and pitchers this year. We took into account several different metrics: overall performance, statistics, and strength of schedule/competition.

The All-State teams are geared more towards statistical performance, otherwise they’d just be a direct reflection of our PBR Player Rankings, which rank players on pure ability/prospect status only. We’ve also strongly considered the defensive play of several players, something that gets thrown out the window at times during all-area or all-conference debates.

Over the next few days we will also unveil our second and third teams.

Without further ado, a look at the 2022 First Team All-State selections:

PITCHERS

Brandon Bak LHP / OF / Plainfield North, IL / 2022 POS IP W/L H K BB ERA WHIP POS AVE 2B HR R RBI LHP  66.2 8-0 25 129 21 0.84 0.69 OF .362 12 1 29 24 Illinois-Chicago commit. Bak has emerged as one of the state’s most impactful two-way prospects throughout his high school tenure and he certainly finished his high school career off on a high note. He served as a middle-of-the-order bat for the Tigers, batting .362 in 116 at-bats with 13 extra-base hits and 24 RBIs. Bak walked (10) more than he struck out (9), producing at the plate while providing high-end defense in center field. His most important contributions came on the hill, however, where Bak finished the season with an 8-0 record. He struck out an absurd 129 batters over 66 ⅔ innings, walking only 21. Bak only allowed eight earned runs all spring, good for 0.84 ERA, and his 0.69 WHIP was amongst the lowest of any arm in the entire state.

Ryan Geraghty RHP / Mundelein , IL / 2023 POS IP W/L H K ERA WHIP RHP  64.2 9-1 25 118 1.19 0.665 Wichita State commit. One of the top pitching prospects in the Midwest; has been up to 94 mph on the mound with a true swing-and-miss slider. Anchored a Mundelein team on the mound that spent the entire season towards the top of our Power 25 rankings and eventually finished as the 4A runner-ups. Earned all North Suburban Conference honors and finished with the third-highest strikeouts in Mundelein program history, having tossed 36 less innings than the two players ahead of him. Posted a 9-1 record over 64 ⅔ innings, striking out 118 batters with a 1.19 ERA and 0.66 WHIP. Tossed a no-hitter in the regional semifinal with 15 strikeouts and finished the year with three complete games, including a shutout over Barrington in the sectional semifinal.

Casey Hintz RHP / SS / St. Viator, IL / 2022 POS IP W/L Save H K ER ERA WHIP POS AVE R OBP SB RHP  54.1 9-0 3 30 72 4 0.52 0.755 SS .315 40 .512 30/30 Arizona commit. Hintz played a major role on both sides of the ball for a Saint Viator team that won more than 30 games and spent a few weeks as the top team on the Illinois Power 25 rankings. Hintz shared East Suburban Catholic Conference Player of the Year honors and was the conference Pitcher of the Year. He batted .315 with six extra-base hits and went a perfect 30-for-30 on the basepaths. Hintz truly shined on the mound, however, allowing just four earned runs all spring over a 54 ⅓ inning span, equating to a 0.51 ERA and 0.75 WHIP while striking out 72. He went 9-0 on the mound and also saved three games, proving capable of helping the Lions win in any situation.

Cole Van Assen RHP / Brother Rice , IL / 2023 POS IP W/L CG H K ERA WHIP RHP  77.1 13-0 5 61 92 1.54 1.112 Purdue commit. Van Assen was the ace of Brother Rice’s pitching staff this season, pitching and performing in a large chunk of the Crusaders’ key contests. He handled a bulky workload this spring, tossing 77 ⅓ innings and posting a 1.54 ERA in that span with 92 strikeouts. Van Assen pitched to a perfect 13-0 record and also saved one game. The former PBR Future Games participant was up to 88 mph early this spring and continued to throw his entire arsenal for strikes.

CATCHER

FIRST BASEMAN

MIDDLE INFIELD

THIRD BASEMAN

OUTFIELDERS

UTILITY

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