By Sean Duncan
Executive Director

Leading up to the start of the high school season, we will count down the top 75 preseason teams every day as part of our comprehensive season coverage: 

Team: Mundelein
Preseason Rank: 35
2013 Record: 27-5
Conference: North Suburban Lake
IHSA Class: 4A
Head Coach: Todd Parola
Playoff Run: Lost in First Round
2013 Final Rank: Not Ranked

Returning Starters: 5
Returning Pitchers: 2

TOP PLAYERS
Derek Parola, SS, 2014
Logan Reckert, C, 2014
Michael Metz, INF/RHP, 2014
Luke Adams, 1B, 2014
Adam Turner, RHP, 2014
Tyler Kozaritz, RHP, 2014
Luke Peterson, 3B, 2015
Sam Osisek, OF, 2015
Wes Farmer, INF, 2015

X-FACTOR
Adam Turner. The 6-foot-2, 160-pound right-hander will need to provide quality innings, as he is one of the few returning arms back from last year. As a junior, Turner logged 23.1 innings, and struck out 18 to 16 walks with a 2.70 ERA.

NEWCOMER TO WATCH
Reese Dolan, RHP/OF, 2016

KEY PLAYERS LOST
Mitch Schulewitz, RHP (Illinois-Chicago)
Will Farmer, SS (Southern Illinois)

STAT RAT
As a junior, middle infielder Derek Parola did not commit a single error the entire season at second base. Parola also batted .426 with 20 runs and 19 RBI. Parola will now slide over to shortstop this season with the graduation of Will Farmer.

OUTLOOK
It seems every year the Mustangs graduate an extremely talented senior class, only to become a top 25 team throughout the season. Mundelein was ranked in the top 10 for most of last season before losing in the first round of the playoffs. While the Mustangs return five starters from last year’s 27-win team that won the North Suburban Lake championship, they lost most of their quality innings, including PBR second-team All-State selection Mitch Schulewitz, who went undefeated last year. They will also need to replace the all-around production of Will Farmer, who also garnered All-State accolades. Although they are inexperienced on the mound, Mundelein is always one of the most well-prepared teams in the state, and coach Todd Parola’s clubs play rock-solid defense, throw strikes and scrap together runs. Pitching is a big question mark, though. Senior right-handers Adam Turner and Tyler Kozaritz have the most experience, having logged 23.1 and 21 innings, respectively. Derek Parola will be counted on heavily to anchor the defense at shortstop and produce at the plate. Logan Reckert is coming off a strong junior campaign in which he batted .414 with 22 RBI.

BOTTOM LINE
On paper, the Mustangs don’t necessarily look like a top-level team. In the preseason, they seldom do. But somehow, some way, Parola has them in the mix every year. You can pretty much pencil them in for 25-plus wins. Repeating as conference champions, however, will be a tall task, as Libertyville is the heavy favorite coming into the season. Then again, Mundelein seems to relish the underdog position.  

Make sure you follow @PBRillinois on Twitter for complete Illinois high school baseball coverage throughout the season.

Season Countdown

+ Preseason Team Rankings

+ Updated Illinois 2014 Player Rankings

+ June Event Schedule