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: St. Joseph-Ogden
Preseason Rank: 54
2013 Record: 26-8
Conference: Sangamon Valley
IHSA Class: 2A
Head Coach: Josh Haley
Playoff Run: Lost in Supersectional (Pleasant Plains)
2013 Final Rank: Not Ranked

Returning Starters: 7
Returning Pitchers: 6

TOP PLAYERS
Name, Position, Class (College Commitment)

Hunter Hart, RHP/INF, 2014 (Indiana)
Brock Immke, RHP/INF, 2014 (Kankakee CC)
Tyler McCormick, RHP/1B, 2014 (Kankakee CC)
Chase Gadau, C, 2015
Jake Stewart, SS, 2014 (Augustana)
Cole Barry, RHP/INF, 2015

X-FACTOR
Hunter Hart. The Indiana recruit does it all for the Spartans, and has the ability to carry the team deep into the playoffs - as he did last season. As a junior, the 6-foot-3 Hart went 11-2 with a 1.16 ERA and 136 Ks. He also batted .464 with 5 homers and 38 RBI.

NEWCOMER TO WATCH
Dalton Parker, RHP, 2016

STAT RAT
Catcher Chase Gadau batted .367 with 13 doubles and 38 RBI as a sophomore last spring.

OUTLOOK
The outlook is certainly bright for the Spartans - especially when Hart is on the mound. Coach Josh Haley returns six of his top seven pitchers, and welcomes back four of his top five hitters from last year’s supersectional club that also won the Sangamon Valley championship.

BOTTOM LINE
The Spartans should make a similar run in the Class 2A playoffs this year. Their main roadblock will likely be Pleasant Plains again. Last year, Pleasant Plains easily defeated the Spartans 10-2 in the supersectionals, and went on to finish runner-up in 2A.

Season Countdown

+ Preseason Team Rankings

+ Updated Illinois 2014 Player Rankings

+ June Event Schedule

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