IHSA Team to Watch: Joliet West
March 22, 2024
The Illinois high school baseball season kicks off on March 11, opening day for regular season action under IHSA regulations. Over the next two weeks, leading up to opening day, we’ll be publishing our team previews ahead of the 2024 spring season, touching on programs spanning all state classifications, counting down through the official Prep Baseball Illinois Preseason Power 25 Rankings.
Perennially, we’ve submitted a preseason questionnaire to high school head coaches across the entire state. Their responses have been flooding in and we’re using the detailed insight they’ve provided in our team-by-team preseason analysis.
Our 2024 preseason coverage continues today.
High School: Joliet West Tigers
Head Coach: John Karczewski
Classification: 4A
Conference: Southwest Prairie
2023 Record (Finish): 23-10 (Lost in Regional Finals to Lincoln-Way East 7-3)
Key Players Lost: Brandon Alzamora (John Wood CC), Conner Hogan (Aurora), Ayden Lasson (Ripon), Joe Lukancic (Aurora), John Spoto (Rock Valley JC)
ROSTER PREVIEW
No. of Returning Positional Starters: Seven
No. of Returning Pitchers: Five
Team Strengths: Veteran Lineup
NAME | STATE | CLASS | POS | COMMITMENT |
Jimmy Anderson | IL | 2024 | SS/RHP | Heartland CC |
Cael Karczewski | IL | 2024 | INF | Jefferson JC |
James Love | IL | 2024 | INF/RHP | Eastern Illinois |
Matthew Marchiniak | IL | 2024 | INF | - |
Juan Rico | IL | 2024 | RHP | - |
Parker Schwarting | IL | 2024 | INF | - |
Casey Tyrell | IL | 2024 | LHP | IU-South Bend |
Owen Young | IL | 2024 | C | Lewis |
Christian Chignoli | IL | 2024 | OF | - |
Zach Chignoli | IL | 2025 | INF | - |
Ryan Sobun | IL | 2025 | INF/RHP | - |
Find more information on the 2024 Joliet West program below:
+ Follow them on X: @jtwestbaseball
+ Visit the Prep Baseball Illinois Preseason Power 25 homepage