The Bullpen

On this week's episode of The Bullpen, we revisit our 2024 interview with Riverside-Brookfield alum Owen Murphy. The two-time Prep Baseball Illinois Player of the Year (2021 & 2022) was the No. 2 ranked prospect in the state before the Atlanta Braves selected him 20th overall in the 2022 MLB Draft. This week, Murphy made that draft pick pay off — earning his call-up to the big leagues with...

The Bullpen is back with another loaded summer episode. The staff kicks things off with the latest baseball notes, touching on All-State honors, transfer portal moves from Illinois players around the country, and MLB trades and debuts from players with Illinois roots. From there, the crew breaks down standouts from the Peoria and South Suburban Summer IDs, highlighting the prospects turning heads...

The Bullpen is back to close out the season. The staff kicks things off with the latest baseball notes, including a look at the College World Series. From there, the crew talks through Player of the Year and All-State, highlighting the standout players from across Illinois after a loaded season. The staff then unveils the final Power 25 rankings, capping off the year with a definitive look at wher...

The Bullpen is back with another loaded episode. The staff kicks things off with the latest baseball notes, including Troy earning its first-ever Men's College World Series win over Ole Miss and setting up a rematch with West Virginia. From there, the crew updates the staff's Playoff Draft final standings before breaking down all four IHSA state championship games, recapping Tremont, St. J...

The Bullpen is back with another packed episode. The staff kicks things off with the latest baseball notes, including a look at the College World Series field and a recap of the Chicagoland Summer ID. From there, the crew breaks down the IHSA state tournament bracket, sorting through the matchups across all four classes and updating the staff's Playoff Draft scores heading into the final weeke...

The Bullpen is back with another loaded episode. The staff kicks things off with the latest college and baseball notes, including NIU's program-record 36-win season, Troy Baseball's run to host a Super Regional, and a look at the Illinois Rising Stars Games. From there, the crew breaks down the latest IHSA playoff results, sorting through the biggest upsets and upcoming matchups to watch a...

The Bullpen is back with its annual IHSA Playoff Draft Spectacular, with each staff member picking teams across all four classes to win a state title. Who do you have winning state this year? Before the draft, the crew reacts to NIU and UIC both earning NCAA Tournament bids — NIU as the No. 3 seed in the Tallahassee Regional and UIC as the No. 4 seed in the Atlanta Regional. The staff also hands o...

The Bullpen is back with another packed episode. The staff kicks things off with the latest college baseball notes, spotlighting Illinois players and programs making an impact at the next level. From there, the crew breaks down the newly released IHSA playoff brackets, sorting through the toughest sectionals and teams to watch as the postseason approaches. The staff then runs through the updated W...

The Bullpen is back with another loaded episode. The staff kicks things off with the latest college baseball notes, spotlighting Illinois players and programs making an impact at the next level, including a look at some standout performances from around the country. From there, the crew runs through the updated Week 8 Power 25 rankings, breaking down the latest movers and new entries as the regula...

The Bullpen is back with another packed episode. The staff kicks things off with the latest college baseball notes, spotlighting Illinois players and programs making an impact at the next level. From there, the crew runs through the updated Week 7 Power 25 rankings, breaking down the latest movers and teams to watch as the season heads into its final stretch. Diamond Notes highlights the standout...

The Bullpen is back with another loaded episode. The staff kicks things off with the latest college baseball notes, spotlighting Illinois players and programs making an impact at the next level. From there, the crew breaks down the Week 6 Power 25 bubble teams before Diamond Notes highlights the standout individual performances from around the state last week. The staff then recaps week six and ea...

The Bullpen is back with another packed episode. The staff runs through the updated Week 5 Power 25 rankings, breaking down the latest movers, new entries, and teams to watch as the season hits its stride. From there, the crew recaps weeks five and six of game coverage, highlighting standout prospects and performances from games our staff attended. The episode features a sit-down with East Peoria...

The Bullpen is back with another loaded episode. The staff runs through the updated Week 4 Power 25 rankings, breaking down the latest movers and teams to watch as the season heats up. From there, the crew recaps weeks four and five of game coverage and standout prospects from games we attended last week. We also talked about the Daily Roundup, highlighting the standout wins and performances from...

The Bullpen is back with another loaded episode. The staff runs through the updated Week 3 Power 25 rankings, breaking down the latest movers and teams to watch as the season heats up. From there, the crew recaps weeks three and four of game coverage and standout prospects from games we attended last week. We also talked about the Daily Roundup, highlighting the standout wins and performances from...

The Bullpen is back for week two of the Illinois high school baseball season. The staff runs through the updated Power 25 rankings, breaking down the top-5 that remains the same, teams making a rise, and bubble teams to know heading into the early weeks. From there, the crew recaps week two game coverage, highlighting the notable wins and performances from around the state. Diamond Notes returns w...

The Bullpen is back with a packed episode to kick off the high school baseball season. The staff recaps the Kickoff Classic, breaking down the top players and teams from opening weekend across Illinois. From there, the crew dives into the first Power 25 rankings of the season, sorting out the early movers and teams to watch. The staff also reacts to Pete Crow-Armstrong's contract extension wit...

This week on The Bullpen, the staff delivers their Illinois state championship predictions before breaking down the latest college baseball action, highlighting standout Illinois teams and players, along with a recap of the World Baseball Classic. The crew also runs through the latest Power 25 rankings and player rankings recap, giving you a full picture of where things stand across the state. The...

This week on The Bullpen, the staff breaks down last weekend's college baseball action with a spotlight on Illinois teams and players who stood out. From there, the crew shifts to the recruiting trail, highlighting prospects to keep an eye on from both the Joliet Pitcher ID and the Joliet Preseason ID events. The episode wraps up with a sit-down interview with Nazareth Academy Head Baseball Co...

On this week’s episode of The Bullpen , we recap last weekend’s college baseball slate, highlighting teams and players from Illinois who made an impact. We then break down the Prep Baseball Illinois Preseason All-State events, both Underclass and Upperclass, spotlighting some of the top prospects from the day. We wrap up the episode with an interview featuring Normal Community head baseball coach...

On this week’s episode of The Bullpen, our staff recapped last weekend’s college baseball standouts from Illinois. We then discussed Sam Antonacci’s home run against the Chicago Cubs in spring training before breaking down standouts from the Lockport Preseason ID. From there, we dove into both the Chicago and Peoria Preseason ID events, highlighting the players who impressed. We closed the episode...

On this week’s episode of The Bullpen , our staff recaps Illinois teams and prep prospects who competed during opening weekend of college baseball. We then break down some of the top performers from the McHenry and Lake Zurich Preseason IDs before wrapping up the show with an interview featuring Brother Rice head baseball coach Sean McBride. Chapters: 00:00 Intro 03:11 College Baseball Begins 20:0...

On this week’s episode of The Bullpen , our staff recaps College Baseball’s Opening Weekend and breaks down the Super Bowl — including our picks for the best commercials of the night. We also dive into Shooter Hunt’s notes from the Super 60 before spotlighting standout prospects from the O’Hare Preseason ID, organized by key takeaways and themes. We wrap up the show with an interview featuring Chr...

On this week’s episode of The Bullpen , our staff recaps recent sports news, including the Fighting Illini basketball team’s recent wins and the latest MLB headlines. We then break down the prospects who stood out at the Preseason ProCase before taking a look ahead at the Unsigned Senior Showcase and the Prep Baseball Super 60. Chapters: 00:00 Intro 03:10 Sports News 06:16 Preseason ProCase Recap...

On this week’s episode of The Bullpen , our staff recaps the latest MLB news, including recent trades and signings across the league. We then highlight Illinois prospects set to attend the Super 60, followed by a look ahead to the Unsigned Senior Showcase taking place immediately after Sunday’s event. From there, we break down prospects attending upcoming Preseason ID events and share our Picks to...

On this week’s episode of The Bullpen , our staff recaps the latest sports news, including a recap of the Chicago Bears’ 2025 season and Indiana’s historic run in the College Football Playoff. We then dive into recent MLB deals across the league before breaking down standouts from our first showcase of the year, the Aurora Preseason ID. From there, we share our Picks to Click for next Tuesday’s Pr...