After a long off-season of waiting, the 2025 season is about to kick off for the Illini. To start its journey, Illinois will head down to Corpus Christi, Texas, to take on Abilene Christian. The Illini and Wildcats will face off in a three-game series starting Friday and ending Sunday.
Scouting the Wildcats
The Wildcats are in the Western Athletic Conference, which has been viewed as fairly weak in the past. That said, the Wildcats had a solid season in 2024. They posted a 33-25 overall record in addition to an 18-12 record in conference play.
It’s also worth noting that Abilene Christian took down Utah Valley in the 2024 quarterfinals of the University Credit Union WAC Baseball Tournament. It fell to Tarleton State in the semifinals, but a tournament win is impressive nonetheless.
Abilene Christian is led by graduate student infielder Benjamin Greer, who enters the season with the highest batting average among returning players. He hit .338 last season and carried a .913 OPS.
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The Pearland, Texas native only appeared in 44 of the team’s 58 games last season. Greer does not hit many home runs, only notching two in his 44 appearances for the Wildcats last year. However, the 23-year-old has a penchant for getting on base and had the second-highest doubles (15).
Abilene Christian falls at No. 153 in the RPI rankings, while Illinois ranks at No. 43.
Start of a new journey
Illinois is coming into this season on the back of winning the Big Ten, but the team lost talent to MLB and graduation.
This does not mean that Illinois is devoid of skill on the roster. In fact, four players — junior pitchers Tyler Schmitt and Julius Sanchez, junior outfielder Nick Groves and sophomore outfielder Cameron Chee-Aloy — rank as MLB draft prospects.
Three more Illinois players — redshirt senior infielder Drake Westcott, graduate student catcher Jacob Schroeder and redshirt junior pitcher Ben Plumley — have also been named to the Big Ten Players to Watch list.
The biggest change for Illinois will be its offense. Last season, the team hit 104 home runs, but with many of those sluggers having moved on, there may be a power outage in Champaign.
Illinois was able to hang on to Westcott, who hit the second-most homers on the team last season. The Edwardsville native launched 16 during the 2024 campaign.
Schroeder, meanwhile, slots into the starting role after Cam Janik was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates following last season. Janik, the team leader in average (.356), hits (80) and total bases (120) last season, left some big shoes to fill.
However, Schroeder might be up to the task. The graduate student led the team in slugging percentage (.613) and OPS (1.047) last year and ranked third in home runs (14).
From the plate to the mound
Plumley looks to improve upon what was already a breakout campaign last season. The reliever recorded 33 strikeouts across 35.1 innings. Plumley could take on an increased role this year following the departure of two workhorse starters.
The team has a good opportunity to get hot early in the season, with six games down in Texas against two teams of lower rankings than Illinois in the RPI. Illinois could roll off some major wins early.
The first series of the season begins this weekend. The games will be live on FloCollege TV and can be heard on the radio at 1400 AM WDWS.
