Sauk Valley Baseball 5 Players to Watch in 2026
Here are five of the top returning baseball players to watch in the Sauk Valley area this season as the 2026 season gets underway. Garret Matznick, Newman, sr. , SS Matznick is the reigning SVM Player of the Year, an Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association All-State pick in Class 2A and All-Three Rivers Athletic Conference East unanimous first-team selection.
He hit . 381 with a . 529 OBP, 1.
037 OPS, 45 hits, 13 doubles, 33 walks, 51 runs scored, 25 RBIs and a school-record 49 stolen bases. He was just one run and one walk short of Brendan Tunink’s single-season school records of 52 runs scored and 34 walks. He was 6 for 6 in save situations on the mound, helping the Comets reach state for the third straight year.
Matznick is a Kaskaskia College commit. Chase Dykstra, Fulton, sr. , P He was an IHSBCA All-State pick in Class 1A, a unanimous All-NUIC West first-team selection who was 6-1 on the mound with 126 strikeouts in 67⅓ innings and a 0.
73 ERA. He hit . 426 with a 1.