The latest (April 14th) Illinois Coaches Association high school softball rankings are out. In Class 1A, (20-0) Carrollton is ranked #1. Local conference-affiliated teams that are in the top-20 include (8-0) Illini Bluffs at #3. The (10-0) West Central Heat are #9, followed by (9-3) A-Town at #15.
In class 2A, (11-1) Beecher is on top. Beecher was beaten by Rockridge in the 2023 class 2A championship game. Speaking of Rockridge, the (12-2) Rockets come in at #2 this week. The 2023 class 1A champs, Peru St. Bede has been bumped up to class 2A this season. They are ranked #11, followed by Quincy Notre Dame at #12. (12-3) Sherrard received votes but not enough to crack the top-20.
In the larger school polls, Antioch is ranked #1 in class 3A. Western Big Six Conference Sterling is #6. The Peoria-area is always well-represented in the softball polls. Metamora is #2, East Peoria is #4, Dunlap is #9 and Washington is #10. Class 4A is headed up by Chicago Marist at #1.