The Lakes baseball program is beginning a new chapter- not only as a new season, but with a new head coach. Coach Brett Hill has stepped up from assistant coach to head coach, starting in the 2026 season. From working on mental game strategies to setting high-stakes standards, the boys have been hard at work to prepare for a dominating season.
The varsity roster holds 24 players, with 17 being seniors. Though a baseball field can only hold nine of them, this doesn’t hold back the contributions from everyone.
“We have tremendous depth on the mound and can count on a large number of players to contribute offensively and defensively on any given day,” said Hill. “[They] know they need to be prepared at all times because we will call on them to be ready to compete.”
The standards are set, and the expectations are high for this season. The team fell short of the first round of regionals to Crystal Lake Central in the previous season. The pre-season efforts are preparing them to go further this year not only physically, but also through maintaining a strong mental game and having supportive team chemistry.
Hill has introduced more team meetings and program discussions, adding his own type of style to this program. One of those things being a new term: MUDITA, introduced by the University of Alabama softball coach. While softball and baseball have differences, one thing that stays the same throughout both sports is supportive teammates. MUDITA means living vicariously through others and supporting your teammates’ successes, not just your own.
“MUDITA is going to help drive our energy, and [our coaches] help motivate us through MUDITA,” said Jake Kane, a senior second-baseman and successful base runner for the Eagles. “When you have everyone on one team trying to reach one goal, which is the dog pile in Joliet when we win state, that’s where you achieve ultimate MUDITA.”
With having the biggest senior class in Lakes history, the boys hope to achieve many wins throughout the season in conference and out of conference to get them far in the post season.
“The obvious goal for all HS baseball teams is 5 t-shirts (Conference, Regional, Sectional, Super-sectional, State),” said Hill. “We have high expectations for the on-field success of our team but we also expect high quality young men to come out of our program.”
The standards are held high for this dominating senior class and large program to follow. When it comes to supporting your teammates, coming out on top in conference, or making your way in the post season, the Lakes baseball team is working hard at reaching all of these achievements.
