Morton College's 2026 baseball team shredded program records at a frantic pace last seen by fallen accounting giant Enron during the early 2000s.

In capturing the program's first Skyway Conference crown in 31 years, the Panthers rewrote the Morton College record book with:
Most wins – 41
Most consecutive wins – 15
Most games played - 60
Most home runs – 106
Most runs scored – 596
Most total bases – 1,117
Most home runs individual – Hayden Mosley (22)
Most RBI individual – Hayden Mosley (92)
Most players with 10 or more home runs (6)
Most wins by a pitcher – Will Lewis (9)

Morton College also was top 10 nationally in:
4^th – Slugging percentage (.623)
5^th – Home runs (106), batting average (.364) & sacrifice flies (36)
7^th – Total bases (1,117)
8^th – Runs scored (596) & extra-base hits (243)
9^th – RBI (543) & hits (643)
10^th – On-base percentage (.470)

Panther accolades
Region 4 First Team – Hayden Mosley
Region 4 Second Team – Will Lewis & Trey Hernandez
Skyway Coach of the Year – Chris Wido
Skyway Player of the Year – Neil Glynn
Skyway Pitcher of the Year – Will Lewis
Skyway First Team – Will Lewis, Neil Glynn, Trey Hernandez & Hayden Mosley
Skyway Second Team – David Garza
Skyway Honorable Mention – Dasaan Lee, Hunter Johnson, Aidan Brokaw & Bren Milburn

No way!
Hard to believe the Panthers got out of the gate with an 0-3 showing to debut the season at Vincennes.

"It took us a little while to get into our groove," Morton College baseball coach Chris Wido said. "We were finally able to get outside and go out and play. We made some mistakes, but we got better. Once we solidified our lineup and the freshman pitchers stepped up, we started rolling."

Win streak No. 1
The Panthers reeled off seven straight wins between February 27^th and March 8^th, outscoring the opposition 104-27.

Win streak No. 2
Morton College won 15 straight games between March 24^th and April 9^th, outscoring the opposition 204-81.

"Once we hit that win streak, we realized how good we could be," Wido noted. "That's when everybody bought in. We had a lot of returning players take big steps from freshman to sophomore year."

Showcase success stories
Morton College discovered its last two big boppers – Hayden Mosley and Miguel Cantu – at the Prep Baseball Report's Unsigned Senior Showcase held in February at the MAX in McCook.

Cantu set a seemingly untouchable standard with program records 17 HR and 87 RBI as a freshman in 2023. Three years later, Mosley went off for program records 22 home runs and 94 RBI to parlay himself, like Cantu, into getting multiple NCAA Division I offers.

"Hayden had a great freshman year, but he was able to find a way to be better," Wido said.

Mosley's 22 home runs and 94 RBI were first in Region 4. He was tied for fourth nationally in NJCAA Division II for RBI. In addition, Mosley was the only Panther to appear in all 60 games.

It's a simple game
The key to Morton College's success during the 2020s? While putting up lofty offensive numbers certainly a contributing factor, defense also plays a factor.

During sub-.500 seasons of 2021 and '25, the Panthers made 122 and 101 errors, respectively. The other four seasons all with winning records? Morton College's fielding average ranged between .954 and .959 with the Panthers averaging 66.5 errors per campaign.

Lee Elia's multitude of progress
One of the big reasons behind Morton College's 16-game improvement in the win column from a year ago was the quantum leaps made by the sophomore class.

"We had a lot of returning players take big steps and improve from freshman year to sophomore year," Wido said.

Among those Panthers to progress were:
Coulson Reidel

	BA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI
2026	.405	153	67	62	15	0	8	35
2025	.335	188	62	63	13	0	3	34

 
Hayden Mosley

	BA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI
2026	.394	203	71	80	10	2	22	92
2025	.317	164	36	52	10	1	9	41

 
 
David Garza

	BA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI
2026	.434	173	53	75	16	3	5	61
2025	.266	154	31	41	8	1	1	25

 
Aidan Brokaw

	BA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI
2026	.379	140	52	53	8	1	12	41
2025	.314	118	28	37	5	0	2	13

 
Dasaan Lee

	BA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI
2026	.276	152	46	42	9	3	10	40
2025	.271	166	22	45	9	0	3	35

 
Will Lewis

	W	L	ERA	IP	SO	BB
2026	9	2	3.52	61.1	74	25
2025	2	4	7.36	25.2	37	14

 
Jack Roessler

	W	L	ERA	IP	SO	BB
2026	6	4	5.59	58.0	57	24
2025	3	2	6.18	43.2	29	21

Merrick Hill

	W	L	ERA	IP	SO	BB
2026	5	1	8.75	23.2	27	12
2025	0	4	6.48	25.0	33	20

Garza growth
Dave Garza's batting average jumped 168 points from .266 to a team-leading .434. He also went from 25 RBI as a freshman to 61 as a sophomore. Garza's .434 batting average was fourth in Region 4.

"David Garza, for sure, offensively took it another level," Wido said "He played first base in high school, but we had him play some right field last year. With a year's experience, he played great defensively for us this season."

Will to 9
Will Lewis developed into the staff ace and set a Morton College single-season record for wins with 9, breaking the previous best of 8 held by Dale Stone (1974), Steve Skolarz (1977) and Bob Kairis (1986).

Lewis also was named Skyway Conference Pitcher of the Year and earned Region 4 Second Team honors, going 9-2 with staff-bests 3.52 ERA and 74 strikeouts. He posted a five-inning no-hitter vs. Lake County April 8^th. Lewis also had the most wins among pitchers for Region 4.

"Will just found his groove and took off," Wido said.

In addition, Lewis received a Region IV Gold Glove award. His fielding average was 1.000 as Lewis handled 14 chances perfectly. Lewis is the fourth Panther to be honored in the last five years.

Brokaw basher
Sophomore shortstop Aidan Brokaw enjoyed a power surge, going from 2 home runs in 2025 to 12 in 2026 while playing a smooth shortstop.

"He was one of our best defensive shortstops who took his game to another level," Wido noted.

Dasaan difference
Sophomore catcher Dasaan Lee is headed to NCAA Division I Grambling State, the home for former Panther volleyball player Maggie Plush. Lee's power numbers jumped from 3 home runs in 2025 to 10 in 2026.

"Dasaan definitely made major strides," Wido said. "He found another level with power. The preparation he did to catch 40-plus games was something else."

Cooking with Coulson
Sophomore outfielder Coulson Reidel enjoyed a 70-point increase in his batting average from 2025 to 2026. He was one of three Panther regulars to hit over .400. From the lead-off spot, Reidel was tops among regulars with a .528 on-base average. He was second with 67 runs scored and third with 33 walks.

"Coulson did a great job of setting the table," Wido observed.

MVP, MVP, MVP
Neil Glynn was the Skyway Conference Player of the Year, hitting .398 with 10 home runs and 50 RBI. The redshirt freshman first baseman wore out Lake County in an April 8^th twin bill, going 8 for 9 with 4 home runs and 12 RBI. Glynn hit .525 in Skyway play and hit safely in 12 of 13 league games.

"Neil went from being a redshirt to Skyway Player of the Year," Wido said. "It was a testament to his hard work. When we were able to move David Garza to the outfield, it created a domino effect. Neil got to play first every day and he took off."

Transfer impact
Transfers Trey Hernandez, Hunter Johnson and Nik Dabrowski all contributed mightily to Morton College's 2026 success.

The Central Methodist-bound Hernandez yielded a big stick and found a home at second base. He hit .429 with 14 home runs and 58 RBI. His .810 slugging percentage and 16 doubles were tops.

"While Trey learned second base, we were able to get his bat in the lineup," Wido said.

Johnson was a terrific two-way player for the Panthers, hitting .328 with 14 home runs and 50 RBI as a position player and going 5-3 with 59 strikeouts in 42.2 innings on the mound.

Dabrowski contributed as a spot starter in the outfield, hitting .269 with 3 home runs and 21 RBI.

Russo's return
Wido couldn't emphasize enough how great it was to get Joey Russo back. The redshirt sophomore sat out last year with an injury.

While limited to just 19 games, Russo hit .395. He ended his Panther career with a bang in the two Region 4 playoff games vs. Rock Valley, going 7 of 8 with 3 home runs and 8 RBI.

"He had a great moment in the playoffs vs. Rock Valley," Wido said. "They couldn't get him out."

Man of steal
Freshman Bren Milburn came to Morton College as a highly-touted base stealer at south suburban Crete-Monee where he swiped 188 bases. He made the move from shortstop in high school to center field in college. Milburn stole a team-high 33 bases and drew 41 walks to go with a .343 batting average.

"He did a great job for us in center," Wido said.

Pitching depth
Jack Roessler (6-4, 57 strikeouts in 58 innings) and Joel Quezada (3-2, 4.96 ERA) helped bolster the starting rotation, while Nathan Byrdak (2-1, 3.55 ERA), Konrad Toth (2-0, 25 strikeouts in 18.1 innings), Merrick Hill (5-1, 27 strikeouts in 23.2 innings) and Justin Gibbs (3-1, 3.58 ERA, 33 strikeouts in 32.2 innings) gave the Panthers a number of favorite relief options.

"Jack was rock-solid and having Joel back healthy was huge," Wido said.

Best since 1992
Morton College's .683 winning percentage this season was the program's best since 1992 when the George Seibel-led Panthers went 27-12 for a mark of .692. The '92 Panthers featured MLB draft choice Terry Rosenkranz and all-Region 4 players Rick Lapka, Chris Polanski, Bob Murray and Stu Sonheim.

Consistent winners
The Panthers were steady in winning, regardless of venue.

Morton College went:
Home – 14-5, .739 winning percentage
Away – 14-7, .667 winning percentage
Neutral – 13-7, .650 winning percentage

Panther pull off Skyway at the wire
Morton College finished 10-4 in the Skyway, holding off McHenry, Prairie State and Elgin by a game. It was the closest Skyway race since 2023 when Waubonsee ended up a game ahead of McHenry for the top spot.

"Winning the conference always is a goal of ours at the start of every year," Wido said. "We never looked ahead – we were only concerned about the series we were in. The conference was probably more balanced top to bottom. Every game and series were tough."

Hit in the classroom, too
The Panthers put 26 players on the Skyway All-Academic Team. Amazingly, it wasn't the most in the Skyway as McHenry had 27. If you're comparing this to a baseball race, think of the 2021 NL West race when the Los Angeles Dodgers won 106 games and weren't division champs because the San Francisco Giants had 107 wins.

All eight Skyway schools in baseball could field full teams with their all-academic student-athletes.

Panthers honored included:
Daniel Basalone
Aidan Brokaw
Parker Brown
Thomas Burke
Nathan Byrdak
Nikolas Dabrowski
Joseph Falkowski
David Garza
Justin Gibbs
Neil Glynn
Merrick Hill
Mason Lang
Dasaan Lee
Will Lewis
Brenden Malley
Quinn Mateja
Dylan McGinley
Bren Milburn
Hayden Mosley
Joshua Quezada
Coulson Reidel
John Rings
Jack Roessler
Jack Swarbrick
Wil White
Jackson Wigstone

Back to 500
After not scoring 500 runs last season, the Panthers crossed home plate safely 596 times in 2026. It's something the Panthers now have done three times in the last four years. Morton College scored 552 runs in 2023 and 505 in 2024.

Highest winning percentages by the decade
1928 & 29 - .750 (9-3)
1934 – 1.000 (9-0)
1947 - .909 (10-1)
1956 - .727 (8-3)
1964 - .706 (12-5)
1972 - .775 (15-4-1)
1989 - .643 (27-15)
1992 - .692 (27-12)
2007 - .278 (10-26)
2011 - .636 (35-20)
2026 - .683 (41-19)