Coach Illies Leads Spartans On Their Surprising Tournament Run
Making it to the State Baseball Tournament was unexpected for the ROCORI Spartans in 2026. ROCORI was the #4 seed in what was a loaded Section 8-3-A field. The Spartans posted a 1st round win over Hutchinson 11-1, before knocking off #1 seed, Sartell 6-3. The Spartans stayed in the winners bracket with a 12-2 over Fergus Falls which catapulted them to the section final. ROCORI defeated Willmar 4-1 in the section final to earn the Section 83A title and a trip to the State Tournament.
Coach Illies
ROCORI head baseball coach Jeff Illies joined me on WJON. This is the 7th state tournament appearance for Illies as head coach of the Spartans and their first one since 2018. He says he is blessed to be apart of a great program at ROCORI and the experience he's gained helps when participating in section and state tournaments.
Top Performers
Illies says the team is playing their best baseball right now and he's grateful to be 1 of 32 teams in the state still playing high school baseball. Top players for the Spartans this season include junior Cal Heying, who Illies says really stepped up his play in the section playoffs. ROCORI's top pitcher is junior Nolan VanLoy, he's also their #3 hitter. VanLoy had multiple extra base hits in the section run for the Spartans. He pitched 2 playoff games, which were both wins.
Illies says their 6 seniors have led the team this season including Max Fredin, who earned two wins on the mound in the playoffs. Other top contributors include Joel Olmsheid and Zander Folkerts . Illies says as a team their lineup was solid 1-9 and everyone were tough outs throughout the playoffs.
Quarterfinals Matchup
ROCORI is 16-10 this season and is seeded #8 in the Class 3A State Tournament. They play their quarterfinal game at 3pm Thursday in Chaska against top seeded Totino-Grace. Illies believes they have the ability to earn some wins at the State Tournament and understand anything can happen in the game of baseball.
If you'd like to listen to my conversation with Jeff Illies, click below.