IHSBCA announce All-State Teams, two Knights appear

By Ray Popkess

The Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association recently submitted their votes for the Illinois All-State teams with the conclusion of the baseball season on June 13.

Among the Class 3A teams, the Triad Knights had two of their star players make the cut for the All-State selection. First baseman Keegan Seipp and starting pitcher/infielder Nolan Keller both had tremendous seasons for Triad and were two of the 25 players selected to the team. Seipp was also selected to Illinois Prep Baseball’s, one of the top high school baseball scouting organizations, All-State First Team. He also received an award as the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Athlete of the Year.

Seipp, a lefty-swinging junior, is Triad’s most prominent bat and holds down the first base bag on defense.  He led his team and the Mississippi Valley Conference in hits (51), home runs, RBIs (53) and slugging percentage (.906) this season and set the single-season record for home runs in Triad history with 16 this year. He committed to play at Xavier University back in February and will attend the school in the fall of 2027.

Keller, a right-handed pitcher, was the Knights’ ace this season and helped them advance to the State Championship game by pitching a complete game shutout in the State Semifinal. He led the conference in wins (11), complete games (8), strikeouts (83) and boasted a 1.22 ERA in 74 and one-third innings pitched. The senior for Triad recently graduated and will attend Kaskaskia College this fall.