Kankakee Valley’s baseball team is heading into the 2026 season under second-year varsity head coach Steve Schmidt, following a 15-13 campaign last year.
The Kougars must rebuild nearly their entire starting lineup, with only one returning player. Entering his seventh year on staff, Schmidt said the offseason centered on conditioning, developing freshmen, and reinforcing the program’s standards as the group transitions from last year’s performance.
“We have an exciting group this year, good group of freshmen coming in that we’re excited about, and a group of hard-working seniors that have really set the standard for this offseason for us,” he said.
After taking over mid-September last season and scrambling to get up to speed, he shared it’s “a little bit easier to adjust” in the second year. The extra time has eased adjustments, though he emphasized that the expectations are still the same.
“Trying to play catch up last season, but this year, having the entire summer, entire fall, and obviously entire winter. Our expectations are the same,” Schmidt said. “Our standard never changes. Never changed since I took over last season.”
Schmidt called this offseason roster one of the hardest-working groups he’s seen in seven years, with 20–25 players showing up daily and freshmen pushing seniors for playing time.
