East Peoria’s Duncheon wins 2026 Clutch Sports Media Baseball Player of the Year

East Peoria’s graduating class of seniors made an impact on its sports teams that will not be forgotten. 

A memorable chapter in Raiders lore closed with their baseball team breaking through after a long wait to reach the IHSA State Finals and finish third in Class 3A. Whether it was needing a big hit, a big strikeout on the mound, a sound defensive presence or a leader in the dugout, RJ Duncheon was at the center of it all and is Clutch Sports Media’s 2026 Baseball Player of the Year. 

Duncheon’s .542 batting average led all players in the area and he coupled that with 41 RBIs, 14 doubles, nine home runs and 65 total hits. In the Raiders’ two games at state, he went 5-for-6 at the plate with a double, two home runs and four RBIs. 

He was also East Peoria’s ace on the mound and threw 85.2 innings with 149 strikeouts, an 11-3 record and a 1.47 ERA while going up against many other aces all season long. He threw a 14-strikeout shutout in East Peoria’s Class 3A regional championship game and earned the win in the Raiders’ sectional championship game.

Duncheon also offered leadership at catcher, helping other pitchers, such as Dalton Oakman, succeed and lift East Peoria to a 28-14 record and second state berth in program history. He threw out a total of seven runners on the basepaths and committed just one error in the field all season. 

In his last three varsity seasons, Duncheon combined to have 157 hits, 45 doubles, four triples, 16 home runs and 121 RBIs, along with a 25-8 record and 311 strikeouts in 213 innings on the mound. He earned Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association Class 3A all-state honors in 2026 and was a three-time first team all-Mid Illini Conference selection. Duncheon was a first team selection on Clutch Sports Media’s 2026 Baseball All-Area Teams.

Duncheon was also a key member of East Peoria’s golf team, which was also coached by East Peoria baseball head coach Matt Plummer, for several years and earned Clutch Sports Media All-Area Honorable Mention honors in the fall. Duncheon’s parents were baseball and softball standouts at Illinois State and he will follow in their footsteps after signing with the Redbirds. 

Hear more about Duncheon’s season and career in our interview with him below, some responses have been minimally edited for clarity.

What have you been able to reflect and look back on since the season has ended? 

“Really, I’m just kind of sad it’s all over but I know that we wanted to leave a mark on the community and leave a mark within the program,” Duncheon said. “We just kept pushing ourselves and the brotherhood we had, that’s what got us [to state]. We all wanted to win so bad as a team and that’s what gave us that opportunity.”

“Right after the sectional game, we gained that confidence again because we played Galesburg, Washington, Metamora and then Dunlap. Then once we got through that, we were going into our super-sectional game talking about how we were going to run through Geneva, which we ended up doing. Then, we were at state and it was like ‘Dang, our conference set us up so well for this.’” 

What inspired your love for the sport?

“Honestly, [I started playing baseball] as soon as I could walk,” Duncheon said. “I remember a picture of me when I was a little baby with a ball and a bat. Then I was just hitting balls off my dad’s hand with a whiffle ball bat. My love for the game just came from watching the game and swinging the bat. I got so much joy from that. My dad would almost get annoyed sometimes when I would ask him so many times to shag me balls or play catch with me but he knew that it was all through my love of the game.”

Do you have a moment from this past season or career that really sticks out to you?

“Honestly, my whole career,” Duncheon said. “I don’t think there’s really one moment that I can pick out. I would say the LakePoint trips we’ve made the last few years because that brought out team so close and we were just having so much fun playing the game that we love.”

What’s a motto or mindset you take when you’re competing?

“One that we have in our family is ‘don’t suck,’” Duncheon said. 

Aside from winning, what was your favorite memory of the season? 

“Going to state, the team hadn’t done it since 1974 and we lost in the first round of state, but we were still able to be one of the two teams that ended their season with a win in Class 3A,” Duncheon said. 

What stood out to you about Illinois State and what are your goals for the rest of your career?

“What made me pick Illinois State is that the coaches showed how they look at me and they really showed that they wanted me to be playing for them,” Duncheon said. “And their facilities are great, their weight room is great and it’s also closer to home. Also with that, I’m looking to play three years of college baseball, maybe four, maybe five and then hopefully get drafted after that.”