Starting Lineup, Sept. 4, 2025: Richwoods’ Taylor earns WNBA contract, current hoops stars putting on camp, PND finds new baseball coach

It’s still very much football season but even in the fall, basketball isn’t sleeping in Central Illinois. Neither is baseball, as one of the area’s more successful programs, Peoria Notre Dame, announced a new head coach on Wednesday. 

Don’t worry though, the Starting Lineup still has your fall sports fix with several events to watch on Thursday and a key note regarding the latest AP statewide football rankings.

Richwoods’ Taylor to stay in WNBA 

Camryn Taylor’s basketball talents have taken her from Peoria to the WNBA. On Sept. 1, the Minnesota Lynx announced that they had signed her for the rest of the season following three consecutive seven-day contracts in August. Previously, Taylor had spent time with Esperides Kallitheas of Greece’s A1 Basketball League, dominating to the tune of 19.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. 

Area girls hoops stars to put on camp

Boys and girls of all ages have the opportunity to attend a basketball camp being put on by five local prep girls basketball stars next week. Dee-Mack’s Dalia DeJesus, Roanoke-Benson’s Bri Harms, Morton’s Paige Selke, Washington’s Avery Tibbs and Galesburg’s Jozlyn Kilgore will lead the Basketball Camp for Camp Hope, a Mackinaw-based foundation that assists those battling cancer, blood-related diseases or other severe illnesses, including St. Jude patients and their siblings. The camp will be held at ICC’s CougarPlex on Sept. 13 from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. To sign up, click here.

PND baseball to have new head coach

Peoria Notre Dame announced via Instagram that Bobby Zimmerman has been named the next head coach of the Irish’s baseball team. He’ll take the place of Jon Lowry, who led PND to Class 2A regional championships in 2024 and 2025, and a 2A super-sectional appearance in 2024. 

3 events worth watching today: 

1. Elmwood at Illini Bluffs volleyball: Two ICAC teams who have had strong starts to the season clash in Glasford. Combined, the Trojans and Tigers are 10-1 with Elmwood winning five consecutive matches and Illini Bluffs sweeping all of its opponents so far. 

2. Boys Golf IVC Invite: Ten area teams will duke it out at Arrowhead Country Club, including Morton, Dunlap, Peoria Notre Dame, Eureka and Peoria Christian. The leaderboard will in all likelihood read like a who’s who of Peoria-area golf.

3. Normal West at Bloomington soccer: Neither team has lost in Intercity play after Normal West downed Normal U-High 8-1 on Wednesday and Bloomington beat BCC 3-0 on Sept. 1. The winner becomes one of the championship frontrunners alongside Normal Community. 

Magic number: 9

Nine football teams in Central Illinois saw their stock rise in the latest AP statewide football rankings that were released on Wednesday. One of the biggest takeaways is that four teams — Pekin, Dunlap, Morton and Dee-Mack, received votes after not getting any in the poll prior to Week 1.