Area summer baseball team sizzling hot

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (WMBD/WYZZ) — The Rhino/K’s 2026 baseball team is beyond hot.

It carried a 14-game winning streak into its third consecutive tournament on Thursday. Then it won again to extend the winning streak to 15.

The Rhino/K’s travel baseball organization won two tournament titles in a ten-day stretch from July 6-15. The tournament championships in Iowa and Wisconsin covered nearly 900 miles.

“I think it took a summer to gel and get the personalities right on the team,” said Normal Community junior Andrew Naour, who said his team didn’t have a great season last summer.

But something has clicked with this group this summer. The bulk of the team is comprised of players from Bloomington-Normal.

“As a team we have all just came together and really played as one team. Maybe last year it wasn’t the same, which I feel like is why we really had our success,” said Normal Community junior Beckett Weber.

Rhino/K’s won the World Wood Bat Association North championship in Cedar Rapids on July 10. Then traveled to Milwaukee and won the PBR at the Rock title on July 15.

“You don’t need these people from all these other states to come in to win,” said U-High junior Myles Mitchell. “Even though we are just from Illinois there are other teams we have played that are from everywhere and it just shows that we want it more than all these other teams. We want to win more.”

The team won a game and tied another on Friday at the PBR ABC’s Invite in Westfield, IN. That runs the unbeaten streak to 17 games as the Rhino/K’s seek for a third straight tournament championship.

“We came in and practiced all fall and winter together and we instantly all clicked together,” said Normal Community junior Landyn Corbin. “It’s a dream come true with these men.”

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CIProud.com.