Naperville Central senior Grant Umbright always carried himself with a calmness that reassured his teammates.
That was evident when he was on the mound, playing third base, batting or running the bases.
“Grant is just amazing,” Naperville Central junior outfielder Jermaine Kenady said. “I could talk about Grant a thousand times.
“We believe in Grant. He gives us the courage to be aggressive, so any time he’s on the mound, we know that it’s time to go.”
Umbright, the 2026 Naperville Sun Baseball Player of the Year, was outstanding in every facet. The John A. Logan commit was the ace of the pitching staff, compiling a 9-1 record with a 2.03 ERA, 31 hits allowed and 71 strikeouts in 48 1/3 innings. Hitting third in the lineup, he batted .324 and led the team in triples with four, home runs with four, RBIs with 30 and runs scored with 36.
But that production wasn’t the only way Umbright led the Redhawks (31-10), who won 15 games in a row to advance to the Class 4A state semifinals and win a state trophy for just the third time in program history.
Umbright was on the mound when Kenady lost a ball in the lights during a sectional semifinal against Hinsdale Central.
“One of the things that I will take away from Grant is he’s very calm,” Kenady said. “He doesn’t let any one play or one moment just take him out.
“He said, ‘It’s fine. I got it. Just go hit.’ So that shows us it’s OK to be nervous — just don’t show it.”
Naperville Central coach Mike Stock said Umbright showed glimpses of his current dominance last season.
“He struggled through some stuff last year on the mound but did not let it affect him at third base and at the plate last year,” Stock said. “This year he got so much command. It was him trying to raise the game of the other guys. It was fun to see.”
Umbright said that process really hit its stride in Florida during spring break, when the Redhawks won four of five games.
“We really built something there,” he said. “Ever since then, we were hot. So it started there.”
With a roster that lacked any Division I commits and any players who had won a postseason game, the Redhawks didn’t expect to go as far as they did. But they had a terrific leader in Umbright, the last of three brothers to come through the program.
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“Grant has been a blast,” Stock said. “He comes from a great family. He’s somebody that his teammates have great respect for but also a lot of fun with. It was fun watching him get comfortable this season to where his play was at a level where he could count on (it). Then it became bigger than him. It became about us winning.”
Along the way, the Redhawks became a brotherhood.
“I’ve been on varsity since I was a sophomore, but this last year has been my favorite by far,” Umbright said. “Best group of guys you could ask for — all hard workers, all picked each other up. The morale has been the best the whole time, and I think that’s what carried us throughout this whole season.”
Naperville Central senior catcher Ashton Feldott, a first-year varsity player, had to adapt to catching Umbright’s fastball, which tops out at 94 mph, but got the hang of it.
“At the start of the year, it was tough to get used to,” Feldott said. “But now it’s just so fun because he always hits his spot. It’s just great.”
Umbright baffled hitters with his unpredictability and nasty change-up, which he threw as much as 17 mph slower than his fastball.
“Hitters fall under pressure, and they can’t hit it,” Feldott said.
Umbright proved he could hit even elite pitchers. He went 3-for-3 against Minooka’s Zane Caves, a Michigan State recruit, and also got the pitching win in the Redhawks’ 4-2 supersectional victory.
But Umbright said he expects that John A. Logan will use him exclusively as a pitcher.
“I still have a long way to go,” he said. “Still got to get bigger. Still got to get stronger. A lot of that will come in the weight room, which I’ve been doing.
“I can still work on other stuff, which they’re going to help me out with. They’re going to develop me a lot more, so it’s going to be a good ride.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.