Nick Farmakis and his teammates on Libertyville’s baseball team have been remarkably successful on the field over the past two seasons.
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But after winning back-to-back Class 4A state titles, the Wildcats learned their academic record sets them apart too. The American Baseball Coaches Association recently announced that Libertyville is one of 20 Illinois high schools, and the only one in Lake County, that earned the organization’s annual Team Academic Excellence Award.
“A lot of the areas that lead to us succeeding on the baseball field overlap into academics, like discipline, accountability and time management,” Farmakis said. “We all know that if we stay ahead of our stuff in our classes, it paves the way for succeeding athletically.”
The criteria for the ABCA award is straightforward: post a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale.
“Knowing that we have a lot of really good people to work with is a great starting point,” Libertyville coach Matt Thompson said. “We get academic reports on who is struggling, and it’s always a very short list.
“Baseball is important to us and to these kids, but they know that getting good grades will help open other opportunities for them.”
For Farmakis, who is registered as a pre-business student at Indiana, passing multiple Advanced Placement exams in the past three years allowed him to accumulate 15 credit hours toward his undergraduate degree.
“Having those credits going in will propel me to explore more, take some classes that I might not have had the chance to take,” he said. “Knowing that I already have that many credits might lead me to finding something I like.”
To support players who were taking AP exams in the spring, the Wildcats adjusted team activities so they didn’t interfere with potential study time. That was complicated by the fact that the tests are taken near the end of the school year.
But Farmakis, who played football, basketball and baseball for four years at Libertyville, is well-practiced in time management.
“The big thing I learned early on was to always get my stuff done early, especially playing three sports; that (schoolwork) was the main priority, before sports; and using all of the resources at the school, like being productive in study halls or getting things done on bus rides, really helped,” he said.
On the baseball field, Farmakis wasn’t one of the Wildcats’ more prominent players. A reserve outfielder, he batted only occasionally. But his contributions as a late-inning defensive replacement and ultra-dependable pinch runner were vital.
Underscoring Farmakis’ success in the latter role, he registered just 20 plate appearances this past season but scored 24 runs, the sixth most on the team. He also had nine steals, the second most on the team, in 10 attempts.
“He was someone who accepted his role and thrived at it, and that’s the way our team is built,” Thompson said. “He was always a team player, and that helped lead to him being so productive in the roles he had.”
Farmakis was always prepared. He kept a keen eye on pitchers to assess their delivery and handling of base runners.
“I would try to read the pitchers’ tendencies from the dugout,” he said. “Some pitchers have a little lean when they’re going to throw over, and those are the easiest to read. Guys with a big leg kick are easy too. Slide steps are harder.
“At the end of the day, they still have to throw it home, so it’s about putting yourself out there to have success.”
Although Farmakis played a good portion of the 2025 season on the junior varsity team, he was promoted to varsity for the playoffs, and he scored the only run in the Wildcats’ 1-0 win over Prospect in the Stevenson Sectional semifinals.
Farmakis was on second base and a teammate was on first when classmate Trevor Wallace hit a ground ball toward the hole. Farmakis’ aggressive jump forced the defender to hurry his throw to third, and the ball glanced off Farmakis’ helmet, allowing him to score after the ball caromed into foul territory.
“That was probably the best result I’ve ever had from getting hit in the head,” he said.
But using his head was nothing new for Farmakis.
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Steve Reaven is a freelance reporter.