Alek Thomas’s father, Allen, wasn’t just in the park.
He wasn’t just in the stands.
He was in the opposing dugout for Team Brazil when his son, a Mount Carmel graduate, hit a home run and drove in three runs March 8 in Team Mexico’s 16-0 win in the World Baseball Classic at Daikin Park in Houston.
Allen was Brazil’s strength and conditioning coach.
“For him to be in another dugout and watching me play was awesome,” Alek said of his father in an MLB.com interview. “I hope I made him proud.”
Though Mexico failed to get out of the pool, including suffering a 5-3 loss to the United States, Thomas enjoyed his stint in the WBC.
“Being a Mexican-American and playing for Team Mexico and playing Team USA…You can’t really ask for a better scenario than that,” Thomas said.
In four WBC games, he hit .267 with one homer and six RBIs and scored three runs.
Thomas, a 25-year-old center fielder, has been in the majors since 2022 with Arizona. Last year he hit .249 with nine home runs and drove in 38 runs in 143 games.
Team Mexico manager Benji Gil is impressed with Thomas and told reporters he is expecting big things from him.
“He’s a stud,” Gil said of Thomas. “He’s an absolute stud. He’s about to have a breakout year.”
Gil even went further, predicting Thomas would be a “15-20 year major leaguer.”
GCAC shuffle
With the merging of the East Suburban Catholic Conference and Girls Catholic Athletic Conference for the 2026-27 school year, the GCAC is going to be even more overloaded with talent.
The Red Division will feature area powers Marist, Mother McAuley and Nazareth in the mix with Benet, Carmel, St. Ignatius and Loyola.
St. Laurence will be in the White Division with Aurora Central Catholic, DePaul Prep, Fenwick, Montini, Providence and Trinity.
De La Salle is in the Blue Division with IC Catholic, Joliet Catholic, Marian Catholic, Marmion, Resurrection, St. Francis and St. Viator.
Flag football coming to SXU
St. Xavier will add women’s flag football in 2026-27.
According to SXU officials, there are currently 35 NAIA teams. There are also seven teams in Illinois regardless of classification, including Aurora, Benedictine and North Park. NCAA Division II Lewis also will be starting a team in 2026-27.
Fire report
The Chicago Fire dropped a 2-1 MLS game against D.C. United March 14 at Soldier Field. Hugo Cuypers scored his third goal of the season for the Fire (1-2-1), who visit Philadelphia at 3:30 p.m. on March 21.
The Fire also announced they will host three group-stage matches at SeatGeek Stadium in the Leagues Cup event. MLS and Liga MX teams will face each other from Aug. 4 through Sept. 6.
The Fire will play Club Necaxa on Aug. 6, Santos Laguna on Aug. 9 and Cruz Azul on Aug. 13 in Bridgeview.
The Fire II opened their home season with a 2-1 win over Chattanooga FC on March 15 at SeatGeek Stadium in an MLS NEXT Pro matchup.
Jason Shokalook and David Poreba scored for the Fire (1-1-1), who host Carolina Core FC at 3 p.m. March 22 in Bridgeview.