Grant Umbright stole home in the biggest game of Naperville Central's season. Now the senior third baseman and pitcher has the individual hardware to match.

Umbright was named the 2026 Naperville Sun Baseball Player of the Year on Tuesday, June 23, capping a senior campaign in which he helped the Redhawks (30-11) reach the IHSA Class 4A state tournament for the first time since 2010.

"He's the best player in the state," Naperville Central head coach Mike Stock said during the Redhawks' supersectional run. "I could be wrong, but I believe it wholeheartedly. He's a stud."

Umbright's signature moment came on June 8, in the Class 4A supersectional in Normal against Minooka. He went 3-for-3 with a walk, stole home in the fourth inning to tie the game 1-1, then ripped a triple to lead off a three-run sixth. When junior starter Decker McDonald threw 82 pitches through four innings, Stock turned to his ace. U

Umbright finished the final three innings on the mound, allowing one run, and Naperville Central won 4-2. It was the program's first trip to state since Bill Seiple's squad won the 2010 championship.

The Redhawks rode a 15-game winning streak into the state semifinals at Slammers Stadium in Joliet on June 12, where Umbright went 2-for-3 with a walk in a 9-1 loss to Maine South. Naperville Central fell 11-2 to Mount Carmel in the third-place game on Sunday, June 14, but still brought home the program's third state trophy, joining the 2006 and 2010 championship hardware.

Umbright was one of 17 seniors on the roster. In the regional semifinal on Wednesday, May 27, he threw five hitless innings with seven strikeouts and added an RBI double in an 8-0 win over Bolingbrook.

Stock praised Umbright at the program's awards banquet: "You can't have a better senior year."

Naperville Central junior center fielder Jermaine Kenady, who made a diving catch to end the supersectional, has already signaled the program's ambitions aren't finished. He told reporters after the third-place game: "We still want to do more. It's not going to be the first time you're all going to see us."