Baseball: Fox Valley All-Area captain Barkho leaves mark as two-way star, vocal leader at South Elgin

Whether he is on the mound or at shortstop, Zacharia Barkho enjoys being in the middle of the action on a baseball field.

“I love being in control of a game,” said Barkho, who grew up as a catcher and played primarily third base as a sophomore being moving to shortstop the last couple seasons at South Elgin.

At shortstop, Barkho provided constant communication with his fellow infielders, especially longtime teammate and second baseman Alex Muro, while also signaling and talking with the outfielders.

“I like being vocal and taking charge,” said Barkho. “It helps keep everyone going. It’s why I like being a leader on the field.”

Barkho, one of the top 2-way players in the state, led the Storm with a .437 batting average while posting a 5-2 record on the mound with a team-leading 1.37 ERA.

For his efforts, Barkho has been named the captain of the Daily Herald’s 2026 Fox Valley All-Area baseball team.

As a junior, Barkho helped lead South Elgin to the Upstate Eight West title before the Storm pocketed Class 4A regional and sectional championships during a wild postseason ride that ended in an 8-6 supersectional loss to eventual state runner-up McHenry.

“That’s one of my best memories,” said Barkho. “We were playing on the Kane County Cougars field. Everyone was chirping. We had the lead on them in the fourth inning.”

Barkho and his senior teammates experienced a substantial change prior to the season when longtime South Elgin coach Jim Kating announced his retirement and David Palmer took over as head coach.

“We all knew Coach Kating – he had been there since the program started,” said Barkho. “We had worked a lot with his entire staff. We all worked together.”

Any possible transitional hiccups or tension quickly subsided with Palmer’s arrival.

“Coach Kating was an old-school type coach who liked playing small ball and focused on fundamentals,” said Barkho. “Coach Palmer transferred many things from years past. He had played for Coach Kating here (at South Elgin), so things were pretty similar.”

Palmer realized he inherited a strong nucleus built around incoming seniors like Jacob Robertson, Nathan Robertson, Tyler Weeks, Muro, and Barkho.

“I knew it was a confident group that experienced a ton of success the previous year,” said Palmer. “I didn’t need to make any big changes.”

Palmer did make one slight adjustment when it came to Barkho.

“He threw a lot of innings last year and then threw more last summer, so I wanted to give his arm a break,” said Palmer. “I kept his innings down because I wanted him to be peaking at the right time, and I thought we had enough depth to get us through the year.”

The plan worked, as the hard-throwing right-hander displayed pinpoint control throughout the season, walking just 10 batters while striking out 68 in 52 innings pitched.

Barkho allowed just 3 extra-base hits and 11 earned runs all season.

“Zach got stronger as the year went on,” said the coach.

“My arm was tired after last season,” said Barkho. “I was in recovery mode. Coach (Palmer) held me back so I’d be fresher on the mound and feel my best come May and June.”

Barkho was at his best in May, outdueling West Aurora’s Zach Toma with a complete-game 5-hitter and 8 strikeouts in South Elgin’s 2-1 victory.

Two weeks later, Barkho (13 strikeouts) combined with teammate Jon Niksich (11 strikeouts) for 14 consecutive scoreless innings and 24 strikeouts before darkness set in against conference rival Bartlett. The teams returned the next day, as the Hawks won, 2-1.

Although South Elgin’s postseason ended with a 3-2 regional championship loss to St. Charles North (Barkho pitched 6 innings), Barkho owns fond memories of his team’s 2-1 win over the North Stars in early April.

“I came in and they loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the seventh,” he said. “I loved pitching with that pressure. We had a nice little rivalry with St. Charles North the past few years. Every game with them was tight.”

Hitting primarily out of the 3-hole, Barkho put up some big numbers that included a .508 on-base percentage, .631 slugging percentage, 1.139 OPS, 45 base hits, 36 runs scored, 30 RBI, 12 doubles, and 16 stolen bases.

Perhaps the statistic that stands out most – Barkho struck out just 7 times in 126 plate appearances this season for the Storm (24-13).

“That’s pretty impressive,” said Palmer. “He had a bunch of timely 2-strike hits and faced some pretty good competition.”

“I take pride in my 2-strike approach,” said Barkho. “I get wide (stance) and low and throw my hands at the ball.”

Barkho and second baseman Muro formed a solid up-the-middle combination for the Storm.

“I’ve played with him since we were 5 or 6 years old,” he said. “We started together in the Bartlett Park District and went to the same grade school. He’s probably the smartest player I’ve ever played with.”

Being a successful 2-way player at the high school level requires dedication.

“The hard part is making sure I’m 100 percent when I pitch, then knowing you have a game to play the next day,” said Barkho. “You have to stay on top of things. On days when I pitch, I begin stretching at home an hour or two before leaving for the game.”

Barkho hopes to continue his 2-way play next season at Elgin Community College.

“Whatever gets me on the field,” he said.

“I see him more as a third baseman at the next level,” said Palmer. “Then, it will come down to how much pitching he wants to do. His bat can play. I believe he is still scratching the surface in terms of his power numbers.”

Palmer will certainly miss Barkho’s presence next season.

“Zach is a fierce competitor - he reminds me of myself when I played,” said the coach. “His personality lights up a room. He’s funny, witty – a great human being. He was always responsive to the coaches. He was the heartbeat of our team.

“I had a blast coaching him.”

Called up to the varsity ranks just prior to the playoffs as a freshman, Barkho enjoyed his time at South Elgin.

“There’s not words I can put on it,” he said.