YOUTH-HIGH SCHOOL SOCCER: Mr. Set-Up Man Quinton Hynek wins NCSAA National Player of the Year
- Dan Stickradt
- Mar 29
- 5 min read
NATIONAL SOCCER NEWS: www.nationalsoccernetwork.com
PEORIA, Ill. – Some athletes love basking in the limelight scoring goals.
Again, as an athlete, who wouldn’t?
Then there’s Quinton Hynek. He’s more of a set-up man than a pure goal scorer. But he’s also a proven winner.
Hynek, a senior in the Class of 2025 at Peoria (Ill.) Christian High School and a standout with the Central Illinois United E-64 club team, was recently named the 2024-25 National Christian Schools Athletic Association Player of the Year for the 2024-25 school year.
Hynek, also an NCSAA All-America First Team choice, only scored five goals during his senior high school season and he’s not a standout goal-scorer on his club team, either. But he does know how to set up teammates and create chances wherever he touches the ball.
“That’s something that I kind of picked up the last few years,” he said. “When I was in ninth grade, I scored a decent amount of goals but I had 19 assists. That’s kind of been my role ever since. We’ve had some pretty good (finishers) the last few years.”
Last fall playing for Peoria Christian, Hynek finished with five goals and 39 assists for 49 points. As a junior, he finished with nine goals, a single-season school-record 41 assists and 59 points. In the 2022 campaign as a sophomore he collected six goals and 22 assists for 34 points, while his freshman debut campaign saw him score 10 goals with 19 assists.
COURTESY PHOTOS / PEORIA CHRISTIAN HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETICS
Quinton Hynek of Peoria (Ill.) Christian High School finished with 121 career assists and recently earned National Christian Schools Athletic Association Player of the Year and All-America First Team accolades.
He earned Illinois High School Soccer Coaches Association Class 1A All-State First Team accolades in three different seasons, becoming the school’s first player to earn first team in program history to earn that feat (2022-24).
Teamwise, his Chargers collected a four-year record of 75-23-7 – believed to be one of the best four-year runs in school history. His Chargers played 105 games and had a .696 winning percentage.
Hynek’s individual four-year totals include 30 goals, a career school record 121 assists and 181 points, which is one top five point totals in school history. His 121 career assists ranks second all-time in Illinois High School Athletic Association history.
The record? That is 163 career helpers held by Kelby Phillips of Springfield (Ill.) High School from 2014-17. The assists breakdown for Phillips was 41-52-50 and 20 to perhaps forms an unbreakable mark in the state of Illinois.
“His numbers were insane. I wasn’t going to catch him. I don’t think anyone will catch that kid,” laughed Hynek.
His dad, Cory Hynek, also serves as Peoria Christian’s boys soccer head coach and athletics director. The Hynek family only lives about a quarter mile away from the small Christian school which only boasts around 200 high school students on the K-12 campus.
“I know I’m biased, but Quinton has really developed into a very well-rounded player. He’s okay with leading us and setting up teammates.
COURTESY PHOTOS / PEORIA CHRISTIAN HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETICS
Quinton Hynek of Peoria (Ill.) Christian High School is the first player in school history to earn IHSSCA All-State First Team honors three times and is also a standout midfielder on his Central Illinois United Elite 64 club team.
He has great (field) vision and always seems to make the right pass,” said Cory Hynek. “He’s had a great career playing high school soccer for us and helped us to some great success.”
Peoria Christian has been one of the better small-school programs in Illinois in recent years. He reached the sectional semifinals (round of 32) in both 2021 and 2022, made an appearance in the Class 1A final four for the first time in 2023, and this past fall lost in the sectional finals to cap a 22-3-2 season.
Playing in the club circuit, the 5-foot-7, 145-pound Hynek has also consistently been one of his team’s top assist players but has also scored some clutch goals when needed. Hynek takes a lot of his high school and club team’s set pieces and his high school team advanced to at least the round of 32 all four years in the IHSAA Class 1A state tournament all four years. As for Central Illinois United, the team is trying to qualify for the national championships in the summer.
While Hynek is known to set up teammates for moments in the limelight, the UCSAA has set up the talented Hynek up with the All-America and National Player of the Year honors.
Hynek has spoken to various colleges at the NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA and National Christian College Athletic Association schools and hopes to make a college decision sometime in the spring.
“I would love to play college soccer. That’s a dream,” he said. “But I’m just talking to some coaches right now and will try to find the right fit. Hopefully, I’l make a decision in the next few months.”
COURTESY PHOTOS / PEORIA CHRISTIAN HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETICS
Playing soccer year-round, Quinton Hynek of Peoria (Ill.) is coming off a fine high school and club soccer career and hopes to land on a college roster and a USL League Two roster later this year.
With the NCAA is reducing the number of roster spots in a wide variety of sports, including men’s soccer, Hynek may not find a spot at a Division I school. He’s not alone, as many of each state’s top seniors on the club and high school circuits will likely have to play down to a lower level to start their college career.
While Hynek’s high school career is complete and he is currently in his final stages of his youth club career with Central Illinois United, high-level soccer is also in store for him in the future. Last season after his junior year of high school, Hynek was able to train and be on the active 40-man roster for Peoria City of the USL League Two and was allowed to be on the game-day roster and make a couple of appearances with that star-studden team.
Last summer, Peoria City made a run to the USL League Two North American finals before the team lost to Seacoast United 3-2. That experience will hopefully pay dividends in the future.
“I hope it will. That was a lot of fun being around the older guys and training with them,” he said. “It was really cool that Peoria made it all the way to the finals. That was really cool to see. We have some talented players at Peoria (City) and I think I learned a lot from them. I hope they invite me back for this summer.”
Already an unselfish set-up man on the high school and club circuits, Quinton Hynek may just be – providing helpers – at the collegiate level and USL League Two level in the near or distant future.
“I just do whatever it takes to help my team win,” laughed Hynek. “Whether that means take set pieces, score goals, get the assists, make the right pass. I try to play any role (each) coach asks me to do. That’s what I try to do.”
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