Daily Herald | Fremd's Paulson gobbles up chance to play for Bradley

Daily Herald Fremd's Paulson gobbles up chance to play for Bradley: "Fremd's Paulson gobbles up chance to play for Bradley
By Marty Maciaszek Daily Herald StaffContact writerPublished: 11/17/2009 11:46 PM

Fremd senior Eric Paulson made his entrance into a brave new world last week.  Paulson, a senior infielder, signed a letter of intent to accept a Division I baseball scholarship with Bradley University in Peoria Illinois.  'I've been working to get to Division I as long as I can remember,' Paulson said. 'It was a dream come true when I finally committed to Bradley. It was pretty much my biggest goal.'"

Paulson hit .313 with 1 homer and 18 RBI and played second base in the spring as Fremd won the Mid-Suburban West title. He also played third base for Palatine's American Legion state champion.

Paulson said Bradley recruited him to play third or first base.

"I like the competition factor," Paulson said of playing in the traditionally strong Missouri Valley Conference. "It will be hard work to get a starting position there and I know I'll have to work really hard going in."

Bradley first saw Paulson at the Area Code Games tryouts this summer and the recruiting process picked up this fall. Paulson was impressed with head coach Elvis Dominguez, who went 17-31 in his first year with the Braves after a successful tenure at Eastern Kentucky.

Paulson's former Fremd teammate Mike Tauchman, Schaumburg product Dave Compitello and Prospect product Jason Leblebijian are part of Bradley's freshman class.

"I bonded with the players and had a really good time," Paulson said of his visit to Bradley. "It was good to see friends I played with over the summer.

"Bradley was the one I knew I was going to go to. I wanted to go there for a long time."

Paulson said he liked the campus and the small-school feel in a bigger city, the newer facilities and the fact Bradley has a new sports communication curriculum.

"I'll get a good education and that's the important thing," said Paulson, who has a 3.2 grade point average on a 4.0 scale and scored 27 on the ACT.

And now Paulson can concentrate on helping Fremd in a season where it will have big expectations.

"It's a big relief off my back," Paulson said. "It will be a lot easier for me now to focus on having a good senior season and not have to worry about the whole school factor."