MARION, Illinois - The Southern Illinois Miners have added two new players, signing catcher Cody Neer and outfielder Trivon Howard.
Neer played four years of college baseball at two strong Division I programs, the University of Florida and the University of Nebraska. He finished his college career with two seasons at Nebraska where he completed the 2009 season hitting .292 with 11 doubles and drove in 22 runs. Coming out of high school he was rated as one of the top catchers in the country by both Team One Baseball and Perfect Game USA. He began his professional career with the Kansas City T-Bones this past summer where he went 3-for-6 with two RBIs in two games before returning to school to finish his classes.
Between college seasons Neer played for the powerhouse Havasu Heat where he was a teammate of Miners pitcher Jake McMurran and helped the Heat to the 2007 NBC World Series Championship, hitting .400 with seven doubles and a pair of home runs in the seven-game championship series.
“Reports on Cody are that he is a very strong defensive catcher with a major league arm,” Miners Manager Mike Pinto said. “He has a short, quick swing that will translate well to pro ball. He played his college ball against some of the best players in the country and excelled. His time with the Heat put him with other Miners, past and present, and everyone tells me that he will be a great fit for what we are looking for next season.”
Howard, 6′2, 180 played his college baseball at Claflin (S.C.) Univeristy. As a senior in 2009 he hit .382 with 12 doubles, eight triples, six home runs and 47 RBIs and was named first team All-Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
“I had a chance to see him play at the Super Independent Fall League and liked a lot of things about his game,” Miners Manager Mike Pinto said. “(Miners Coach) Ron Biga went to see him on another occasion, and we both agreed that Trivon can compete for a spot on our roster. He runs a 6.5 second 60-yard dash, knows how to run the bases, hits to all fields, has some pop in his bat and can cover some ground in the outfield. We are looking forward to seeing him in May.”
