Houston Signs Cory Kay and Jake Lueneburg to National Letters of Intent

University of Houston head baseball coach Todd Whitting has announced the signing of Cory Kay and Jake Lueneburg to National Letters of Intent.  Kay and Lueneburg are two of the 14 of Whitting's first signing class.

Cory Kay is a catcher from St. Viator High School and according to coach Whitting, "Cory's athleticism allows him the option of playing other spots as well."

Jake Lueneburg is a left handed hitting 1B/OF who is a transfer from Kishwaukee College in Malta, IL.  Lueneburg was a NJCAA All-American as a freshman at Kishwaukee and "with his advanced hitting approach should have an immediate impact and be the anchor in the middle of our lineup" said coach Whitting.

 

Bradley Baseball Signs Godinez, Solka, and Toma - Three from Illinois

Bradley University Baseball head coach Elvis Dominguez announced the signing of seven student athletes to National Letters of Intent for 2011.

Three of the seven student athletes are from Illinois:

Infielder Chris Godinez, Lake Forest High School, "is a great runner and has some power in his bat", according to head coach Dominguez.

Infielder Paul Solka, Maine West High School, coach Dominguez on Solka - "has a lot of power and a tremendous upside."

Right Handed Pitcher Stephen Toma, Yorkville High School, "Stephen is one of the most projectable pitchers in the Midwest", said Dominguez.

Taylor Eikenberry and Jake Junis Sign With NC State Baseball

North Carolina State University Head Coach Elliot Avent announced the signing of two players from Illinois - Taylor Eikenberry and Jake Junis.  It just so happens that both are from Rock Falls, IL.  

LHP Taylor Eikenberry, a transfer from Iowa Western Community College (which won the NJCAA Division National Championship in 2010), originally committed to Baylor out of Rock Falls High School but wound up at Iowa Western after elbow surgury.

RHP/INF Jake Junis choose NC State over Texas Christian along with passing up offers to play basketball.

McEnery, Sujka and Travis Sign With Indiana University Baseball

Indiana University Head Baseball Coach Tracy Smith announced the signing of three baseball players from Illinois to National Letters of Intent:  Collin McEnery, Chris Sujka and Sam Travis.

McEnery, a left handed pitcher/1B/OF, is from Providence Catholic High School and according to coach Smith, his abilities will decide where his best fit is at Indiana.

Sujka, a right handed outfielder, from Mt. Carmel High School, can really, really run and coach Smith thinks Sujka is athletically one of the best in his class.

3B Travis, Providence High School, could be the best hitter in the State according to coach Smith.

Matt Meadows and Ryan Quick Sign With Austin Peay Baseball

Austin Peay State University baseball announced the signing of Matt Meadows and Ryan Quick to National Letters of Intent.

Outfielder/Left handed pitcher Matt Meadows is from O'fallon High School and Right handed pitcher Ryan Quick is from Rend Lake Community College.

Head Baseball Coach Gary McClure on the two players from Illinois:

 "Matt is a very talented baseball player," McClure said. "His tools really make him a standout player. Any time you can get a guy that runs a 6.7 in the 60-yard dash, has the power to all fields that Matt does and can really play solid defense in center field like he does, your program will be better because of him."


"Ryan is an extremely good athlete," said Govs head coach Gary McClure. "I first saw Ryan pitching this past summer and watched him dominate hitter after hitter. He threw 88 to 90 (miles per hour) the whole time with a really good slider. I was excited about him even more when I learned that he had only been pitching for a little more than a year. We expect Ryan to come in next year and compete for a job on the back side of our bullpen."

Approved BBCOR/BESR NCAA and NFHS Baseball Bats

The Baseball Research Center at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell has provided a list of approved bats for the NCAA 2010/2011 season along with approved bats for the 2011+ seasons for NCAA and NFHS use.  Although the reseach center does not test bats specifically for the National Federation of High Schools, the results provide the opportunity to check if a particular bat is compliant with National Federation of High School playing rules.

Click on the link below to if a bat is compliant for NCAA or NFHS use for 2010 or 2011+ and go to the bottom of the page to the drop down menu.


BBCOR/BESR Approved Bats

RHP Nick Hibbing Signs With Iowa Baseball

Iowa University Baseball announced the signing of right handed pitcher Nick Hibbing to a National Letter of Intent yesterday.

Hibbing, who is from The Lakes Community High School, is ranked as the 16th best player in Illinois by Perfect Game USA. 

"Nick is a RHP and very well may be the most projectable pitcher in our recruiting class," said Maliszewski. "He has a power arm with a very good slider. NIck has worked very hard this past summer to put himself in position to have an outstanding career. I expect big things from Nick when he gets on campus. Once Nick gets in our strength program he will make another jump."



Nick is from Lindenhurst, Illinois.

Northern Illinois University Baseball Signs Four From 2011 Classs

Northern Illinois University Baseball announced the signing of four to National Letters of Intent on Wednesday.

Right handed pitcher Anthony Ciango from Downers Grove North High School, middle infielder Chase Matheson from McHenry High School, outfielder/third baseman Micah McCulloch from Rochelle High School and left handed pitcher Ben Neumann from Verona High School in Wisconsin.



“We are really excited about this class as a staff,” said Mathey. “While it’s not the same number of the last class, the quality is there. The tools that this group brings to the table fill our needs. They are competitors that come from solid families and programs. As a whole, I feel they will really add to what we have going here at NIU baseball.

Ryan Powers Signs with Miami Ohio Baseball

Miami of Ohio head baseball coach Dan Simonds announced the signing of Ryan Powers from Nazareth High School in LaGrange, IL.

Coach Simonds stated that "Powers has some of the best upside we have seen for a pitcher in the class of 2011."

Powers is ranked as the 30th best player in Illinois by PrepBaseballReport.com.

SIU Head Baseball Coach Dan Callahan Loses Battle With Cancer

Southern Illinois University Head Baseball Coach Dan Callahan lost his battle with a rare form of skin cancer neurotropic melanoma.


Callahan, 52, is survived by his wife, Stacy, daughters Alexa and Carly, and his parents Ann and Gene.

Funeral arrangements are pending and SIU will announce its plans to pay tribute to Callahan's life at a later date.

Callahan, the second winningest coach in history at SIU, complied a 442-447-1 record in 16 years at Carbondale. 

Jacobs High School Hires Erik Kehoe as Varsity Baseball Coach

Jacobs High School announced late last week that Erik Kehoe will take over the baseball program from Eric Sanders, whose contract was not renewed.

Kehoe was head coach at Streamwood (2006-07), an assistant at Downers Grove South and Lake Park High Schools.

Kehoe also spent 11 years as an assistant at Glenbard North, played baseball at the College of DuPage and transferred to Ariziona State where a career ending injury ending his playing days.

Baseball Prospect Camp at Olivet Nazarene

Olivet Nazarene University will hold a prospect camp for high school juniors and seniors on December 3rd and 4th 2010. 

The camp helps prepare players for their upcoming season along with the chance of being evaluated by Olivet Nazarene coaches.

For more information please contact the Olivet Nazarene baseball office at 815-939-5119.


 

ULM Baseball Signs Alex Hermeling and Justin Stawychny

Alex Hermeling and Justin Stawychny signed National Letters of Intent to play baseball at the University of Louisiana Monroe beginning with the 2012 season announced by head coach Jeff Schexnaider on Friday.

Hermeling, a right-handed pitcher from Glenbrook High School, was projected the 17th best player in Illinois by Perfect Game.

Stawychny is a outfielder from Leyden High School.


 

Kevin Goergen Signs National Letter of Intent With Michigan State Baseball

Michigan State baseball head coach Jake Boss announced Wednesday the signing of eight student-athletes which include Kevin Goergen from Lemont High School.

Goergen is a 6'1'" left handed hitting shortstop under coach Joe Roderghero at Lemont High School.

Boss on Goergen: "Kevin is an outstanding defensive shortstop with plus arm strength. A left-handed hitter who handles the bat extremely well, he reminds me of Jonathan Roof when he was a senior in high school. The potential for Kevin is unlimited and he will be looked upon heavily as a freshman."



 

Ray Gialo Named New Head Baseball Coach at Lake High School

Former assistant Ray Gialo has replaced Bill Rosencrans as the Head Varsity Baseball Coach at Lakes High School in Lake Villa Illinois.

Gialo is in his sixth year at Lakes as a teacher and a coach.  Prior to Lakes Gialo was the Head Baseball Coach at Chicago St. Patrick for three years.

Illinois State Baseball Signs Six to National Letters of Intent

Illinois State University Head Baseball Coach Mark Kingston announced the signing of six student-athletes to National Letters of Intent on Wednesday.

Four of the signees are from the Bloomington-Normal area and two are junior college transfers from Heartland Community College.

Illinois State Redbird Baseball Signees:

INF - Matt Anderson - Hinsdale Central High School, Hinsdale, IL

LHP - Dylan Craig - Murphysboro High School, Murphysboro, IL

INF - Zac Johnson - Heartland Community College, Bloomington, IL

INF - Joe Kelch - East Peoria High School, East Peoria, IL

LHP - Joel Leonard - Catlin High School, Catlin, IL

RHP - Chris Razo - Heartland Community College, Chillicothe, IL

 

Western Illinois Baseball Signs Eleven

The Western Illinois Leatherneck baseball program announced the signing of eleven recruits for 2011.

Players from Illinois are in bold print:

LHP - Tom Constand - Notre Dame Prep & Marist Academy, Rochester Hills, MI

IF - Nate Ewing - West High School, Iowa City, Iowa

RHP - Tyler Farrell - Galesburg High School, Galesburg, IL

RHP - Seth Fuller - Moline High School, Moline, IL

C - Mark Garton - Boylan Central Catholic High School, Roscoe, IL

IF - Jameson Henning - Janesville Craig High School, Janesville, WI

OF - Erik Maki - Wauconda High School, McHenry, IL

RHP/OF - Nick Milligan - Galesburg High School, Galesburg, IL

IF - Quintin Richardson - Simeon High School, Chicago, IL

RHP - Nick Smith - New Palestine High School, Greenfield, IN

RHP - Tyler Willman - Oshkosh West High School, Oshkosh, WI

University of Illinois Baseball Signs Six

The University of Illinois baseball program announced the signing of six student-athletes to national letters of intent on Wednesday.

As of Wednesday the signing class includes the following:

RHP - Josh Ferry - Lemont High School, Lemont, IL

IF - Michael Hurwitz - Sacred Heart-Griffin High School, Springfield, IL

RHP - John Kravetz - Mount Carmel High School, Lansing, IL

RHP - Charlie Naso - St. Laurence High School, Orland Park, IL

IF/OF - Jordan Parr - Parkland College, Illinois Valley Central High School, Chillicothe, IL

OF - Charlie Tilson - New Trier High School, Wilmette, IL

Mark Buehrle Wins Second Straight Gold Glove Award

Chicago White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle won his second straight Rawlings Gold Glove Award and making Buehrle the first pitcher in Major League history to have multiple Gold Gloves and no-hitters on his resume.

The news gained early attention on Monday when Buehrle's wife Jamie posted congratulations on her Facebook page. 

Buehrle joins Jim Kaat, Nellie Fox, Sherm Lollar, Minnie Minoso, Luis Aparicio, Jim Landis and Robin Ventura as multiple Gold Glove winners in Sox franchise history.

Kevin Nelson Catching Camp at Wheeling High School

Kevin Nelson will hold a "Professional Approach 2 Catching at Wheeling High School on November 13th and 20th.  The camp will be two hour sessions and will be split into age groups of 9-13 and 14 and up.

Nelson spent last season at AA Reading with the Phillies organization and graduated from Rolling Meadows High school. 

More information is available at:

theprofessionalapproach2catching@yahoo.com.

ABR College Exposure & Evaluation Camp January 22nd - 23rd

Amateur Baseball Report will hold a college exposure and evaluation camp January 22nd and January 23rd 2011 in Chicago. 

College coaches from UIC, Valparaiso, Illinois State, Notre Dame and Northwestern will be instructing and evaluating the players at the camp.

Day 1 will be drills and instruction and day 2 will be the evaluation.  Players will receive a player profile page on the Amateur Baseball Report website with the results of the evaluation.

For registration information follow the link below.

ABR College Exposure Camp 1/22/11 - 1/23/11

Mike Kashirsky Returns as ThunderBolts Field Manager for 2011

The Windy City ThunderBolts announced that field manager Mike Kashirsky signed a contract extension through the 2011 season.

Kash has been with the ThunderBolts since the 2004 season where he started as a bench coach until mid-way through the 2008 season where he was named interim field manager.

The Bolts finished 56-38 last summer.

Northwestern Baseball Showcase December 28th and 29th

Northwestern University will hold a Christmas baseball showcase for high school and junior college players from 1pm to 4pm on December 28th and December 29th. 

Registration information can be found by clicking on the link below.


Northwestern Christmas Showcase