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

Kane County Cougars Name Vance Wilson as Manager

The Kane County Cougars, now a Kansas City Royals affiliate, have named Vance Wilson as their field manager for the 2011 season.  Wilson spent parts of eight seasons as a backup catcher in the major leagues with the Mets and Tigers and finished his career with the Royals in their farm system.

Joining Wilson on the staff will be hitting coach Damon Hollins and pitching coach Jim Brower.  Hollins played 256 games in the majors, 241 with Tampa Bay and his last season as a player-coach with the Royals affiliate in the Appalachian League.  Brower spent parts of nine seasons on major league rosters playing for eight different teams from 1999-2007.

Exposure Camp at the Quarry Fieldhouse

The Quarry Fieldhouse in Romeoville, IL will be holding an exposure camp for high school classes of 2011 and 2012 on Saturday December 11th 2010.

Pitcher and catcher registration starts at 9:00 am and infielders and outfielders registration starts at 12:00 pm.  The cost for the camp is $100 for a single session or $125 for both sessions.

For more information click on the link below:

Exposure camp at the Quarry Fieldhouse

 

Kane County Cougars Switch MLB Franchises

The Kane County Cougars announced the signing of a two-year player development contract with the Kansas City Royals. 

This is the fourth different Major League Baseball Club affiliation since 1991 which began with the Baltimore Orioles then the Florida Marlins and most recently the Oakland Athletics.

The agreement does not affect ownership, management or front office personnel of the Kane County Cougars.

Top Ten Prospects from Independent Baseball Leagues

 

Baseball America's top ten pro prospects from Independent leagues....in bold are the players on Independent teams in Illinois.




1.  Matty Johnson - OF - Gateway Grizzlies
2.  Wes Alsup - RHP - Joliet JackHammers
3.  Chris Garcia - 1B - Shreveport-Bossier 
4.  Ryan Sheldon - RHP - Normal CornBelters
5.  Bobby Pritchett - RHP - Normal CornBelters
6.  Josh Short - OF - Lake County Fielders
7.  Donald Brandt - LHP - Maui
8.  Blake Gailen - OF - Chico
9.  Pat Trettel - C - Lincoln
10. Mark Samuelson - 1B - Chico/Yuma/Tijuana

 

National Letter of Intent for Baseball

Here are a few guidelines for a National Letter of Intent regarding prospective student-athletes enrolling in the 2011-2012 academic year...


Initial signing date for the early period is November 10th 2010

Final signing date for the early period is November 17th 2010

The regular period signing date for baseball is April 13th 2011

The final signing date for the regular period is August 1st 2011

There is a signing deadline for each period.  In the November signing period the National Letter of Intent must be signed between the dates of November 10th - 17th.  There is a 14 day signing deadline for the regular period (April 13th through August 1st)

Coaching contact is prohibited at the time of signing a National Letter of Intent.  A coach or institutional representative may not hand deliver the NLI off campus or be present off campus at the time of signing. The NLI may be delivered by express mail, courier service, regular mail, e‐mail or fax. An NLI transmitted to an institution by fax or electronic means shall be considered valid.




 

Three Windy City ThunderBolts Sign With MLB Clubs

The Windy City Thunderbolts announced three more players have their contracts picked up by MLB clubs. 

Pitchers Andrew Werner and Rod Scurry have been picked up by the San Diego Padres and Pitcher Ryan Bollinger has been signed by the Chicago White Sox.

The ThunderBolts have had 16 players signed by Major League organizations since the start of the 2009 season.

 

Bradley University Baseball Player Phil Kaiser Dies Early Monday

Bradley University student and baseball player Phil Kaiser died early Monday morning after being transported to Methodist Medical Center of Illinois.  His cause of death has not yet been determined.

The family will host a wake Friday from 1-8 p.m. at Woodlawn Funeral Home and Memorial Park in Forest Park, Ill. (7750 W. Cermak Road). A funeral Mass will take place Saturday at noon at St. Odilo Catholic Church in Berwyn, Ill. (2244 East Avenue). Bradley University will host an on-campus memorial service at a future date to be determined. In lieu of flowers the family asks for donations to the Phil Kaiser Memorial Scholarship Fund (6959 Riverside Drive, Berwyn, IL 60402).

Joliet JackHammer RHP Erik Hamren Signs With the Padres

Pitcher Erik Hamren from the Joliet JackHammers has recently signed with the San Diego Padres and becomes the second JackHammer from the 2010 roster to sign with an MLB affiliated club.

Hamren was originally drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 37th round of the 2008 MLB amateur draft.



 

IHSA Moves 1A and 2A Championship from Joliet to Peoria

The IHSA has decided to move the 2011 1A and 2A state championship series to O'Brien field, home of the Chicago Cubs minor league affiliate the Peoria Chiefs.  The idea behind the move was to make the state finals events more centrally located based on the location of the participants.

Class 3A and 4A will remain at Joliet's Silver Cross field for the next five years.


 

Lexington Snipes Join the Chicago Suburban Baseball League

The Lexington Snipes will join the Chicago Suburban League for the 2011 summer season.  The Snipes are a summer collegiate team whose roster is primarily made up from Illinois State University, Illinois Wesleyan University and Heartland Community College players.
 

Oakton Community College Baseball Cancels Fall Training After Drinking Party

Oakton Community College has canceled its fall training after 25 members of the baseball team were caught in an underage drinking bust.

Director of Athletics, Bruce Oates, met with the team and the players involved "We have suspended the remainder of the fall season".

Baseball will resume in the spring at Oakton.


 

Joliet JackHammers Owners to Sell Team

The current owners of the Joliet JackHammers baseball team have signed a letter of intent to sell according to city officials from Joliet.

The JackHammers owe the city of Joliet (which owns Silver Cross Field) over $200,000 and vendors over $100,000.

The potential buyer plans of keeping the JackHammers name and the deal should be finalized in the 25 days.

Money from the sale of the franchise would go to the city and vendors, not to the current owners.  The new owners plan to set up a fund to ensure payment to the city and vendors. 

The commissioner of the Northern League, Clark Griffith, has yet to receive paperwork on the change of ownership and would have to approve the sale of the franchise.


 

Head Baseball Coaching Position Open at Zion-Benton Township

Zion-Benton Township High School is looking for a Varsity Baseball Head Coach for the 2010-2011 school year.  For more information please visit the link below:

Head Varstiy Baseball Coach Zion-Benton