Wednesday, Coach Dan Hartleb announced that he has signed three high school players to a letter of intent to play at the University of Illinois.
Here’s a quick summary of the three recruits.
Zach Barnhart, MIF
5-10 / 150 / R/R / Springfield, Ill. / Springfield HS
One name should be familiar to Illini fans. He’s Zach Barnhart, nephew of Fighting Illini sports broadcaster Brian Barnhart. From Springfield HS, Zach hit .409 in his junior year with 41 stolen bases. He holds the team career stolen base record with 89 and was selected to the 2013 3A All-Star team by the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association.
Mark Skonieczny, C/OF
5-11 / 190 / R/R / Fr. / Algonquin, Ill. / Huntley HS
Verstaile Mark Skonieczny is listed as both catcher and the outfield. From Huntley HS (Algonquin), he has power numbers. As a junior, he hit .445 with 8 homeruns with 37 rbis. Coach Snider confirms the slugger assessment:
“Mark has a versatile skill set with the arm strength to hit 90 mph on the radar gun. He has a strong lower half and broad shoulders with a fast-twitch build. He is very athletic for a catcher and can also play outfield.”
Quinten Sefcik, IF/RHP
6-1 / 190 / L/R / Wauconda, Ill. / Carmel Catholic HS
Quinten Sefcik hails from Carmel Catholic HS in Wauconda and sees both ends of the plate. He’s slated as a infielder and a right handed pitcher. Prep Baseball Report ranks him as the #53 player in the Class of 2014 and garnered honorable mention All-American by Perfect Game. Coach Snider has him down at 89 mph on the radar gun.
As always, Coach Dan Hartleb emphasized the important things in his statement:
“We are very pleased with the three members of our 2014 signing class," Hartleb said. "(Associate head) coach (Eric) Snider and (assistant) coach (Drew) Dickinson identified a group of athletic players and built relationships to fill out this class. We were able to bring in quality students and individuals, as well as outstanding baseball players to fill spots for the future. All three players are excited to represent their state and to have an opportunity to play at a championship level while at the University of Illinois. This group will be a great addition to our Illini baseball family and will be assets for our program once they step on campus."
Word has it that they are working on finalizing the schedule for 2014. As the temps dip into the twenties here in Champaign-Urbana, baseball is on our minds.