Amid some very heartbreaking news, the Illinois baseball program signed six recruits for the 2022 class. As usual, Coach Hartleb gave his coaches all the credit:
“Once again Adam Christ, Mark Allen and Curt Courtwright did an outstanding job of identifying and evaluating an outstanding group of student athletes. The entire group is extremely athletic and highly projected.”
Four of the six recruits hail from Illinois and one from Canada. That would be Dylan O’Rae from Sarnia, Ontario. The other out-of-stater is RHP Tommy White from Albuquerque, New Mexico.
You may recognize one name on this year’s recruit list. Jayden Comia will join his brother Branden Comia and his cousin Jared Comia on the Illinois baseball team.
Here are those who signed National Letters of Intent on Wednesday for Illinois:
Tommy White / RHP
6-4 / 200 / R/R
Albuquerque, N.M. / Cibola High School
Brady Banker / LHP
6-0 / 185 / L/L
Antioch, Ill. / Carmel Catholic High School
Dylan O’Rae / INF
5-9 / 160 / L/R
Sarnia, Ontario, Can. / Northern Collegiate High School
Jayden Comia / INF
5-9 / 180 / R/R
Orland Park, Ill. / Carl Sandburg High School
Jake Swartz / RHP
6-1 / 175 / R/R
Bloomington, Ill. / University High School
Julius Sanchez / RHP
6-0 / 200 / R/R
LaSalle, Ill. / LaSalle Peru Township High School
Welcome to the Illini Nation!
Heartbreaking news
In the same week that we are welcoming new recruits, some very sad news hit the Illinois baseball program this week. Ryan Jefferson, a 2023 commit to the baseball program, passed away.
Ryan attended Providence Catholic High School in Mokena, Illinois and was slated to play for the Illini.
I have followed the Illini baseball team long enough to know that they are a tight-knit team and this has certainly hit them hard. The posts I am seeing on Twitter verify that. I can only imagine what the Providence Catholic team (and Ryan’s fellow students in general) are going through.
I submit my thoughts and condolences to Ryan’s family, friends and team.