A lot happens in college baseball during the summer. The players go off and play in summer leagues, there are various administration and program activities and then there are events that happen only once every few years.
Let’s take a look at past few months in Illinois baseball news…
Branden Comia hits for the cycle
On July 27th, Branden Comia had a day for the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders!
Comia was the first player in team history to hit for the cycle going four for five with five rbis. For that, Comia earned Northwoods League’s Player of the Night.
How did he end up for the season? Very well! He batted .337 with 24 runs and 32 rbis in 23 games.
Ty Rybarczyk represents in NWL All-Star Game
Ty Rybarczyk is an under-reported story of this summer. What a summer he had with the Rockford Rivets of the Northwoods League! In fact, he was named to the Great Lakes Team for the NWL’s All-Star Game. Considering the size of the league, that is a really big deal.
Ty pitched two-thirds of an inning in the game without giving up a baserunner. Sadly, it was in a losing cause. Great Plains defeated the Great Lakes 4-2.
Rybarczyk ended the regular season with the Rivets with some astounding stats. He was 6-1 with a 1.60 ERA.
DIA announces NIL Marketplace
This summer, the University of Illinois partnered with Opendorse in order to provide a “name, image, and likeness (NIL) marketplace. The idea behind this is to give Illini student-athletes opportunities to work with businesses to accept revenue.
If you browse to the Marketplace, you will see the Illini baseball players and their marketplace profiles.
No doubt this is related to Brand Ambassador Program which was announced soon after. This program will pair student-athletes with those from the College of Media to strategize about branding possibilities.
Opening of Atkins Training Center announced
The long-awaited Atkins Baseball Training Center is ready!
The Department of Intercollegiate Athletics has announced the opening of the facility. Members of the public who wish to get a sneak peek inside can sign up for an Illini Insider event.
The event takes place September 22-23 at Illinois Field and the Atkins Field. Sign up is at fightingillini.com.
Kirschsieper, Janas and Campbell enter pro ball
On the final day of the MLB draft on July 19th, starter Cole Kirschsieper and first baseman Justin Janas got the call. Kirsch was picked in the 12th round by the Marlins with the 352nd overall pick. It wasn’t long after till Janas heard his name called too. In the same round, he was picked 365th overall by the Braves.
Both players finished out the 2022 year in single-A.
While Jacob Campbell did not get drafted in the 2022 MLB draft, the Padres saw the value in him and signed him soon after the draft.
Michael Massey!
If you have been following my twitter feed, you know all about what’s going on with Michael Massey. It’s not every day that a former Illini makes a debut in the show. He’s the first Illini to play in the majors since reliever Joey Gerber and the first position player to do so since Chris Robinson.
Here is how we all found out…
Massey made his debut with the Kansas City Royals soon after the All-Star break on July 14th. In three games, he went 3 for 8 but was sent down to AAA. When the Royals traded their key second baseman, they brought him back up on August 4.
Massey has been displaying his brilliant defense along with his style of opposite field hitting at Kaufmann Stadium. And he has handled it with poise and dignity.
Just last week, MLB did a feature piece on Michael Massey so I feel this bodes well for his future with the team.
Massey’s 2022 stats so far:
| Split | G | GS | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 Totals | 35 | 30 | 124 | 108 | 9 | 27 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 3 | 7 | 28 | .250 | .333 | .361 |
And hey, check it out! I see that Michael hit his second homer of the year today.
I hope Michael Massey knows how many Illini fans are still rooting for him back in Illinois. We are so proud of him!
College baseball is indeed a summer thing. Did I miss any other big stories? Please let me know!