It’s that time of year. Since practice was over in early October, the coaching staff have been busy talking to possible recruits. Now we get to see the fruits of their labor.
Last week, Coach Hartleb announced that six players have signed national letters of intent.
And let’s get this out of way… they’ve signed a catcher from Canada. Kelly Norris-Jones will join Chris Robinson, Lars Davis and Aaron Johnson as Illinois catchers from the Great North. Well. we’ve had pretty good luck so far going north for our backstop needs. Hopefully, Norris-Jones (left) will continue the streak.
Norris-Jones hails from Victoria, British Columbia and was on the All-Conference team for the British Columbia Premier Baseball League. Here’s a good profile article on Norris-Jones from the Times-Colonist.
The other five hail from Illinois.
Last week, I wrote about lefthander Rob McDonnell from Barrington when he made his verbal commitment. Here’s what Coach Westray says about McDonnell:
"Rob is a lefty who can throw three pitches for strikes with good repetition. He has a high ceiling and will be very productive for us."
Ronnie Muck who come from Park Ridge, was named All-area selection by the Sun Times as well as All-Central Suburban Conference pitcher. In addition to baseball, Muck (right) has earned two letters in football.
Drasen Johnson who hails from Illinois Valley Central High School, is a 6’3” righthander who has been slowed a bit by injury in his junior year but Westray obviously thinks he’s back to good health now.
Thomas Lindauer is a middle infielder from Moline. He’s tall for his position… 6’1”. Expect good glovework from him. He was named the #4 defensive infielder in the state by Prep Baseball Report. He can hit, too. He batted .405 in 2009. He earned seven letters in golf, baseball and basketball.
Finally, Reid Roper is a shortstop from Harrisburg. He was ranked #12 overall prospect by PBR. From his bio, he strikes me as a very all-around athletic type, playing baseball, football (quarterback even) and basketball in high school. Glowing words from Coach Snider Roper:
"Reid is an athletic, tough competitive player who has an above-average arm, soft hands and good instincts. He has a middle-of-the-field hitting approach with pop and potential power. He will hit for average and will give us a lot of doubles. I’m confident that he will make an impact in the Big Ten as a true freshman as he continues to work on his game."
Definitely a solid class of recruits that we can look forward to in 2011.