Prep Baseball Report

Fall Recruiting Roundup: JUCO Edition


By Peter Hamot
Area Scout

Today, we begin an in-depth look at Illinois prospects who have committed to play at the next level this fall. We began taking a look at all of the fall commitments, ranging from on Sept. 22 through Dec. 8. 

There were a total of 99 commitments over this time frame to play at the NJCAA level, four of whom were members of Team Illinois at the 2020 PBR Future Games: OF/1B Cooper Ohlson, OF Josh Outlaw, C/1B Will Plattner and RHP/OF Luka Radicevich.

Brady Small (Lemont, 2022), the No. 24-ranked player in the state, showed well at multiple events over the last year such as the Illinois State Games and the PBR Midwest Pro Day back in September before landing at Iowa Western.

Above, MIF Patrick Graham (Naperville North, 2022) was one of the top uncommitted prospects in the state this fall, showing well at the PBR Fall Championship and eventually committing to Wabash Valley. Charlie Marisca (Grayslake Central, 2022) took full advantage of the PBR at The Rock Champioships after de-comitting from Mizzou and eventually landing with Parkland. 

The Unsigned Senior Showcase in October gave prospects a last-minute opportunity to showcase their skill sets in front of college coaches. No one took advantage of this more than C/RHP Jacob Filip, who showed extremely well throughout the day and eventually landed at John A. Logan. Filip showcased one of the strongest overall arms on the entire day, reaching up to 85 mph from the crouch and 89 on the mound.

John A. Logan landed two more notable right-handers throughout this time in Drew Pestka (Cartersville) and Landon Geragosian (Breese Central). Pestka made his first-ever PBR appearance at the St. Louis Open back in June and immediately gained traction in the recruiting scene; recording a fastball in the low 90s and later committing in the fall. 

The Senior Games back in August produced some impressive breakout players, one of whom being Kaskaskia commit C Ryan Kelly (Huntley). Kelly stood out among the rest with a strong showing both offensively and behind the plate, recording the second best pop-time in the entire event at 2.02. 

Here's another couple players who can be found in the state's Class of 2022 Rankings: RHP Jack Wajda (Providence Catholic) and MIF Eli Hensley (Normal West). Wajda, a strong right-hander who is committed to play at Florida's Chipola College, was one of the Biggest Risers over the last year, showcasing a fastball in the upper 80s. Hensley, a Black Hawk commit, is a toolsy middle infielder slotted at No. 84 overall in Illinois. The left-handed hitter uses a loose/whippy swing with a level path through the zone to attack the entire field, while also looking completely natural on the infield with a max velo across measured at 85 mph.

For a view at the rest of the NJCAA commits to come out of Illinois since the end of September, take a look below:

NJCAA COMMITMENTS

NAME HIGH SCHOOL POS. CLASS COMMITMENT
Nico Acevedo Crystal Lake Central C/RHP 2022 McHenry County
Michael Addari Libertyville RHP/OF 2022 Parkland
Nile Adcock Pinckneyville RHP/INF 2022 Kaskaskia
Tyler Adkins Metamora INF/RHP 2022 Lincoln Land
Tyler Altenbaumer St. Joseph-Ogden RHP  2022  Southwestern Illinois
Michael Ascencio Joliet Catholic INF/RHP  2022  Kaskaskia
Aden Aukland Plainfield East OF/RHP  2022  College of DuPage
Brock Bacus
Normal Community INF/RHP  2022  Danville Area CC
Brek Baranoski Joliet Catholic INF  2022  Triton
Carson Beal
Normal University  1B  2022  Morton
Matthew Bivens Yorkville  1B/OF  2022  Iowa Central
Byron Blaise Sycamore  C/1B  2022  Rock Valley 
Elijah Boeye Rock Island  C/OF  2022  Illinois Central
CJ Byrdak Lockport  RHP  2022  Iowa Central
Caden Castro Pittsfield  OF/RHP  2022  McHenry County
Ean Compton Princeton  LHP  2022  Black Hawk
Jayden Cummings Simeon  MIF/OF  2022  Parkland
Owen Cutinello South Elgin  C/3B  2022  Elgin CC
Mark DeCicco Crystal Lake South  RHP/INF  2022  McHenry County
Zach Diver Dunlap  INF/RHP  2022  Sauk Valley
Aidan Dodson South Central  RHP  2023  John A. Logan
Luke Dragin Antioch  LHP/OF  2022  Rock Valley
Braiden Elliot Tri-Valley  OF/LHP  2022  Lincoln Trail
Lenox Estremera Proviso West  INF  2022  Kishwaukee
Ian Farrell Saint Viator  INF  2022  Lake Land
Jacob Filip
Lakes Community  C/RHP  2022  John A. Logan 
Will Fletcher Wheaton North  RHP  2022  Heartland 
Grant Garret
Grayslake North  C/OF  2022  Rock Valley 
Landon Geragosian Breese Central  RHP  2022  John A. Logan 
Lucas Goldstein
Huntley  INF/RHP  2022  Rock Valley 
Patrick Graham
Naperville North   MIF  2022  Wabash Valley 
Jaxson Grubbs
Maroa-Forsyth  RHP/1B  2022  Lewis and Clark 
Sebastian Gutierrez Nazareth Academy  INF/RHP  2022  Parkland 
Carter Hall
Champaign Central   C/INF  2022  Morton 
Eli Hensley
Normal West  MIF  2022  Black Hawk 
Davis Hoffstatter
Moline  RHP/1B  2022  Black Hawk 
Quinn Hoftender Orion  LHP  2022  Black Hawk 
Zach Holton
Moline  RHP  2022  Black Hawk 
Ashton Horchem Limestone  OF/MIF  2022  Frontier CC 
Anthony Huerta
Von Steuben  RHP  2022  Morton 
Connor Janik
Peotone   INF  2022  Kankakee 
Joe Jefferson
Normal West  C/INF  2022  Spoon River  
Joel Johnson
Oswego  INF/OF  2022  Waubonsee 
Matt Kelliher Plainfield South  RHP  2022  Heartland 
Ryan Kelly
Huntley  C/RHP  2022  Kaskaskia 
Ryan Kempf
Crystal Lake Central  C/INF  2022  McHenry County 
Cole Kersten
McHenry County   INF/RHP  2022  Rock Valley 
Kannon Kleine
Galesburg  C/INF  2022  Black Hawk 
Evan Kochel Normal University  C/1B  2022  Lincoln Land 
Nick Krueger
Clifton Central  RHP  2022  Kankakee 
Jackson Lindquist
Winnebago  MIF/OF  2022  Rock Valley 
Ezekiel Lopez
Morton West  INF/RHP  2022  Morton 
Charlie Marisca Grayslake Central   2022  Parkland 
Jonny Marquez
South Elgin  1B/LHP  2022  Waubonsee 
Caden Martin Bishop McNamara  C/OF  2022  Kankakee 
Chase Martin
Roanoke-Benson  RHP/INF  2022  Black Hawk 
Joseph Matteson
Effingham  C/OF  2022  Lake Land 
Matthew Merk
Lockport  C/OF  2022  Eastern Florida SC 
Harout Meyer
Huntley  RHP/INF  2022  McHenry County 
Logan Mills
McHenry   INF/C  2022  Elgin CC
Michael Mucha
Lockport  RHP/OF  2022  Western Technical 
Jake Nelms
Geneseo  LHP  2022  Spoon River 
Kevin Niedzwiedz
Batavia   INF  2022  Black Hawk 
Ryan Norman
Minooka  RHP/OF  2022  Kankakee 
Will O’Gorman Moline  LHP/1B  2022  Parkland 
Cooper Ohlson
Lyons Township  OF/1B  2022  John A. Logan 
Josh Outlaw
Maine West  OF  2022  Parkland 
Giovanni Pamias Oak Park River Forest  MIF  2022  Bryant and Stratton 
Drew Pestka
Cartersville   RHP  2022  John A. Logan 
Jake Petak Lincoln-Way East  OF/1B  2022  Black Hawk 
Will Plattner
Glenwood  C/1B  2022  Wabash Valley 
Ethan Plym
Hall  RHP/INF  2022  Black Hawk 
Rick Powell McHenry  OF/INF  2022  Rock Valley 
Luka Radicevich
Joliet Catholic  RHP/OF  2022  Chipola College 
Jake Radosevich Triad  C/INF  2022  Lewis and Clark 
Nick Rainey
Illinois Valley Central   RHP  2022  Heartland 
Andrew Randazzo
Maine South   OF  2022  Lincoln Land 
Brennon Reed Bloomington   OF/LHP  2022  Danville Area CC 
Dean Rizzo
Huntley  CIF  2022  Kishwaukee 
Connor Roark
Glenwood  RHP  2022  Spoon River 
Tyler Robbins
Altamont  INF/RHP  2022  Spoon River 
Blake Roundtree
LeRoy  OF/RHP  2022  McHenry County 
Dylan Sayles
Hononegah   C/OF  2022  Indian Hills 
Charlie Schau Maine South  OF/INF 2022 Madison
Brady Small Lemont 1B/OF 2022 Iowa Western
David Smith Tremont RHP/INF 2022 Carl Sandburg
Blake Sotir
Batavia   RHP/MIF  2022  Waubonsee 
Jake Spotofora Joliet Catholic  RHP  2022  College of DuPage 
Cale Steinbaugh
Georgetown-Ridgefarm  MIF  2022  Heartland 
Mason Struck
Crystal Lake South  MIF  2022  Kishwaukee 
McGwire Taylor
Fairfield Community  LHP  2022  Wabash Valley 
Jorgie Vazquez
Mount Carmel  INF  2022  Triton 
Jack Wajda
Providence Catholic  RHP  2022  Chipola College 
Michael Wanhala
Huntley   C/OF  2022  Morton 
Gavin Wernsing
Stewardson Strasburg   LHP  2022  Southwestern Illinois 
Brendan Whalen
Grayslake Central  RHP/1B  2022  Lake Land 
Luke Wickenhauser
Calhoun  RHP/OF  2022  Lincoln Land 
Ben Wisniewski
West Aurora  C/INF  2022  Milwaukee Area Tech 
Joey Wizceb
Vernon Hills  LHP  2022  McHenry County 
David Zaragoza Lockport  RHP/INF  2022  South Suburban  

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