Prep Baseball Report

Illinois 2019 JUCO Commits


By: Adam Panayotovich
Area Scout

Last week we broke down all of the 2019 Illinois prospects going onto play collegiate baseball in two separate posts: Division-I Commits & Division-II, Division-III & NAIA Commits. Today we will look at all players in the state that are headed the JUCO trail after their senior campaigns this spring. 

Please note that the JUCO signing period, as stated by the NJCAA, starts on November 1st so there can be many more commitments and de-commitments moving into the new year. Visit our twitter page @PBRIllinois and our Recruiting Roundup posts for all player commitments and noteworthy news within state lines. 

Not all players will be mentioned in the quick hits section, but be sure to look at the first interactive chart that lists all players headed to play at one of the forty JUCOs within Illinois. The subsequent chart lists all players headed out-of-state to continue their playing career. 

Quick Hits

  • 45+ players headed the JUCO route in-state next spring land within the recently updated 2019 IL player rankings. 
  • Triton JC commit Xander Rojahn (RHP, Elk Grove) uses an uptempo delivery with a full, quick and loose arm action to produce an upper 80's fastball that will play at the next level. He compliments his fastball, which we've seen touch 89 mph this February, with an aggressive fading changeup that works nicely off his heater. 
  • Jefferson JC commit Josh Gibson (INF, O'Fallon) is an uber athletic middle infielder with tons of promise on all sides of the ball. A sub-7 60-yard-dash runner, Gibson hit at the top of a potent O'Fallon lineup last spring, has quick hands at the plate with line drive ability to all fields. He also has the athletic ability and lateral range to stick up the middle defensively in college.
  • RHP Victor Fujiu (Fremd) headlines an impressive crop of talent headed to Parkland JC next year. Fujiu has a confident demeanor on the mound, a knack to control the pace of play and a powerful arm that produces an effortless upper 80's fastball. 
  • RHP Dawson Taylor (Edwardsville), a John. A Logan commit, has all the ingredients to become a quality starting pitcher at the next level. Standing at 6-foot-4, 201-pounds, Taylor has the body projection and arm talent to make a pitching coach daydream. He can comfortably sit his fastball in the mid to upper 80's and will continue to hone in his complimentary secondary offerings. 

In-State JUCO COMMITS

NAME HIGH SCHOOL POS

Black Hawk JC

Payton Lawrence Dixon RHP
Austin Ford Rock Island OF
Brad Niedzwiedz Batavia INF
Brandon Roth Normal West RHP

Carl Sandburg JC

Austin Collinson Normal West INF/RHP
Jesse Goropesek Bloomington INF/RHP
Zach Ori Limestone LHP

Danville Area CC

Jake Stipp Danville LHP/OF
Payne Waldman Highland LHP

Elgin CC

Dalton Askew Kaneland INF
Luke Menard Oswego INF
Nikolas Panico Kaneland C/RHP
Logan Riley Sycamore C/INF

Frontier CC

Alex Pittman Morgan Park INF/RHP
Ernan Rivera Solorio RHP

Heartland CC

Sean Blanchard Plainfield East C
Nick Fields Galesburg RHP/INF
Jake Kmiecik Metea Valley INF/RHP
Ryan Maher Brother Rice INF
Luke Markunas Washington Community RHP
Jake McKendry Providence Catholic RHP
Ryan Rhoda Prairie Central RHP/INF
Riley Rundquist Buffalo Grove INF
Gabriel Tindall Belleville East RHP

Illinois Central CC

John Day Dunlap RHP/INF
T.J. Fleita Maine South RHP
Trevor Heath Peoria Heights RHP
Silas Israel Tremont LHP
Justin Janssen Princeville C
Brandon Schulte Washington Community RHP
Tom Smith East Peoria INF
Josh Gibson O'Fallon INF
Joseph Miller Oswego C/INF

John A. Logan JC

Julio Cajigas Romeoville C
Drew Winters Routt Catholic OF
Thomas Ray Quincy Notre Dame RHP
Max Ringering Edwardsville INF
Robby Taul Alton INF
Dawson Taylor Edwardsville RHP

John Wood CC

Ethan Kopsie Marquette Catholic C

Joliet JC

Mark Garcia Joliet West INF
Daniel Guiliano Plainfield Central INF
Noah Mazza Plainfield South INF

Kankakee CC

Peter Fusek Homeschool OF

Kaskaskia JC

Gavin Lyday Edwardsville OF
Jacob Willis Highland INF

Kishwaukee JC

Jack Flynders Providence Catholic INF
Quinn Rempfer DeKalb LHP

Kirkwood JC   

Brandon Laux Brother Rice RHP
Darion Radcliff De La Salle INF

Lake Land JC

Brody Macak Monticello INF
Ben Schuler Pontiac INF
Jacob Walsh Providence OF

Lincoln Land JC

Noah Diederich Richwoods INF/LHP
Ashton Holcomb Morton INF
Jacob Jurgens Chatham-Glenwood LHP/INF
Jalen Ping Chatham-Glenwood C
Zachary Rocke-White Richwoods C
Adam Rose St. Joseph-Ogden RHP/OF
Gavin Wahlbrink Chatham-Glenwood RHP/INF

Lincoln Trail JC

Jack Jonota Stevenson C
Keegan Gagliardo Coal City LHP/OF

McHenry County JC

Evan Geske Woodstock INF
AJ Henkle Huntley OF
Daniel Klein Jacobs OF/C
Turner Mann Metamora RHP
Kyle Maurer Huntley RHP/OF
Jason Peters Huntley INF
Hunter Rumachik Huntley INF
Luke Uhwat Richmond Burton RHP

Moraine Valley CC

Luke Bentley Lockport INF/RHP
Alex Martinez Lockport INF

Parkland JC

Tristan Cazel St. Charles North RHP
Jimmy DeAngelo Hall INF/RHP
Victor Fujiu Fremd RHP
Charlie Hodges Delavan RHP
Codey Quirin Oswego LHP
Jay Schueler Rock Falls RHP
Rigel Verciglio Lane Tech RHP

Rend Lake JC   

Kyle Hetherington Crystal Lake South OF/LHP

Rock Valley JC

Gage Armstrong Sycamore C
Will Hissong Hononegah OF/RHP
Brandon Hutson Plainfield North INF/RHP
Josh Loomis Reed Custer RHP
Carlos Martinez Grant Community INF/RHP
Austin Steele Sycamore RHP

Sauk Valley JC

Brady Alexander Normal West OF

South Suburban JC

Tommy Windt Sandburg INF/RHP
Ryan McGrath St. Laurence RHP
Jorge Santos Homewood-Flossmoor OF
Joseph Tor Lockport RHP

Southeastern Illinois JC

Logan Verble Goreville C

Southwestern Illinois JC

Travis Bergkoetter Freeburg RHP
Austin Bonvicino Granite City OF

Spoon River JC

Noah Sustaita Minooka RHP

Triton JC

Landon Arney Neuqua Valley OF
Maximus Bullock Morgan Park INF
Zachary Carmignani Nazareth INF
Johnny DeConcilis Lake Park INF
Eric Diaz Brother Rice RHP
Brennan Geers Providence Catholic INF/LHP
Ben Hetelle South Elgin OF
Myles Henry Crete-Monee INF
Mitch Hundley Fremd C
Bryce Jensen Prospect LHP
Deven Jones Gwendolyn Brooks RHP
Jack Krug Nazareth RHP
Darrius Little Simeon OF
Ryan Linkletter Johnsburg RHP/OF
Matthew Mirabella Marist RHP
Xander Rojahn Elk-Grove RHP
Tim Rybarczyk Lincoln-Way Central RHP
Thomas Schroeder IV St. Charles East INF
Nicholas Sladek Hampshire INF/LHP
Conrad Tauer Lemont LHP
James Tauer Lemont OF
Michael Vaca Bartlett OF/RHP
Brock Wilken Harvest Christian LHP
Bobby Wisz Lemont INF
Danny Wizceb Vernon Hills RHP

Wabash Valley JC

Beiker Fuetes Crustal Lake South OF

Waubonsee CC

Kyle Crawford Dixon C
Van Harrington Metea Valley INF
Sammy Valdez Plainfield North RHP/INF

 

OUT-OF-STATE JUCO COMMITS

Quick Hits

  • Of the 13 players headed out of state, so far, half of them see their names within the state's 250 player rankings. 
  • RHP Anthony Sterchele (Neuqua Valley) has the tools to be an impact arm once he arrives to Santa Fe College in Arizona. Standing at a stout 6-foot-5, 200-pounds, Sterchele headed a dominant pitching staff that kept Neuqua Valley undefeated for a majority of their season. He has the ability to sit his fastball in the upper 80's with downward tilt and goes to a tight spinning slider, both of which he regularly uses to fill up the zone.
  • RHP Evan Rightnowar is another projectable right-hander that should see playing time upon arrival at Snead State in Alabama. Righnowar has a loose and quick arm action that produces a mid to upper 80's fastball, a 12/6 breaking ball he has shown the ability to spin and maintains deception on his changeup. 
  • Headed to Southeastern JC in Iowa, INF Tucker Cole shows plenty of promise to be a defensive bright spot moving forward. Cole has the ability to range to both sides with ease, soft hands and enough arm talent to get rid of the ball form all angles. 
  • OF Nick Iannantone (Joliet Catholic) has the dynamic ability to be a threat on all sides of the ball at Johnson County JC in Kansas. A left-handed hitter, Iannantone has present bat strength and bat speed. He can also fly around the bases hence the 6.51 60-yard dash time we saw in June. 
NAME HIGH SCHOOL POSITION COMMITMENT (STATE)
Tucker Cole Dixon SS Southeastern JC (IA)
Isaiah Hart Stevenson OF Cowley County JC (KS)
Nick Iannantone Joliet Catholic OF Johnson County CC (KS)
Max Herubin Carmel Catholic C Eastern Gateway CC (OH)
Tyler Kapraun Richwoods LHP Kansas City Kansas CC (KS)
Tony Mosher Plainfield South OF/RHP Des Moines Area CC (IA)
Evan Rightnowar Chatham-Glenwood RHP Snead State JC (AL)
Aaron Staehely Benet OF Iowa Western CC (IA)
Anthony Sterchele Neuqua Valley RHP Santa Fe CC (FL)
Luke Trapp Belleville West RHP St. Charles CC (MO)
Barry White Simeon OF/LHP Muskegon CC (MI)
Joshua Williams Simeon OF Indian Hills CC (IA)

Remember to keep an eye out at @PBRIllinois for up to date commitments from players all over the state. 

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