Illinois 2020 D-I Recruiting Classes: Part Two

November 15, 2019
By Andy Sroka
Staff Writer, Associate Scout

Within this post, we’ll be breaking down the next four of Illinois’ 11 Division-I programs and their incoming 2020 recruiting classes, from both in-state and out-of-state perspectives, after we covered the first five in Wednesday’s post. We’ll be breaking things down, program by program, in-depth below.

Keep checking things out throughout the week as we analyze the entire Illinois 2020 class and the commitments they’ve made, as well as the top prospects in the state who have yet to choose a home come fall of 2020.

ILLINOIS STATE

NAME	STATE (RANK)	SCHOOL	POS
Mason Burns	IL (24)	Normal Community	RHP
Luke Cheng	MD (17)	Sherwood	SS
Josh Dima	IL (17)	Belleville West	LHP/OF
Tommy Heideman	IL (79)	Normal Community	1B
Gene Kolarik	IN (22)	Crown Point	RHP
Daniel Laughery	IL (76)	Grant Community	OF
Jonathan Sabotnik	IN (19)	Crown Point	OF
Tyler Woltman	IL (56)	Wheaton North	C

TOTAL RECRUITS: 8 | IN-STATE: 5 | STATE TOP-50: 5

At the end of October, the PBR Illinois team made the trip to St. Louis for a late fall showcase where we got our first first-hand look at Belleville West’s Josh Dima, a two-way prospect with considerable hype. He committed to ISU back in April but that showcase marked our first real chance to see Dima, who fulfilled the hype that surrounded him. In our most recent 2020 rankings update, Dima rocketed up to the No. 17 overall prospect in the state’s senior class and he actually debuted on the national rankings, too, inside the top-500. On the mound, at the event, he sat at a live 87-90 mph with a breaking ball that flashed tight action and a changeup with sincere swing-and-miss potential. He could be the prize of this Redbirds recruiting class. Not to mention Dima’s an athlete who can play the outfield with a loose lefty bat.

Dima and RHP Mason Burns (Normal Community) could be Illinois State’s one-two punch down the road. Burns is a top-25-ranked prospect in his own right. A 6-foot-3 workhorse with a mid- to upper-80s fastball and a sharp slider and changeup combo.

ISU is bringing three more in-state names in next fall: 1B Tommy Heideman (Normal Community), OF Daniel Laughery (Grant Community), and C Tyler Woltman (Wheaton North). Heideman is a hulking left-handed bat with a gap-to-gap approach. Laughery is a top-of-the-order type with barrel feel and twitch. And Woltman is a flexible and athletic backstop who’s been a staple to his high school team since he was a freshman.

Outside of Illinois, the Redbirds nabbed A top-20-ranked shortstop in Maryland’s senior class, Luke Cheng (Sherwood). Our Maryland colleagues saw Cheng this spring and described him as a table-setter with a quiet approach and athletic, quick hands who also plays a rangy shorstop.

Gene Kolarik (Crown Point) is a 6-foot-7 right-hander from Indiana with an easy 85-89 mph fastball with a couple go-to offspeed offerings: a big, downer curveball and a fading change. He’s also ranked inside Indiana’s top-20.

Kolarik’s high school teammate Jonathan Sabotnik is also one of the state’s best prospects, ranked No. 19 overall. He swings a long, fast left-handed bat with an ability to pepper the gaps and he has big-time arm strength that can work in the mid-80s on the mound, too.

ILLINOIS-CHICAGO

NAME	STATE (RANK)	SCHOOL	POS
Clay Conn	IL (85)	St. Charles East	SS
Cole Conn	IL (90)	St. Charles East	C
Brandon Gelpi	PA (25)	Pittsburgh Central Catholic	OF
James Harris	IL (67)	Brooks	1B/3B
Ben Hernandez	IL (2)	De La Salle	RHP
Ryan Nagelbach	IL (110)	Deerfield	SS
Breck Nowik	IL (59)	Lake Forest	SS/RHP
Luke Picchiotti	IL (54)	Hersey	OF

TOTAL RECRUITS: 8 | IN-STATE: 7 | STATE TOP-50: 2

Without a doubt, the name to know inside this class is RHP Ben Hernandez (De La Salle), who erupted in 2019 and burst onto the national scene in a big way, where he shined at many of the primetime events and may have done enough to coax a Major League front office into calling his name early enough in the draft to forgo his opportunity in his home city. Hernandez catapulted himself up the rankings at an early 2019 PBR event, where he sat 93-94 mph with a filthy swing-and-miss changeup. That combo alone stirred interest from the pro scouting community. He’s still finding his feel to spin, and it remains one of the few blemishes on his profile, but Hernandez is still one of the best in the country, ranked No. 21 overall on our national board.

For a large part of 2019, Lake Forest’s Breck Nowik was one of the state’s top uncommitted prospects. He has two-way upside, with a big, athletic 6-foot-2 frame with both arm strength and bat strength, but he seems to have a higher ceiling on the infield dirt. He’s a rangy defender, especially for his size, with plenty of arm for the left side of the infield. Nowik’s right-handed bat also carries power potential at the next level.

The twins from St. Charles East, Clay and Cole Conn, both committed to UIC in late July and are a couple switch-hitters with athleticism. Clay us a middle infielder with advanced actions on the dirt and a barrel control approach to spray liners all over the diamond. Cole is a catcher with soft hands that play fast in his catch-and-throw skillset with some pull-side pop when he’s in the lefty box.

From Brooks, James Harris is a corner infielder with a slugger’s mentality. He can backspin baseballs from the right-handed batter’s box with loose, strong hands. He has the look of a middle-of-the-order bat to anchor a lineup for a long time.

Ryan Nagelbach (Deerfield) is another switch-hitter with barrel feel who’s also plenty athletic enough to hold his own up the middle of the infield on defense.

Ranked No. 54 in the state, OF Luke Picchiotti (Hersey) has been on the rise this year and climbed almost 100 spots in our rankings in our August update. He’s a left/left athlete with a strong build that he uses well in the box, with gap-to-gap pop who’s also topped 90 mph from the outfield.

Lastly, from Pennsylvania, OF Brandon Gelpi (Pittsburgh Central Catholic) is the No. 25-ranked prospect in the state for his physicality as a sub-6.90 runner who can also bash baseballs from the right side of the plate.

NORTHWESTERN

NAME	STATE (RANK)	SCHOOL	POS
Vincent Bianchina	CA (N/A)	De La Salle	SS
Garrett Boeckle	FL (139)	Berkeley Prep	RHP
Ben Grable	CA (102)	Flintridge Prep	RHP
Stephen Hrustich	GA (N/A)	Parkview	1B
Anthony Livermore	IL (18)	Mount Carmel	SS
Ethan O'Donnell	CO (6)	Regis Jesuit	OF
David Utagawa	AZ (24)	Corona del Sol	RHP

TOTAL RECRUITS: 7 | IN-STATE: 1 | STATE TOP-50: 3

The Wildcats are only bringing in one prospect from their home state, but he’s also one of Illinois’ best. SS Anthony Livermore (Mount Carmel) is the No. 18-ranked prospect in the state as a spark plug-type athlete whose motor energizes any and every dugout he steps into. At 5-foot-9, 160 pounds, Livermore gets all he can out of his smaller frame, and it actually helps him keep excellent balance while at shortstop and from the left-handed box. He’s a supremely smooth defender with a middle-of-the-field approach at the plate.

RHP David Utagawa (Corona del Sol) is the No. 24-ranked prospect in Arizona’s senior class, a 6-foot-3 righty who broke out late in 2018. He’s harnessed a downhill fastball that was up to 87 mph last we checked in person, but his athleticism and frame suggest there’s plenty more in the tank.

The No. 6 overall prospect in Colorado’s senior class, Ethan O’Donnell (Regis Jesuit), is headed to Evanston. The left-handed-hitting outfielder is a five-tool type – he’s a sub-6.90 runner, has shown a propensity for pop in both gaps, and can go and get it in the outfield with upper-80s arm strength, too. He’s an aggressive competitor who’s constantly looking to gain any advantage he can muster for his team.

From California, RHP Ben Grable (Flintridge Prep) put together a huge summer and sat 88-90 mph, touching 92 mph, in our Cali colleagues’ last look back in July. It’s a downhill fastball from a 6-foot-4 angle with a sharp curveball that plays especially well off it.

Grable will meet future staffmate Garrett Boeckle (Berkeley Prep, FL) from the other side of the country in the Chicagoland area next fall. Boeckle, PBR Florida’s No. 139-ranked senior, is a 6-foot, 200-pound righty who sits in the upper-80s and has a breaking ball with swing-and-miss potential.

Stephen Hrustich (Parkview) helped his prestigious high school program collect yet another state title last spring and his mighty right-handed bat was on the open market for far too long. Still, Northwestern took advantage and swooped in to grab their future first base slugger. Hrustich hit .396 with 10 homers inside one of the country’s most competitive high school conferences.

Finally, from California’s De La Salle, middle infielder Vincent Bianchina is a wiry, lean athlete with a disciplined switch-hit bat that works especially well from the left side. He’s also a solid-average defender who will be plenty reliable to occupy second base in the not-too-distant future.

SIU-EDWARDSVILLE

NAME	STATE (RANK)	SCHOOL	POS
Trent Glidewell	IL (97)	Goreville	RHP
Noah Matheny	IL (61)	Galesburg	3B
Brennan Orf	MO (79)	Westminster	3B
Avery Owusu-Asiedu	WI (32)	Waukesha West	OF

TOTAL RECRUITS: 4 | IN-STATE: 2 | STATE TOP-50: 1

The Cougars landed one of Wisconsin’s fastest rising prospects in 2019: OF Avery Owusu-Asiedu (Waukesha West). The No. 32-ranked senior in the state is a tooled-up 6-foot-4 athlete who can run 6.80 marks and wallops baseballs from the right-handed box with serious, easy bat strength. He’s a high-ceiling bat who only just began to tap into his upside as he pieced his game together in 2019, so we’ll watch and see what awaits him in 2020 and beyond.

Galesburg’s two-way prospect Noah Matheny is the No. 61-ranked prospect in Illinois’ senior class, and he’s looking more and more like a next-level arm. At 6-foot-2, 200 pounds, Matheny is able to run his fastball up into the upper 80s and he’s shown an ability to hold that velocity throughout starts. He has a three-pitch mix with feel and potential, too. Meanwhile, he swings an aggressive left-handed bat capable of driving in runs.

The other Illinois product headed to Edwardsville is Goreville’s RHP Trent Glidewell, who’s built similarly to Matheny. At 6-foot-3, Glidewell is a little leaner, with an easy upper-80s fastball, too.

Finally, from nearby Westminster High in Missouri, 3B Brennan Orf is hulking 6-foot-4, 215-pound lefty bat who incorporates his size into his swing with relative ease. He has some all-fields juice, and is capable of backspinning balls from foul pole to foul pole. Orf’s also been up to 87 mph on the mound with a solid-average breaking ball. He’s the No. 79-ranked prospect in the state.

NOTE: Both Southern Illinois and Western Illinois programs do not have any incoming 2020 prospects. The Salukis brought on new head coach Lance Rhodes in June and are gathering themselves ahead of the new year. The Leathernecks brought in a hugely talented 2019 class and also named themselves a new head coach, Andy Pascoe, just a couple months ago, on Sept. 19.