On Nov. 13th, thousands of high school baseball players across the country signed their National Letters of Intent to lock in their official commitments to their respective schools, with hundreds of these signings hailing from Illinois.

Over the next few weeks, we will spend some time highlighting the names from Illinois that signed their NLI to play baseball at the Division I level. We’ll do so by breaking these names up by conference, continuing with the BIG 12 today. 

Arizona 

INF Gavin Triezenberg (Brother Rice) will be headed to Tucson next fall, and there’s a lot to like with the 6-foot-3, 200-pound middle infielder. Currently ranked No. 26 in the state, it would be hard to find anyone in the state his size that moves as fluidly as he does on the infield, and his right-handed swing has continued to tick up with improved bat-speed in recent looks.

From 5/1/24: “Arizona commit. Currently ranked No. 39 in the state. Physical, 6-foot-3, 200-pound frame with proportioned strength. Started at shortstop and hit out of the three-hole for the Crusaders. Moves extremely well on the infield for his size, soft glove-to-hand with quality timing through the ball, plays on the move. The right-handed hitter finished the day 2-for-3 with a double, RBI and a run scored, displaying quality plate coverage with loose, whippy hands through the zone. Aggressive on the basepaths, took a curveball off the head and stole second first pitch against a premium backstop.” 

Arizona State 

The Sun Devils improved their incoming pitching staff when they recently signed RHP Austin Musso (Mascoutah). Currently ranked No. 13 in the state, Musso is a proven in-game performer with a power arm to pair, working his fastball in the low-90s (T93 mph) this past spring. 

From 4/29/24: “6-foot-2, 195-pound strong, well-proportioned athlete with present strength throughout and room for more. Have seen him multiple times this spring and this was our best look to date in a highly anticipated Mississippi Valley Conference matchup against Triad. Tossed a complete game shutout, allowing two weak infield hits with one walk and six strikeouts. Has a 0.41 ERA with 49 strikeouts and 15 walks over 34 innings pitched this spring, holding opponents to a .136 batting average against. Works with tempo and pace, gets onto his backside and rides the slide to footstrike. Clean, in-line mover down the mound, consistently maintained his direction to the plate throughout. Long arm swing with scap retraction on the backside, accelerates out front and finishes out of a fast high ¾ arm slot. Fastball touched 91 early, pitched at 88-90 mph with true command of the plate, spotting it on either corner when he wanted. High spin with easy life and jump out the hand, holds plane with carry. Tight spin on slider, works it to right-handed hitters for swing-and-miss on occasion to the glove-side corner of the plate, 77-80 mph. Will also flip in a high arching, gradually spun curveball at 69-73 mph with big depth for strikes. High pitchability arm that consistently dominantes each time he takes the mound.” 

Cincinnati 

The Bearcats dominated the recruiting scene in Illinois, landing the most players for an out of state Power Four school and tying Illinois for the most players signed to a P4. 

They were able to grab three high-level right-handed arms from the state in Brandon Menser (Sesser Valier), Connor Blue (O’Fallon) and Tucker King (Lyons Township). 

Menser, a highly projectable 6-foot-3, 175-pounds, is hardly scratching his surface as an arm. Currently ranked No. 15 in the state, he has an innate ability to spin the baseball, working his fastball up to 91 mph with nearly 2600 rpm, and he can also rip off his curveball around 2700 rpm. 

From 8/21/24: “He stands in a hard-to-miss 6-foot-3, 176-pound frame with long levers and all kinds of projection still to come. He earned Illinois State Games Most Valuable Pitcher honors after tossing two innings on the mound with four strikeouts and no hits, runs or walks allowed. His fastball played with heavy carry through the zone (avg. 19.4” IVB), sitting 87-89 mph and topping out at 91 mph with quality spin to pair (avg. 2486 rpm). He mixed in a curveball with 12/6 action, sitting 74-79 mph with an average of 2680 rpm as well as an average of -15.4 inches of induced vertical break. He rounded out his polished three-pitch mix with an 80 mph changeup with slight fading action to the arm-side. A must-know prospect that is trending up in Illinois.” 

Blue, the No. 18 ranked player in the state, is another nice arm the Bearcats should be excited about. Listed at 6-foot-2, 205-pounds with some strength throughout, Blue can work his fastball around the 91 mph mark to pair with a sharp slider in the mid-70s and fading changeup in the upper-70s. 

From 5/23/24: “Cincinnati commit, 6-foot-2, 205-pound frame that holds lean strength throughout. Ranked No. 17 overall in the state’s junior class and No. 491 overall nationally. Tossed six innings of one run ball for the Panthers in a regional win, scattering three hits with three walks and five strikeouts. Simple, stretch-only operation, leans into his backside and rides it downhill, lead leg swings to front footstrike. Strong glove arm, drifts towards the first base side through release. Clean and continuous path on the backside, gets into scap retraction and fires out of a high ¾ slot. Fastball played at 90-91 mph in the first inning, pitched anywhere from 86-89 mph as he went on, but did reach back for 89 mph in each of the final two frames of his outing. Showed a low-70s curveball as his main secondary offering, sharp spin at times. Served as more of a change-of-pace in this look, kept hitters off balance and stayed off the barrel; did induce three ground ball double plays with his breaking ball. One of the top arms in the state’s soon-to-be senior class.” 

Last but not least, King will be the third and final right-hander headed to Cincinnati from the state. Listed at 6-foot-4, 207-pounds, King is a long-levered arm that creates some deception throughout his delivery, delivering a low-90s fastball from a lower ¾ slot. He will also feature a sweeping slider around 76-78 mph and fading changeup to keep hitters guessing. 

From 8/1/24: “RHP Tucker King (Lyons Township, 2025) Possessing a strong and long 6-foot-4, 207-pound frame, King threw a gem on the mound for Cangelosi Sparks North. The righty threw five innings while giving up three runs. On the mound, he works quick with a fast tempo. He has simple mechanics throwing out of a lower 3/4 arm slot with a long stride. King’s fastball touched 90 mph and sat 86-89 mph. His slider was thrown 76-78 mph and his 82-84 mph changeup had hitters off balance.”

Currently slotted at No. 10 in Illinois, C Enzo Infelise (Providence Catholic) is one of the top hitters in the entire state, and he was one of the main contributors to Providence’s success and eventual State Title this past spring. He has plenty of strength in his right-handed swing, boasting a max EV of 102 mph in-event, and he has shown a polished ability to use the whole field. He also has premier arm strength, reaching up to 83 mph from the chute and 90 mph across the infield. 

From 8/21/24: “All C/INF Enzo Infelise (Providence Catholic; Oklahoma commit) has done since we first saw him is hit. The 6-foot-2, 229-pound right-handed hitter has easy strength in his bat, juicing a no-doubt home run over the left field wall during game play. He continues to show well above-average bat-to-ball skills, making it hard for pitchers to get a strike past him. He had one of the more impressive rounds of batting practice during the event’s showcase, barreling balls for an average exit velocity of 94.4 mph (T102.4 mph), while sending his farthest hit ball 356 feet, per TrackMan. Infelise’s average bat speed was 74.4 mph, including an average hand speed of 22 mph. Defensively from the crouch, he recorded an 81 mph catcher velocity while recording a pop time range of 1.87-1.95, also tallying 88 mph across the diamond during infield defense.” 

OF/LHP Joe DuSell (St. Edward) is a highly intriguing two-way prospect that has been making waves across the state over the past year. Currently ranked No. 19 in Illinois, he swings a loud barrel from the left-side that consistently found extra-bases this past summer, and he has the athleticism/arm-strength to provide quality defense in the outfield. On the other side of the ball, the southpaw will work his fastball up to 90 mph with a wipeout curveball averaging 2750 rpm in recent looks.

From 8/1/24: “OF/LHP Joe DuSell (St. Edward, 2025) Physical, 6-foot, 207-pound frame, showed plus stuff during AHQ-Schmidt’s Saturday night pool-play game. The left-hander struck out six, four looking and two swinging, and surrendered one walk over two and two-thirds innings of work. Utilized a three pitch mix, relying heavily on his fastball and slider combination, both of which produced swings and misses. Displayed a ¾ arm slot, uphill shoulder tilt, quick arm action, in-line stride, and a forceful back leg push off. Fastball was firm with armside run and sat from 88-90 mph; backed by a hard biting slider that was thrown for strikes at 75-77 mph, and the occasional hard changeup at 81-83 mph. A quality showing for the uncommitted DuSell, Illinois’ No. 92 overall ranked prospect. Also a left-handed hitter, DuSell swings a heavy barrel with easy bat-speed, showing the ability to control the zone and drive the ball to all parts of the field with authority.”

Oklahoma State 

The Cowboys have started dipping into Illinois recently, and they got a couple good ones in this class with C Quinn Schambow (Libertyville) and RHP Drew Winslow (Triad). 

Currently ranked No. 5 in the state and No. 133 nationally, Schambow is one of the top catchers in the entire country. He provides exceptional defense behind the plate with soft hands and a well above-average arm (T84 mph; 1.86 pop-time). He can also provide some juice at the plate from the right side, having shown the ability to elevate with authority to the whole field in-game. 

From 6/3/24: “Quinn Schambow (Libertyville; Oklahoma State) is the top ranked catcher in the state and continued to show why. Defensively, he is highly-advanced with a strong arm behind the plate that is one of his biggest weapons. In-game he is ultra-aggressive throwing behind runners and shutting down the running game. On this day, he showed clean, athletic and highly repeatable actions out of the crouch. His arm was playing easy, with life and accuracy while topping at 83 mph from the crouch with his best pop time coming in at 1.92. Offensively, he has strong hands and elevates the baseball with authority to both gaps at times.”

Winslow, a 6-foot-6, 195-pound right-hander, will look to be another quality addition for the Cowboys. High-level athlete on the basketball court as well, the lanky right-hander will work his fastball into the low-90s from a near sidearm slot with more to come in the near future. To pair off the sinking fastball he will go to a sweeping slider and naturally fading changeup. 

From 3/16/24: “Oklahoma State commit and one of the top arms in Illinois, regardless of class. Long, lanky, and lean-limbed 6-foot-6, 195-pound athlete, averaged 14.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game for the Knights’ basketball team this winter. Quick up-tempo drop/drive type delivery, hunched at balance point, stays closed to front footstrike. Strides in-line to target, finishes through release and controls his levers well for age. Long loose and continuous arm path that comes out of a ¾ window. Fastball touched 91 mph in the first, sat 88-90 mph throughout, touching 90 mph again in the fourth inning. Starting to hold velocity more; at this time last year, peaked at 88 mph early while settling at 84-85 mph. Flashed late run at times, stayed off the barrel and induced ground balls at a high rate, including two inning-ending double plays. Wasn’t around the strike zone as often as we’ve seen in the past in this look, but did execute when necessary. Showed a true lane changing sinker at 86-88 mph with heavy horizontal movement, covering the entire plate at times. Sharp swing-and-miss sweep on a 75-78 mph slider, grabbed several uncomfortable whiffs out of the zone against right-handed hitters. Worked around a changeup at 83-85 mph that favored the glove-side corner in this look. Didn’t have his best stuff but still possesses one of the highest ceilings on the mound in the entire state, regardless of class.”

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