Recapping Kent State's Big Week

By Chris Valentine
PBR Ohio Scouting Director

Since Jeff Duncan took over as the head coach of the Kent State Golden Flashes this summer, he has picked up several commitments.

But, this week was a little different as he and the Kent State coaching staff brought in an impressive haul.

On Monday evening, Moeller junior Josh Hollander was the first domino to fall. Hollander, who is the No. 10 ranked prospect in Ohio for his class and No. 85 overall in the PBR coverage area, is an athletic, versatile prospect. In June, he ran a 6.65 60 at the Top Prospect Games while showing the offensive and defensive capabilities to make a difference at the next level. Hollander picked the Golden Flashes over Miami, Coastal Carolina, and several other programs.

Within hours of Hollander's commitment, the state's top unsigned senior, No. 12 ranked Zach Willeman, picked the Golden Flashes over Ohio State, Penn State, Miami, Cincinnati, and Toledo. Willeman exploded onto the recruiting scene in June at the Top Prospect Games and carried that momentum over into the summer with the Napoleon River Bandits legion team. With a fastball that reaches into the upper 80's and hard 76-78 mph breaking ball, Willeman should make an immediate impact on the Kent State program. He joins No. 11 ranked Chris Martin (Mason/RHP) and No. 16 ranked Eli Kraus (Buckeye/LHP) to give the Golden Flashes three players ranked in the top 25 of Ohio's class of 2014.

In an unexpected twist, Lexington junior Evan Lee (pictured right) capped off the week for Coach Duncan as he issued his verbal pledge on Friday afternoon. The athletic prospect, who projects as a corner infielder or outfielder at the next level, was one of the top performers for Team Ohio at the Midwest Futures Games. Lee felt the time had come to make his pledge as he cancelled an upcoming visit to Winthrop. He was receiving interest from several programs, including Miami and West Virginia.