Last week we started our IL 2019 class breakdown by dissecting all seniors headed to the Division-I ranks. Today we will take a look at those players within the state who are going on to play at the D-II, D-III and NAIA levels, respectively. Most of the analysis keeps in mind the conferences in each Division to catch onto any trends that may have developed. The national signing periods for these three levels of competition vary so we'll touch on that as well.

The NCAA and Division-I/Division-II baseball recently altered the National Letter of Intent signing period which now opens November 14th, 2018 and closes August 1st, 2019. Division-III and NAIA on the other hand do not have a ‘signing period’ per se, which is intended to even the playing field for Colleges/Universities of all levels. That being said, keep a watch on our twitter page @PBRIllinois as we will continue to track player commitments year round.

It is important to note that we broke down all of the in-state D-II programs in length last Wednesday. You can find out who’s headed to any the four in-state programs with in-depth notes here. This specific post is reserved for all of the 2019 Illinois prospects moving on to play D-II, D-III or NAIA baseball both in and out-of-state.

That all being said, we've been sorting out and organizing all the commitments that have crossed our desks and providing them for you in one place. We do not mention in-detail every player, but make sure to check out the very bottom of this each divisions post for an interactive chart of every Illinois 2019 recruit marching to play at their respective level next fall.

 

 

 

 

Great lakes valley conference

• Of the thirty-six total Illinois players headed to play Division-II collegiate baseball next fall, twenty-three of them are headed to the The Great Lakes Valley Conference. Aforementioned, we broke down four of the conferences fifteen Universities that reside in the borders of Illinois (Illinois-Springfield, Quincy, Lewis & McKendree).
• Southern Indiana locked up Michael Conner (Moline) who’s a powerful corner infielder with strong hands that looks to damage the baseball to the pull side.
• Drury University signed Patrick McCabe (Morris) who is a sure handed middle infielder that plays well on the move and repeats his compact stroke at the plate.
• Maryville is getting two of the States ranked players in Nicholas Hofmann (Elk Grove) and Nick Guerra (Morton). Hofmann is a fleet-footed, (6.71 60-yard dash) confident middle infielder that has line drive ability to the middle of the diamond. Guerra, coming off his prep 3A State Championship, has an athletic, strong frame and has a chance to be an impact left-handed bat from the time he steps on campus.

THE OTHERS

• Michael Hoes (Downers Grove South) is headed to the Conference Carolinas and Belmont Abbey College. Hoes hits with rhythm, generates present bat speed and has the arm strength to make him a weapon at whatever position he fills moving forward.
• Tony Fleischauer (Joliet Catholic) is the second highest ranked player headed to the D-II ranks. The athletic infielder will attend Grand Valley State in the GLIAC. A left-handed hitter, Fleischauer hits with moxy at the plate, has barrel control with plate awareness and can damage the baseball to all fields. Also headed to the GLIAC and Purdue-Northwest is Joe Buikema (Notre Dame). A right-handed pitcher, Buikema sits his fastball in the low to mid 80’s with a breaking ball that has swing and miss potential.
• The Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) is getting two projectable infielders next fall in Justice Page (Lindblom; Clark Atlanta University commit) and Wendell Smith (Marist; Morehouse College commit). Both hit from the right side of the plate and generate above-average bat speed that will play at the next level. 

DIVISION-II COMMITS

• Dominic Listi (Prairie Ridge) and Ian Steinorth (York) are two of the five IL players headed to North Central College after this years senior campaign. Listi is a strong and athletic left-handed hitting outfielder that can go get it defensively, who could also make an impact on the mound his freshman year. Steinorth’s IL rank sits in the mid-100’s for multiple reasons; a 6.83 60-yard dash, a live body with quick twitch ability, smooth defensive actions and bat speed at the plate. North Central is bringing in four other IL prospects to build on a conference best 20-4 championship record last year.
• Augustana (25-16)  is bringing in five players from their home state. Spencer Hasselroth (Rock Island), a 6-foot-2, 180-pound projectable framed right-hander can sit his fastball in the mid 80’s and showed signs of a plus breaking ball in the works. Joseph Marcucci (Rolling Meadows) is a strong left-handed hitting prospect that will look to stick at his prime position defensively behind the plate. Two left-handed pitchers will also head to Rock Island in Jake Reusch (Mercer County) and Zach Gooding (Hinsdale Central).

• UW-Oshkosh is bringing in ten players from the state looking to improve on their 2018 conference-second best record at 18-6. LHP Cameron Mulvihill (Evanston) projects well at 6-foot-2 and has the make-up and tools to be one of the better left-handed pitchers in the state this spring, boding well for his perspective collegiate career. 6-foot-2, 170-pound, Brian Adams (Sandburg), has a lean, athletic frame, runs a sub-7 60-yard dash and can swing the bat from both sides of the dish.
• Oshkosh is also bringing in two outfielders in Marcus Keller (Wauconda) and Colin Olkiewicz (Minooka). Keller is a long-limbed projectable right/right prospect who has the chance to make an impact either on the mound or at the plate for the Titans next fall. Olkiewicz has a strong right-handed bat with excellent feel for the barrel to be a top of the order threat in the coming years. He also can fit defensively at any spot in the outfield grass while running a sub-7 60-yard dash to boot.
• Wisconsin-LaCrosse (24-13) is bringing in two players who should make an impact on their roster upon arrival next fall. Jack Moran (Loyola) has natural actions in the infield dirt and a strong arm which should allow him to stay on the left-side of the diamond. Sawyer Phillips (Antioch) stands at 6-foot-1, 170-pounds with a strong lower half and enough arm strength to improve on his mid 80’s fastball by his first collegiate year.

THE OTHERS

• The University of Chicago commit Hayden Brotz (Stevenson) has present lower half strength and an aggressive, powerful swing with middle of the order potential.
• Justin McGuigan (Plainfield South) is headed to Minnesota to play at Concordia. He is a strong, compact catcher that ran a 6.86 at his last PBR event in February. We have seen McGuigan’s pop time crack the sub-2 second mark and showed a repeatable swing that can produce line drive contact.
• Two IL prospects headed to the New England Small College Athletic Conference are Andrew Gatland (Lyons Township) to Middlebury College and Ethan Harrast (Hinsdale Central) to Hamilton College. Gatland is a long and lean, projectable right-handed pitcher, has a loose easy arm action and a fastball in the low 80’s. He also checks the athletic column box with a PBR event best 6.80 60-yard dash in July last year. Harrast can play the middle of the field at the next level and has rhythmic actions on both sides of the ball.
• The North Coast Athletic Conference’s Denison and Oberlin College both dug into the Prairie State to receive commitments SS/RHP Patrick Neenan (Loyola) and OF Nicholas Palermo (St. Ignatius), respectively. Neenan has a clean arm action and an upside fastball sitting in the low to mid 80’s. Palermo has the speed (6.80 60-yard dash) to chase the ball down in the outfield with ease and competes at the plate.
• There are five total Illinois prospects headed to the University Athletic Conference (UAA), two of which are headed to Case Western Reserve University in Nicholas Talarico (Marmion) and Cooper Schmidt (Cary-Grove). Talarico has a strong frame and it translates to his offensive approach as he has the potential to be a middle of the order, right-handed bat moving forward. Schmidt a RHP, has a low-effort, repeatable delivery that can play in college. 
• Emory University is getting a pitcher in Aaron Mishoulam (Oak Park-River Forest) who should immediately see playing time as the 6-foot-5 righty already has a fastball that sits comfortably in the mid to high 80’s. He has plenty of room to fill into his frame, present arm speed and a loose arm action that makes the sky the limit for Mishoulam.