Illinois 2019 JUCO Commits
December 31, 2018
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 |
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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 |
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Ethan Kopsie | Marquette Catholic | C |
Joliet JC |
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Mark Garcia | Joliet West | INF |
Daniel Guiliano | Plainfield Central | INF |
Noah Mazza | Plainfield South | INF |
Kankakee CC |
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Peter Fusek | Homeschool | OF |
Kaskaskia JC |
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Gavin Lyday | Edwardsville | OF |
Jacob Willis | Highland | INF |
Kishwaukee JC |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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Brady Alexander | Normal West | OF |
South Suburban JC |
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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 |
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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 |
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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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