Illini sign six recruits: “Pure athletes” says Coach Hartleb

Yesterday, the Illinois baseball coaches announced the culmination of all their recruiting efforts from 2010.  The net result?  Six more recruits signed letters of intent to play for the University of Illinois including yes, one more Parr brother and the #1 ranked player in the state.

Coach Hartleb described the class of 2011 as “one of the top classes of pure athletes that we have recruited".  No doubt, we’ll see a lot of action from these players as freshman.

Jordan Parr will join his two brothers on the Illini squad so he should feel quite at home (current freshman Justin is his twin).  He comes to us via local Parkland College.  He was redshirted in 2010.  Currently, he’s listed at IF/OF.

Illinois has to feel good about landing OF Charlie Tilson from New Trier high school.  He’s ranked #1 prospect in the state and #13 in the nation by Prep Baseball Report.  He’s good enough to hit #3 in the lineup for a Class 4A Championship team.  In 2010, he hit .439.

RHP Josh Ferry is a Lemont HS (IL) product.  In 2010, he went 8-1 with a miniscule 0.88 ERA and 86 Ks in 65 IP.  Ferry’s hometown paper had a nice write-up on him earlier this week if you want to get the 411 on the new recruit.

Illinois signed 6’4” John Kravetz who hails from Lansing, IL (Mount Carmel).  A RHP, he was ranked #22 in the state by PBR. 

About Kravetz, Coach Westray says,  "Has a good ceiling for development and will continue to gain strength. Effectively uses a sinking fastball-slider package. Comes from a successful athletic background and expects to win."

From Sacred Heart Griffin HS in Springfield IL, comes Michael Hurwitz, a switch hitting infielder.  He has some pretty tasty stats in 2010 (.438 with 27 SB and 45 runs).  According to a Springfield State-Journal Register article, Hurwitz has been an Illini fan for as long as he can remember.  That can only help, right? 

Last but not least, Charlie Naso is another RHP recruited by the Illini staff.  Naso, who hails from St Laurence HS in Orland Park, IL, hit .367 with four homers in 2009.  He converted to starting pitcher before the summer of 2010 and went 5-1 with a 0.90 ERA allowing only eight hits in 31 innings.  It appears that the Illini’s options with Naso are open and he should be an interesting player to watch.

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