The Illini baseball coaching staff has been busy during the off-season. On Wednesday, the Illinois baseball program announced it has signed four student-athletes to National Letters of Intent to comprise the Class of 2024.
Coach Dan Hartleb had glowing words about the new recruiting class:
“I am extremely excited about our 2024 signing class. We have four very athletic and competitive baseball student-athletes. This group has excelled against some of the best competition in the country.
A quick look at the four signees:
Luke Landrus
The Class of 2024 is home grown it seems. All four hail from the state of Illinois and one, hard-hitting catcher Luke Landrus, grew up only a few miles from Urbana in the town of St. Joseph.
Illinois has a history of recruiting fine catchers, and from the looks of it, Landrus (30 HR in ’23) might fit the bill.
Mitch Dye
Hard-throwing and durable righty Mitch Dye comes to Illinois via Lincoln Land CC. He originally went to Sacred Heart-Griffin in Springfield.
Dye KOed 91 in 72 innings at Lincoln Land while going 9-3.
Luke Weber
The final two came from the Chicago area. RHP Luke Weber comes with some impressive honors. He’s been awarded Pitcher of the Year for the Central Suburban League in two straight years (’22-’23)!
That 1.09 ERA may have something to do with it.
Brayden Mazzacano
From Schaumburg comes Brayden Mazzacano who seems to have a myriad of talents. He comes listed as a LHP and OF.
Mazzacano was ranked by PG as the #2 OF and #19 overall player in the state.
I saw a pattern in the answers what they all gave for why chose Illinois. It felt like home. Also, the coaching staff’s interactions made a huge difference in their choice.
I’m not surprised on both points.
From the looks of it, it seems to be a very talented Class of 2024. Welcome to Illini Nation, Brayden, Luke, Luke and Mitch!