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Illinois State Baseball Signs Seven During Early Period
Nov. 11, 2009
NORMAL, Ill. - Illinois State has signed seven baseball student-athletes to National Letters of Intent, including four of Prep Baseball Report's top-25 players in the state of Illinois, the Redbirds' coaching staff announced Wednesday. Illinois State's four signees in the top-25 are more than any other university. The Redbirds signed three pitchers - Joe Claver (Downers Grove, Ill.), Johnny Lieske (Machesney Park, Ill.) and Dan Savas (Rosemont, Ill.) - two infielders - Bryan Huff (Bloomington, Ill.) and Brock Stewart (Normal, Ill.) - a catcher - Mike Hollenbeck (Joliet, Ill.) - and an outfielder - Eric Aguilera (Cary, Ill.). Lieske is the top pitcher and No. 2 prospect in the state according to Prep Baseball Report and is joined by Hollenbeck (16), Claver (17) and Stewart (23) in the publication's top-25 rankings. "This class is another important step in the building of our program," Illinois State head coach Mark Kingston said. "Coaches (Bo) Durkac, (Billy) Mohl, and (Mike) Current worked extremely hard in putting this group together. These student-athletes had many choices for their future and spoke volumes with their decision to attend Illinois State. With the help of our great academic and strength training staff, our goal is to promote what a tremendous place Illinois State is for college baseball. The quality of this group will continue the development of a very successful program. We can't wait to start working with them." The Redbirds landed the state's top right-handed pitcher (Lieske) and top left-handed pitcher (Claver) according to Prep Baseball Report, and the second-best catcher in the state (Hollenbeck) according to PBR and Perfect Game Cross Checker, another talent evaluation web site. Illinois State has three players (Hollenbeck, Lieske and Stewart) ranked among top-500 in country by Perfect Game Cross Checker.
Huff and Stewart add a local flair to the class as Bloomington-Normal natives. Stewart's connections to ISU run deep. His father, Jeff, coached the Redbirds from 1989-2002, and hired Kingston as an assistant coach during the record-setting 1999 campaign. Stewart's older brother Jake also spent time on the Redbirds' roster. Aguilera and Huff are junior college transfers from Heartland Community College in Normal, Ill. The duo helped HCC to a school record 42-9-1 mark last season and will join former Hawks and current Redbirds Josh Colon, Cory Stonelake and Ty Wiesemeyer when they arrive on campus next fall. This year's Redbirds will begin the 2010 season at the Austin Peay Baseball Invitational Feb. 19-21. The full 2010 schedule is expected to be released soon.
Eric Aguilera | OF | Cary, Ill. (Heartland CC)
Kingston on Aguilera: "Eric, quite simply, is a pure hitter. He has a polished approach at the plate which allows him to hit for both average and power. It is hard to find left-handed power, and we feel we've scored big by adding Eric to our program. He can play multiple positions and is a middle-of-the-order type run producer."
Joe Claver | LHP | Downers Grove, Ill. (Downers Grove North) Notable: Tabbed as the top left-handed pitcher and No. 17 prospect overall in the state of Illinois according to Prep Baseball Report ... named one of the top-100 players in the state as a junior by the Chicago Sun Times ... earned invitations to the Stevenson Showcase and Area Code Tryouts. Kingston on Claver: "Joe is the unique combination of great athlete and left-handed pitcher. In my experience when you combine the two, you really have something. He has a quick arm and repeatable, smooth mechanics. Joe is an accomplished football player, and as he focuses solely on baseball, we anticipate significant gains in his development."
Mike Hollenbeck | C | Joliet, Ill. (Joliet Township)
Kingston on Hollenbeck: "Mike has a very exciting future in baseball, and we are thrilled that his next step will be at Illinois State. He has all the tools we look for in a catcher. He has good size, arm strength, agility, and he swings from the left side. He is also a very hard worker who we expect to develop into a leader during his time here. With hard work and development, Mike can become one of the great catchers in college baseball."
Bryan Huff | INF/OF | Bloomington, Ill. (Heartland CC)
Johnny Lieske | RHP | Machesney Park, Ill. (Harlem)
Kingston on Lieske: "Johnny is further evidence that the best players consider Illinois State a great option to further their baseball development. He is as good a pitcher as there is in the state, and we are proud that he chose to be a Redbird. He has a low 90's fastball and quality offspeed pitches. We also appreciate that Johnny is well rounded. He is a very good student and his class president. Johnny is going to have a major impact at Illinois State both on and off the field."
Dan Savas | RHP | Rosemont, Ill. (Leyden)
Kingston on Savas: "Dan is a pitcher who is a little under the radar but will not be for long. He has the size and projection to turn into something very special. He is long, loose, and athletic. We have seen his fastball up to 89 mph with tremendous movement. As he continues to mature, the sky is the limit."
Brock Stewart | INF | Normal, Ill. (Normal West)
Kingston on Stewart: "Brock is a big, athletic, left-handed hitting infielder who comes from a great baseball family. He has an advanced knowledge of the game, and his tools allow him to play a number of different positions. Brock will continue to improve and become a very good college infielder and hitter."
Special Thanks
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Notable: Ranked as the second-best catching prospect in the state of Illinois and No. 16 player overall by Prep Baseball Report ... tabbed as the No. 4 prospect in Illinois by Perfect Game Cross Checker and one of the top-200 prospects nationally ... also ranked as the No. 2 catcher in the state and in the top-25 of catchers nationally by Perfect Game Cross Checker ... batted .449 with 18 doubles and eight home runs as a junior ... drove in 48 runs to earn Joliet Herald News All-Area First Team honors ... was named to the Illinois Baseball Coaches Association All-State Team ... earned Joliet Herald News All-Area Third Team honors as a sophomore.
Notable: Hit .382 with three home runs and 40 RBI as a freshman for a Heartland team that went a school-record 42-9-1 and was ranked as high as No. 4 in the country ... was 17-of-18 on stolen base attempts ... drew 23 walks and struck out just 16 times ... named to the All-Midwest Conference Second Team ... attended the same community college as Illinois State future teammates Eric Aguilera, 
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