Kyle Vasel, Chris Eddy, Matt Maskel and Jason Kemp have all signed national letters of intent to continue their education and golf careers at Illinois State University.
Vasel, a native of Greenville, Ill., was a senior medalist at the IHSA regionals, finished in the top 15 in IHSA state tournament as a junior, won first place in the Springfield Optimist Junior Tournament, won first place in the Gateway PGA Junior Golf Tournament and had two top 15 finishes in the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) events.
In addition to those accolades, Vasel was a U.S. Junior Amateur Qualifier, finished 14th of 307 at the National Golf Championship in Orlando, Fla., was named high school All-American, won the Decatur Open last July and has a 3.6 grade point average.
Im confident Kyle can jump into the top five as a freshman similar to what Brian Anderson did this year, head coach Harland Kilborn said. He comes in with as much national junior golf experience as Ive recruited in years.
Eddy, of Belleville East High School, holds a 37.0 stroke average for nine-hole tournaments in high school and a 74.4 stroke average for 18-hole tournaments. He was named player of the year by the News-Democrat, named first team All-Conference, finished second of 144 at the Pekin Invitational, won first place at the IHSA sectional tournament, finished in the top 20 at state high school tournament and holds a 3.6 GPA.
Chris has lots of good experience, Kilborn said. He has played confidently in high school and hes mechanically sound in his golf swing. He has the ability to push the players in the top five as a team, as a freshman thats possible.
Maskel, of Morris, Ill., attended Morris Community High School and won the Illinois Golf Junior Association (IGJA) regional tournament with a score of 71. He placed third at the Pontiac Open, won the Oswego Junior Invitational, has a nine-hole stroke average of 36.6, shot a 64 at Morris Country Club to win a high school invitational as well as tie the course record at that time and won the regional and sectional high school tournaments last year.
Matt has lots of natural talent, Kilborn said. Hes optimistic and has the ability to push for a spot in the top five. Im interested to see of our new players who can do that.
Peoria Richwoods High School graduate, Kemp, shot a 69 at Newman Golf Course in the Peoria City Tournament. He took first place at the Tri-County Junior Match Play in 1999, finished third in the Decatur high school invitational, was first team All-Conference for Mid-State Six, won the Peoria City high school tournament in 2000 and won the Mid-State Conference Championship last year.
Jason has a great golf background, Kilborn said. His father is the superintendent at Weaver Ridge Golf Course in Peoria and was the superintendent at Crestwicke Country Club in Bloomington. He comes in with a great work ethic and will lead the team with hard work and dedication. He has strong talent that could blossom into a top player in a year or two.
