After stellar senior campaigns, Illinois States Nate Whitney and Kyle Zaleski received honorable mention honors from the Missouri Valley Conference. Whitney was recognized as an outfielder and Zaleski as a relief pitcher.
Whitney led Illinois State this season with a .344 average. He also led the team in hits (75), doubles (16), on-base percentage (.410) and runs (41). The Bloomington native was second on the team with 37 RBI and fourth for the Redbirds with three home runs. Whitney finished the season hitting safely in 17 of the last 20 games, amassing 30 hits over that span. He also excelled in the classroom, as he carried a 3.69 GPA in exercise science and has already been named to the 2004 CoSIDA Division V Academic All-District Team and is up for CoSIDA All-American honors. He also received honorable mention accolades in 2003.
Nate has had two good years for us and considering he came to the program as a walk-on last year, he probably overachieved, said Illinois State head coach Jim Brownlee. He worked hard and earned himself a scholarship. I wish we would have got to coach him for four years.
Hes the typical student-athlete that I like to have in my program, Brownlee continued. Hes very deserving of this honor and I have no doubt that he will be very successful in life.
Zaleski was the workhorse for the Illinois State pitching staff in 2004, setting a new Illinois State single-season record for appearances in a season with 25. In his four-year career, Zaleski pitched in 70 games, the second most in Illinois State history.
In 2004, Zaleski went 3-3 with a 4.70 ERA. He struck out 68 hitters in 69 innings pitched, while only walking 20. The right-hander from Mundelein, Ill., also recorded five saves this season, which is tied for the sixth best total ever recorded. He was also named the 2003 Duffy Bass Endowed Scholar.
Kyle was without a doubt our best leader and one of our best pitchers this year, said Brownlee. He would do anything that we asked of him and we put him in some tough situations. There were weekends this year when he would close the game on Friday and make the start on Sunday. Hes so well conditioned.
He is the epitome of the type of guy we want in this program, added Brownlee. I wish we had him for four years also. He will remain with us next year as a student coach and were really excited to have him back.
Illinois State finished the season with a 21-34 record, while going 11-21 in the Valley.
