June 1, 2006
NORMAL, Ill. -
When the 2006 Illinois State baseball season ended, the coaching staff's focus quickly turned to finalizing its 2006-07 recruiting class. Tyler McNeely (Normal, Ill./University High), Jake Wielebnicki (Darien, Ill./Hinsdale South) and junior college transfer Tyler Cox (Danville, Ill./Parkland College) are the latest additions to the puzzle, as each has signed a National Letter of Intent to continue his baseball career at Illinois State.
The three recruits join Ryan Copeland (Des Plaines, Ill./Elk Grove), Jim Jacquot (Swansea, Ill./Belleville East), Christopher Newsome (Pontiac, Ill./Pontiac), Anthony Ruffolo (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton Warrenville South), Josh Schultz (Mt. Zion, Ill./Mt. Zion) and Dan Weston (LaGrange, Ill./Lyons Township) in forming the 2006-07 recruiting class. Brownlee believes these three recruits add a lot to an already impressive group.
"At this point in the summer, you are never sure as a coach where exactly all your needs lie in regards to positions, with the uncertainty of the draft," said Brownlee. "However, you can never have enough pitching, speed or power; and these new recruits certainly add to the talented players that we have already brought in."
McNeely, a University High School product, will continue to play baseball at Redbird Field, where he has played three varsity seasons as a Pioneer. As of a week ago, the senior outfielder was hitting .470 with 11 home runs and 52 RBI, and Brownlee is looking forward to having another local product on the roster to compliment Normal Community graduates Luke Baughman and Mike Kelley.
"We like to recruit local players who will fit well in our system, and Tyler is a player we have had our eye on for a while now," said Brownlee. "He brings speed and power to the plate and tremendous bat speed, which will make it hard for opposing pitchers to trick him in the box. He's very determined and competitive, as he showed by helping win three-straight golf state titles, and will definitely have a chance to compete for one of our corner outfield spots next season."
Wielebnicki had limited playing time in his senior season on the mound for Hinsdale South in 2006, but put together solid numbers as a junior in 2005. The right-hander was 7-2 with a 1.90 ERA in 10 starts for the Hornets as a junior, and struck out 45 batters in 55.1 innings of work. Being a sleeper in the class, Brownlee is excited to see how Wielebnicki recovers from injury and matures over the summer and fall.
"Jake's an interesting player and kind of came out of nowhere for us," said Brownlee. "He came to our camp last winter and really impressed us with his big body, his athleticism and good velocity on the mound. When he comes in, we'll try to work on his off-speed pitches more, but with the personality he showed us and the determination that he has, he should be very fun to work with and watch mature."
Cox, a Danville Schlarman graduate, will reunite with former Parkland teammate Jesse Griswold when he comes to campus in the fall. The two helped Parkland to a second place finish in the 2005 NJCAA Division II Baseball Championship, and Cox followed that effort up with a 4-0 record and a 2.59 ERA in 14 games for Parkland in 2006. Brownlee is anxious to get Cox into the fold and have another left-hander ready on the mound.
"We're extremely excited to sign an experienced left-hander like Tyler," said Brownlee. "He's shown that he can perform at the junior college level and is coming off a great season for Parkland. The arm strength and talent that he brings could certainly help us on the weekends next season, and having another lefty to rely on will no doubt even out our staff."
Even though teams are never done recruiting, Brownlee and his staff seem confident with this group of recruits and look forward to the fall.
"All of these players have had a lot of success either at the high school or junior college level, and they will certainly be competing for significant playing time when they come in this fall," said Brownlee. "They should also give us some much needed depth at different positions, especially on the mound, and should turn out to be a very good crop of players."
