After being head baseball coach at Lincoln Trail Community College in Robinson, Ill., from 1990-94, Tony Vittorio developed a lot of respect for the baseball talent available in the central Illinois area.
Vittorio, now in his eighth year as head coach at Dayton, has dipped into that talent pool again by signing former Terre Haute North and Lake Land standout Ryan Nevill to play for the Flyers.
“I am very familiar with that area, and we needed a good defensive third baseman to replace Joey McSoley,” Vittorio said, referring to the Indianapolis Cathedral grad who has been one of the top 10 players in the Atlantic 10 the past three seasons. “Ryan has very good hands and very good feet, and is a very good defensive player.
“Offensively, he is someone who can step into our lineup and make a difference for us.”
Nevill played 75 games for Lake Land over his two-year career.
As a freshman, he hit .258 with seven doubles, a triple, a home run and 18 RBI. He added eight doubles, a triple and three homers while collecting 16 RBI and a .306 batting average in 2007.
Nevill is excited to be able to continue his career and play in such a wonderful facility as the school’s new $4 million Time-Warner Cable Stadium that will open next spring.
“The campus is beautiful and the people were really helpful to me,” he said. “The brand new baseball field is awesome. Playing Division 1 baseball has always been a dream of mine and the fact that I have that chance is so surreal.”
The passion of his new coach was also a strong point.
“Coach Vittorio really sold his program to me,” Nevill said. “In-your-face, high-intensity, high-energy baseball is what Coach Vittorio bases his program on. I felt that he could not only make me a better baseball player but a better person as well.”
Lake Land Coach Jim Jarrett sees good things for Nevill at the Division I level.
“I am very excited for Ryan,” he said. “He is a hard worker who will continue to improve at Dayton. He was our overall offensive leader this year, at the top or near the top in all offensive categories.
“Ryan will do well at Dayton.”
Despite a lack of team success at Lake Land, Nevill feels he improved and matured enough to be able to continue to contribute over the next two years.
“Even though we didn’t win as many games as planned, I feel that I have gained the experience that I will need to take myself to that next level at Dayton,” Nevill said. “Dayton had a tough year this year [21-33 overall, 9-18 in A10] and lacked a leader. He wanted to bring in a junior college player to step in and kind of lead the team back to the top of the Atlantic 10. He feels that with my experience in such a tough conference [GRAC] that I can come in and provide consistency to the ball club.”
Like most college baseball coaches, Vittorio is not in the habit of bringing in junior college players to be reserves.
“Any time you recruit a JUCO kid who will be a junior, you get them to come in and play,” he said. “I’ve seen enough offensively and defensively from Ryan to feel like he’s going to make an immediate impact in our program.”
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• McNabb to Oakland City — Shakamak’s Steven McNabb, an honorable mention all-state catcher this year and Mental Attitude Award winner as the Lakers were the Class A state runnerup, has signed to play at Oakland City University.
“There were other schools that I considered, but this just seemed to be the right situation for me,” McNabb told the Greene County Daily World. “They have a very good accounting program. I like math and hope to become a CPA. The classes will be small and should create a better environment for learning.”
McNabb was understandably not happy with how Shakamak’s season ended, but is pleased with his overall high school career.
“Obviously the game [12-1 loss to Lafayette Central Catholic] wasn’t what we wanted,” said McNabb, who concluded this season with a .366 average, 28 runs and 31 RBIs. “To go to state three times in four years, I don’t think you can find a group of seniors that had a better career than that.
“All four of us were very grateful for the chance to play ball at Shakamak.”
OCU Coach T-Ray Fletcher has talked with McNabb about what he needs to do to get ready for college baseball.
“He wants to make some adjustments as far as blocking balls,” said McNabb. “He also talked with me about making some minor adjustments in my throwing mechanics.
“I know I need to get stronger,” said McNabb. “I think I can lose some weight and get a little quicker. I feel very fortunate to have this opportunity and hope to make the best of it.”
• Inman to Olney
Central — Fellow Shakamak grad Ridge Inman will also continue his baseball career at the college level, and has signed to play for Olney Central College.
The left-handed pitcher, who will compete in the Indiana All-Star series at Huntington College from July 12-14, has already established a goal of moving on to play for Indiana State in two years.
Olney Central Coach Dennis Conley invited Inman to a workout that eventually led to him becoming a Blue Knight.
“I guess they liked what they saw,” Inman told the Greene County Daily World. “I really fell in love with the place after that and really enjoyed going over there. I really liked the coaching staff and the players. Hopefully I can help the team in any way I can.”
Inman says that he’s talked with ISU’s coaching staff, but feels he needs two years at Olney Central to help him be more ready for the Sycamores.
• Richart to Lincoln Trail — Robinson’s versatile Adam Richart, who can both pitch and catch, will stay close to home to play college baseball.
“I knew Mitch [Hannahs] was a good coach and he’d help me get to a four-year school,” Richart told the Robinson Daily News. “I would like to eventually play baseball for a four-year program.”
Richart’s versatility was very appealing to LTC. “The biggest thing that caught my eye with Adam,” said Lincoln Trail College Coach Mitch Hannahs, “is the fact he has two tools you can’t teach. He has arm strength and power. That’s a hard combination to find.”
Lincoln Trail College went 37-17 this season, including winning the Great Rivers Athletic Conference title and the NJCAA Division I Region 24 Baseball Tournament at John A. Logan College in Carterville.
The Statesmen shut out South Suburban College of South Holland, Ill. 10-0 at the NJCAA Division I Northern District Baseball Tournament at Council Bluffs, Iowa, before losing to host Iowa Western Community College 10-5 in the first meeting and 9-6 in 10 innings in the championship game.
Joey Bennett is a former Tribune-Star sports reporter and copy editor who now teaches at North Central Jr.-Sr. High School. He can be reached at tribstarcollegereport@yahoo.com, and his Web site listing all known area athletes competing in college can be found at www.tribstarcollegereport.com.
College Report
College Report: Ex-North star Nevill headed to Dayton
- College Report
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Catching up as the school year winds down
Odds and ends from here and there as the school year quickly winds down. For starters, high jumper Nick Jaeger of Terre Haute South was named the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference’s male track & field newcomer of the year:
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College Report: Lively earned collegiate upgrade with strong play
Hillary Lively signed to play Division II basketball at Maryville (Mo.) during her senior year at North Vermillion, but those plans changed and she would up at nearby Danville Area Community College — where she recently concluded an outstanding two-year career.
Lively was impressive enough to earn a Division I scholarship to Southeast Missouri State of the Ohio Valley Conference, and both her future and past college coaches think she will continue to succeed there.
“She fits what we need,” SEMO coach Ty Margenthaler said. “She has college experience, she is strong and physical and plays well around the basket and moves well.
“Her strength, rebounding and touch around the basket will be a big help. On the defensive end, she’ll be able to guard a true center.” -
COLLEGE REPORT: Valley prep athletes getting ready for next level
The NCAA “regular” signing period begins Wednesday for all sports except football, field hockey, soccer, track and field, cross country and men’s water polo.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Conferences honor Valley softball players
Several Wabash Valley area college softball players have been honored by their respective conferences for outstanding play this spring.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Jake Newton makes big impact for Lincoln Trail College
Jake Newton had a long time between playing in competitive basketball games, a span of about 18 months, and used the frustration from that long dry spell to produce a stellar freshman season for Lincoln Trail College this winter.
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COLLEGE REPORT: A.J. Reed earns SEC Player of the Week honors
After belting three home runs during a five games last week, Kentucky sophomore left-handed pitcher/first baseman A.J. Reed was named Southeastern Conference Player of the Week.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Spring newcomers making marks
Several freshman baseball and softball NCAA Division I players from the Wabash Valley have already made immediate impacts at their new schools, while others are waiting for their turns to shine.
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COLLEGE REPORT: A.J. Reed named third-team preseason baseball All-American
Two-way sophomore standout A.J. Reed was one of three University of Kentucky players named third-team preseason All-America by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Sponsler honored after big week for Wabash men's hoops
Wabash College freshman Ross Sponsler of Terre Haute North was named the North Coast Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the period ending Jan. 6.
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COLLEGE REPORT: North grad Hughes finds success after facing preseason adversity
A.J. Hughes knew he was in for a battle as he competed with three other walk-on punters in the preseason for the lone starting job on the Virginia Tech football team.
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Etling, Meggs enjoying great year
It’s been a great year so far with more to come for a pair of longtime friends and St. Patrick’s School classmates.
Former Terre Haute resident Jack Meggs quarterbacked the Bellevue Wolverines football team to the Washington Class 3A state championship this fall, culminating with a 35-3 win over Sammamish Eastside Catholic — Bellevue’s fifth straight crown.
Danny Etling, meanwhile, has completed graduation requirements at Terre Haute South and is preparing for an upcoming high school all-star game and his first college classes in a couple of weeks. -
COLLEGE REPORT: Valley’s women’s college hoops players start strong
Several women’s college basketball players from the Wabash Valley have gotten off to good starts this season on the hardwood. Highlights:
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COLLEGE REPORT: Mayhew, Mascari provide fall highlights
Several dozen Wabash Valley athletes enjoyed successful fall seasons collegiately in cross country and tennis this year. -
COLLEGE REPORT: Former North teammates start strong in college
Former Terre Haute North teammates Ross Sponsler and Matt O’Leary made their college basketball debuts last week and had outstanding initial performances. -
COLLEGE REPORT: Shoemaker OBP leads Chisox farmhands
Former Indiana State, Olney Central and Northview baseball standout Brady Shoemaker opened a lot of eyes last summer in the Chicago White Sox farm system, earning him a spot on a mlb.com blog team that highlighted the team’s outstanding minor leaguers at each position.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Boeglin has plenty of ISU memories, but not all are related to basketball
Melanie Boeglin, an All-American who played on the women’s basketball team at Indiana State from 2002-2006, will be inducted into the 21st class of the Indiana State University Athletics Hall of Fame on Thursday.
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COLLEGE REPORT: North grad leading DePauw volleyball in winning streak
DePauw’s volleyball team has won seven straight matches entering this weekend’s DePauw Invitational, including four straight wins last weekend to capture the Rose-Hulman invitational title.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Engle moving up football coaching ranks
Michael Engle graduated from DePauw University in the spring of 2011 with a degree in political science and future plans to advance his studies in law school.
Being a coach’s son and a competitive athlete by nature, Engle has put those plans on hold for now. -
COLLEGE REPORT: From Terre Haute South to Division I competition to coaching careers
Adriane Wunderlich and Katelyn Bishop both turned stellar high school careers at Terre Haute South into Division I collegiate careers at Indiana State and Southern California, respectively.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Former prep athletes getting ready for fall college season
An impressive total of at least 122 Wabash Valley athletes and coaches will be competing collegiately for the first time during the upcoming school year or have changed schools to continue their careers.
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COLLEGE REPORT: SP’s Boetjer is Indiana’s Miss Softball
South Putnam’s Brooke Boetjer, who will be a freshman on the Indiana University softball team next spring, was named the 2012 Indiana Miss Softball last month between games at the North/South All-Star games in Carmel.
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College report: North grad Mayhew is second team all-American at IU
Indiana University running standout Zach Mayhew of Terre Haute North was honored earlier this month as a second-team All-American by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
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College report: Bloomfield runner to join IUPUI track, cross country teams
Bloomfield track/cross country standout Julie Riggins will be joining the developing IUPUI program next fall as one of six incoming recruits.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Roberts takes coaching position at UNC-Greensboro
Terre Haute native Mike Roberts is continuing his climb up the college basketball coaching ladder, recently departing Rice for a spot as the associate head coach at North Carolina-Greensboro.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Valley grads playing role for No. 13 Vincennes
A few springtime odds and ends:
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COLLEGE REPORT: Shouse making his mark for Danville Community College
Derek Shouse definitely flew under the radar in his one season of playing for the Terre Haute South boys basketball team last winter.
Not highly recruited, he made his way to Danville Area Community College as a walk-on with the hopes he could find his way onto the court at some point. -
COLLEGE REPORT: Bullock finds sunny home to continue tennis career
Most college athletes progress along similar paths to get to their final destinations athletically, but Terre Haute South grad Taylor Bullock’s route to the Eckerd College women’s tennis team was a little different than most.
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COLLEGE REPORT: TH South QB entertains Division I offers
Danny Etling’s trek to being a big-time college quarterback took a huge step this week when the Terre Haute South junior picked up a scholarship offer from Purdue, according to 247sports.com.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Seibert stepping up her game
Terre Haute South grad Haley Seibert has seen the usual ups and downs of her freshman basketball season at Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne and is making the most of her opportunities this season.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Vikings Waters, Barton excited about college basketball
West Vigo grad Lauren Dailey helped the Lady Vikings basketball program to a lot of success at the end of the 1990s, and went on to play for Eastern Illinois from 2001-2004.
- More College Report Headlines
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Catching up as the school year winds down
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