Unbelievably, the college baseball season for several former Wabash Valley standouts begins today as Vincennes University tries to open its season by playing at Lindsey Wilson in Columbia, Ky.
A total of 43 former area standouts appear on college baseball rosters this year, and the Trailblazers have the largest part of that amount with seven.
Taking the field for VU Coach Jon Adams this spring will be Terre Haute North grads John Rosselli and Skyler Pearson (who played one year at Indiana State), Cole Vicars from Terre Haute South, T.J. Amerman of Riverton Parke, Seth Bayless of Robinson and Dylan Anderson of Hutsonville.
Northview’s John Reberger is on the roster, but will be sitting out the season as a medical redshirt.
Terre Haute North leads the team competition with 12 players competing collegiately, including six at the Division I level. Two Patriots have found new homes at junior colleges in Illinois, as Devin Peabody is on the roster at Danville Area Community College and Andrew Woodason has landed at Lake Land after one semester at Indiana State.
Terre Haute South has eight players scheduled to play college ball, including junior catcher Evan Pettit — who transferred from Arkansas-Fort Smith to Murray State after two successful seasons.
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In other college news:
• Lake Land continues local recruiting — In addition to landing North’s Woodason to play baseball this season and Casey Hayne to play volleyball starting in the fall, Lake Land College has also added its fourth former Casey-Westfield softball player since Denny Throneburg took over as head coach.
Catcher Brianna Athey, who played on both of the Lady Warriors’ most recent state tournament qualifiers, will become a Laker next fall.
She will rejoin former batterymate Chelsey Sullivan, who is a Lake Land freshman this year.
Athey hit .373 as a sophomore with 40 RBIs, nine doubles, five triples and a home run, then hit .345 with 30 RBIs, eight doubles, one triple and two homers in her junior year.
“Obviously she’s a really good athlete,” Throneburg, the former C-W coach, told the Mattoon Times-Courier. “She comes from a program used to winning. The things that I like about her are the things I like about most players — she’s versatile and highly competitive.”
Athey made the transition from the outfield to behind the plate last season for the Warriors, and can also play third base.
“She can hit at this level and she can step right in and swing the bat for us,” Throneburg said. “She’s from an athletic family. Her older brothers both played sports at Casey. Her dad played fast-pitch softball, he’s coached and he knows the game. She’s very knowledgeable and she understands the game. She’s vocal and a leader.”
Lake Land volleyball coach Jessica Hills, who will welcome North’s Hayne to her program next year, was unavailable for comment two weeks ago when this column featured Hayne’s decision.
Hills is very glad to be adding the versatile Hayne to her team.
“Lake Land College is a nationally competitive junior college program,” Hills said. “I see Casey coming in and making an impact in either setting or defense. She has a strong volleyball background with good fundamentals.
“I look for my incoming freshmen to be able to contribute immediately either in their normal position or not. Casey is very capable of doing that throughout the 2008 season!”
• Aouad honored – Sophomore Emmanuel Aouad of Terre Haute North earned North Coast Athletic Conference Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the Week honors for his performance in last week’s Wabash Alumni Indoor Invitational.
Aouad received the Men’s Indoor Sprints/Hurdles honor after winning the 55-meter hurdles with a mark of 7.74. His mark of 22 feet, 5 inches in the long jump was also good enough for first place. He was also part of the Little Giant 800-meter relay team that broke its own meet record with a time of 1:32.59.
Joey Bennett is a former Tribune-Star sports reporter and copy editor who now teaches at Northview High School in Brazil. He can be reached at tribstarcollegereport@yahoo.com.
Valley baseball
players
Cloverdale
Cody Nees, sophomore, Franklin
Ryan Welty, sophomore, Danville Area CC
Greencastle
Derrick Patterson, sophomore, Franklin
Hutsonville-Palestine
Dylan Anderson, sophomore, Vincennes
Local connections
Jeff Grantham, senior, St. John’s
Marshall
Derek Eitel, sophomore, Rose-Hulman
Chase Boyer, freshman, Lincoln Trail
North Central
Kevin Greve, junior, Earlham
Northview
T.J. King, junior, Arkansas-Little Rock
Brady Shoemaker, junior, Indiana State
John Reberger, sophomore, Vincennes (injured, will sit out season as medical redshirt)
Riverton Parke
T.J. Amerman, freshman, Vincennes
Robinson
Seth Bayless, sophomore, Vincennes
Adam Richart, freshman, Lincoln Trail
Shakamak
Tyler Rehmel, junior, Eastern Kentucky
Ridge Inman, freshman, Olney Central (injured, will sit out season as medical redshirt)
Steven McNabb, freshman, Oakland City
South Putnam
Jeff McDole, senior, St. Joseph’s
Sullivan
Korey Grow, senior, Huntington
Shane Noble, senior, Bellarmine
Terre Haute North
Chris Macke, senior, Ohio State
Max Hutson, senior, Wichita State
John Cummins, junior, Purdue
Ryan Nevill, junior, Dayton
Josh Phegley, sophomore, Indiana
Nick Ciolli, sophomore, Indiana State
Brian Fisher, sophomore, DePauw
Jeremy Feathers, sophomore, Lake Land
John Rosselli, sophomore, Vincennes
Skyler Pearson, sophomore, Vincennes
Andrew Woodason, freshman, Lake Land
Devin Peabody, freshman, Danville Area CC
Terre Haute South
Evan Pettit, junior, Murray State
Michael Ferguson, junior, Rose-Hulman
Mitch Hannum, sophomore, DePauw
Brett Arnold, sophomore, Franklin
Pat Duncan, sophomore, Rose-Hulman
Bobby Woods, freshman, Olney Central
Cole Vicars, freshman, Vincennes
Michael Raines, freshman, Manchester
West Vigo
Mike Rogers, senior, Arkansas-Little Rock
Mitch Coombs, sophomore, Lincoln Trail (Ball State in ‘09)
Bryan Chestnut, freshman, Indiana State
College Report
College Report: Valley athletes begin baseball season at Vincennes today
- College Report
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COLLEGE REPORT: Kentucky baseball star Reed earns All-SEC
Kentucky sophomore baseball standout A.J. Reed of Terre Haute South Vigo High School earned first-team All-Southeastern Conference honors in voting by the league coaches for the recently completed season.
- COLLEGE REPORT: Wabash College All-American relay team has TH flavor
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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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