11/12- Illinois Baseball Signs Six to Letters of Intent

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Illinois coach Dan Hartleb announced the signing of six student-athletes to national letters of intent Wednesday. At this point, the 2009 signing class is composed of Christian Cummins of Harrisburg, Ill., Davis Hendrickson, of Macomb, Ill., Brandon Hohl, of Mokena, Ill., Kevin Johnson, of Midlothian, Ill., Matt Milroy, of Batavia, Ill., and Seth Schwindenhammer of Bartonville, Ill. "Our staff is extremely excited about the quality of this signing class," Illinois head coach Dan Hartleb said. "We have added six players who are as athletic as we have had in any single class. All of these players have demonstrated that they are quality students, quality people and in the top echelon of baseball players in the Midwest. On paper, this is an extremely balanced class from an offensive, defensive and pitching standpoint. This group of student-athletes has shown that they have the ability to compete at the national level, as they have all been extremely successful and have competed for championships with high school and summer programs. "All of the players in this class have the ability to impact our program early in their careers. Each one of them has shown a great deal of excitement about joining our program and these young men have shown a great desire to attend the University of Illinois so they can obtain a degree that is second to none. Eric Snider and Ken Westray have done a great job with the evaluation and recruitment of this class, and our recruiting has continued to move forward because of their passion, efforts and knowledge." Associate head coach Eric Snider, who led the recruiting efforts of the position players in this class, notes some commonalities among the four position players in the class. "This is a very athletic group with a mixture of power and speed," Snider said. "Through the recruiting process, all of these kids had five things in common: they all committed verbally at an early date because they want to play baseball at Illinois and get a great Illinois education, they all have the ability to be impact players as freshmen, theyre all quality kids with leadership abilities, theyre all fierce competitors and relentless workers, and they all want to win championships." Biographical sketches of the 2008-09 Illinois baseball signees: Christian Cummins, IF 6-0 // 190 // R/R // Fr. // Harrisburg HS // Harrisburg, Ill. Notes: Listed as the No. 30 prospect in the state by Prep Baseball Report...PBR lists him as the No. 10 best athlete in the state in the Class of 2009 ... Played for Team Illinois ... Earned All-South honors in 2007 and 2008 ... Hit .438 with 35 RBIs, 45 runs, eight home runs, 11 doubles, two triples and 22 stolen bases while leading Harrisburg to a 31-3 season and a berth in the IHSA Sweet 16 in 2008 ... Earned seven varsity letters. Associate head coach Eric Snider on Cummins: "Christian is an athletic infielder with exceptional speed and base-stealing instincts. He has a solid hitting approach with good power and is a solid defender. Hes competitive, hard-nosed and likes to work." Davis Hendrickson, OF 6-1 // 180 // L/L // Fr. // Macomb HS // Macomb, Ill. Notes: Ranked No. 25 in the state by Prep Baseball Report ...PBR lists him as the third-best defensive outfielder in the state in the Class of 2009 ... Named a first-team All-Area outfielder by the Peoria Journal Star in 2008 and by the Macomb Journal in 2006-08 ... A first-team All-Olympic Conference selection in 2007-08 ... Hit .468 with five home runs, 12 doubles, 39 RBIs and 19 steals with a .571 on-base percentage in 2008 ... Has earned eight varsity letters - three each in baseball and football, and two in basketball ... Member of the Olympic Conference All-Academic team ... Brother, Myers, is a sophomore on the Western Illinois football team ... Father, Mark, is the assistant head coach for the Leatherneck football team ... Plans to major in business. Coach Snider on Hendrickson: "Davis is an athletic outfielder with excellent speed and an above-average arm. He has a good contact approach at the plate and hes a hard-nosed competitor with excellent intangibles." Brandon Hohl, 3B/SS 6-1 // 180 // R/R // Fr. // Lincoln-Way East HS // Mokena, Ill. Notes: Named the No. 31 prospect in the state by Prep Baseball Report ... PBR lists him as the No. 7 hitter in the state in the Class of 2009 ... Led Lincoln-Way East to the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association summer state championship ... Earned All-IHSBCA Summer State Tournament honors, hitting five home runs in five games. Coach Snider on Hohl: "Brandon is a middle-of-the-order type of hitter who has a solid hitting approach with power. He has an above-average arm, soft hands and good actions on the infield, and hes a relentless worker." Kevin Johnson, RHP 6-3 // 190 // R/R // Fr. // Mt. Carmel HS // Midlothian, Ill. Notes: Listed as the No. 13 recruit in the state of Illinois by Prep Baseball Report ...PBR lists him as having the No. 4 best off-speed pitch in the state in the Class of 2009 ... Went 8-2 with a 1.56 ERA and 93 strikeouts in 2008 ... Threw a no-hitter in 2008 ... Started on Mt. Carmels varsity squad as a sophomore ... Was an honorable mention All-State selection by the Chicago Sun Times in 2008 ... 2008 All-Chicago Catholic League selection ... Earned the Cesar Carillo King of the Hill Award in 2008 ... Played in the 2008 Jack Kaiser All-Star Game ... Played on the Illinois Sparks summer team and for Cangelosi Fall Baseball ... Father, Kevin, played tennis at Southwest Baptist University and Baylor University. Assistant coach Ken Westray on Johnson: "Kevin is an athletic competitor who has improved his physical strength quite a bit in the last year. He has above-average arm strength and has shown command of a quality breaking ball." Matt Milroy, RHP/OF 6-3 // 205 // R/R // Fr. // Marmion Academy // Batavia, Ill. Notes: Listed as the No. 8 recruit in the state of Illinois by Prep Baseball Report ...PBR lists him as the No. 1 two-way player, as having the No. 4 fastball, as the No. 7 defensive outfielder and the No. 9 best athlete in the state in the Class of 2009 ... Hit. 467 with 44 RBIs, seven home runs, a .900 slugging percentage and 43 hits in 2008 ... Blasted three home runs in Marmions sectional game in 2008 ... Named All-Area by the Aurora Beacon News, the Daily Herald and the Kane County Chronicle ... Named the 2008 Beacon News Player of the Year ... Broke the Marmion records for average, home runs and RBIs in 2008 ... Played in the Plainfield South Showcase ... Member of Team Illinois, a summer club team...Three-year baseball letterwinner.... Brother, Tim, plays baseball at Concordia ... Cousin, Joe Milroy, played baseball at Northern Illinois ... Cousin, John Milroy, played baseball at Northwestern ... Cousin, V.J. Bellafonte, played football at Eastern Illinois ... Cousin, Brian Bonamarte, played football at Carthage College ... Grandfather, Bernard Milroy, played basketball at Loras College. Coach Westray on Milroy: "Matt is an athletic two-way player who throws in the 88-91 mph range off the mound and runs a 6.8-second 60-yard dash. Hes a solid outfielder with a good hitting approach and as a pitcher, he has an above-average arm with command of a plus slider." Seth Schwindenhammer, OF/RHP 6-2 // 200 // L/R // Fr. // Limestone HS // Bartonville, Ill. Notes: Listed as the No. 12 recruit in the state of Illinois by Prep Baseball Report ...PBR lists him as the No. 2 two-way player, the No. 3 hitter and as having the No. 8 fastball in the state in the Class of 2009 ... Named to the IHSBCA All-State team, and the Peoria Journal Star All-Area first team ... Also named to the Prep Baseball Report All-State second team and the All-Mid-Illini first team ... Hit .427 with 42 RBIs and 13 home runs in 2008 ... Led the Mid-Illini Conference in RBIs, homers, on-base percentage and slugging percentage, and was second in batting average ... Played in the 2008 McDonalds All-Star Game and the Jack Kaiser All-Star Game ... Led Limestone to regional championships in 2007 and 2008. Coach Snider on Schwindenhammer: "Seth is a physically strong, athletic player who has a good hitting approach with power. He has a power arm from the outfield and on the mound, pitching in the low 90 mph range. Hes a hard-nosed competitor who will have the ability to hit, play the outfield and pitch at this level."