SPRINGFIELD, IL - University of Illinois Springfield head baseball coach Chris Ramirez announced the signing of 14 players for the 2017 season Monday

"We are extremely excited about how this recruiting class came together for us in the early signing period," said Ramirez. "This group not only signifies the largest early signing class in program history but also the largest freshman class in UIS Baseball history. The ability to attract highly talented young players and allow them to develop though our system is a priority for us as we continue to grow our program to the national level."

Van Oswald (Independence, Mo.), Cameron Leff (Mount Zion, Ill.), Brayden Jensen (Independence, Mo.), Aaron Steinhoff (Racine, Wis.), Chris Witzke (Dakota City, Iowa), Chase Lowman (League City, Texas), Kohlten Johnson (St. Joseph, Ill.), Zach Frey (Bloomington, Ill.), Justin Vivar (Chicago, Ill.), Richard Dennis Lutze (Lisbon, Ill.), Gerald Powell (Chicago, Ill.), Cameron Zunkel (Lombard, Ill.), Caleb Stekl (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) and Trent Sidwell (Sikeston, Mo.) join the Prairie Stars for the 2017 season.

"We could not put together a recruiting class of this magnitude without the countless hours of work dedicated towards the recruiting process done by my assistant coaches Ryan Copeland and Sam Boisner," said Ramirez. "These two did a tremendous job identifying and developing relationships with each of these recruits and their families. We are excited to continue to sign players not only from central Illinois but also continue to have a strong presence in the Chicago area and the state of Iowa, while expanding our recruiting network into the St. Louis area, Kansas City and Wisconsin."

 

	Zach Frey - RHP/C Bloomington, Ill. | University High HT: 5'10 | WT: 160 | B/T: R/R High School Highlights Earned all-conference honors as a pitcher and as a catcher ... finished his junior season with a 6-3 record and 51 strikeouts ... was named his team's most valuable player and pitcher of the year ... awarded the Michael Collins Invitational Game MVP ... served as captain of his high school team ... played club ball for BNBA Gold ... helped club team to the DSP World Series title in 2014 ... plans to study Business Administration. Coach Ramirez: "Zach is the highest ranked Illinois player in our recruiting class. He has as clean an arm action as you look for when recruiting a player at any position. Zach has a fastball that jumps out of his hand on the mound and also carries over to the catching position. He is a high energy player that loves to compete."
	Brayden Jensen - RHP/INF Independence, Mo. | Truman High HT: 6'2 | WT: 190 | B/T: R/R High School Highlights Member of the National Honors Society and the Spanish National Honors Society ... earned all-conference honors as a sophomore and junior ... named to the all-district first team as a sophomore ... combined .324 batting average on the varsity squad ... played club  ball for the KC Mets ... plans to study Business Marketing. Coach Ramirez: "Brayden might best fit the physical mold we look for when recruiting players to our program. His upside is exciting to project. He is athletic enough to play the middle infield as well as step on the mound and compete for time at both positions."
	Kohlten Johnson - SS St. Joseph, Ill. | St. Joseph-Ogden High HT: 6'2 | WT: 185 | B/T: R/R High School Highlights Member of the honor roll ... three-sport letterman (baseball, basketball and football) ... earned second-team All-Okaw Valley Conference and all-area honors on the diamond ... finished his junior season with a .411 on-base percentage with 30 hits and nine stolen bases ... played club ball for the Champaign Dream, the St. Joseph Bandits and the Litchfield Mules ... plans to study Business. Coach Ramirez: "Kohlten played shortstop as a junior for one of the strongest high school programs in Central Illinois. It is always exciting to sign such a strong offensive player that can defend on the left side of the infield. He is another guy that will be bringing that competitive mindset to our program developed by playing for a very good high school football team."
	Cameron Leff - RHP Mt. Zion, Ill. | Mt. Zion HS HT: 6'1 | WT: 200 | B/T: R/R High School Highlights Two-sport letter winner (baseball, football) ... earned all-conference second team honors as a Pitcher/Outfielder ... named first team all-conference as a pitcher in 2015 ... finished his junior season with a 0.83 ERA and a .300 batting average ... played club ball for the Chi-Town Cream ... plans to study Business Management. Coach Ramirez: "I watched Cameron throw a gem in the high school playoffs during his junior season and he became our highest priority recruit out of the Springfield area. He is extremely composed on the mound and has an above average breaking ball. Leff has the ability to make an immediate impact to our program."
	Chase Lowman - RHP League City, Texas | Clear Falls High | College of DuPage HT: 6'2 | WT: 195 | B/T: R/R High School/Transfer Highlights Varsity letterman in football and baseball ... 24-6A All-District second team member ... named to the all-tournament team in 2013 at the PG WWBA Natinoal Championships in Jupiter, Fla. ... played club ball for the Hardball Baseball Academy, the Houston Heat and Hustle Baseball ... plans to study Sports Management. Coach Ramirez: "Chase is our lone junior college signee. With our program graduating 8 pitchers off of this year roster, we are going to need to find some guys that are ready to step in and pitch in major roles right away. Chase has the ability to do that with a live fastball and athletic delivery."
	Richard Lutze - RHP Lisbon, Ill. | Aurora Christian High HT: 6'3 | WT: 220 | B/T: R/R High School Highlights Four-year basketball player ... Member of the honor roll and named academic all-conference all four years ... earned SCC All-Conference honors in basketball for his sophomore and junior seasons ... led team in points and rebounds as the team captain ... named team captain, team's most valuable player and the team's best pitcher as a junior ... earned All-SCC and Aurora Daily Herald All-Area honors as a junior ... played club ball for the Naperville Renegades. Coach Ramirez: "R.D. has one of the strongest arms in our recruiting class as he already touches low 90's on the radar gun. He will be as physical as any player in our league as soon as he gets on campus. His raw strength and mechanics make him one of the more exciting guys for us to work with and clean up within our program."
	Van Oswald - 3B/RHP Independence, Mo. | Truman High HT: 5'11 | WT: 190 | B/T: R/R High School Highlights Three year letter winner in basketball and football ... earned All-Big Six Conference honors in 2014 and 2015 ... named to The Examiner All-Area Honorable Mention team in 2015 ... led his team with a .385 batting average during his junior season ... played club ball for the KC Mets. Coach Ramirez: "Besides having one of the best names in our recruiting class, Van is a very strong and explosive athlete. He is a football player and he plays the game of baseball with the same attitude. His aggressive delivery and sharp slider should allow Van to be a weapon on our pitching staff."
	Gerald Powell - RHP Chicago, Ill. | Kenwood Academy HT: 5'11 | WT: 170 | B/T: R/R High School Highlights Pitched in eight games at Kenwood Academy ... in 30 innings pitched, he recorded 47 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.4  ... participated in the RBI World Series ... pitched at UIS Cellular Field during the Double Duty Classic ... played travel baseball for the Chicago ACE ... plans to study Athletic Training. Coach Ramirez: "Gerald comes highly recommended by Keven Coe of the Chicago White Sox Ace organization. He is the type of athlete we want in our program and I am excited to see how that will continue to translate to the mound as Gerald develops here at UIS."
	Trent Sidewell - RHP Sikeston, Mo. | Sikeston Senior High HT: 6'3 | WT: 165 | B/T: R/R High School Highlights Three-year varsity letter winner ... member of the honor roll ... named to the All-SEMO Conference tournament team ... finished the 2015 season (HS, Summer, Fall) with 101.2 innings pitched, a 2.90 ERA, 91 strikeouts and a 1.43 WHIP ... played club ball for the Missouri Bulls ... plans to study Psychology. Coach Ramirez: "Not every recruiting class are you able to sign a pitcher that throws from down under, generally a pitcher is converted to do so later in their career. Trent will bring this valuable asset to our program."
	Aaron Steinhoff - OF/RHP Racine, Wis. | William Horlick High HT: 5'11 | WT: 180 | B/T: R/R High School Highlights Earned academic high honors in each of his four years ... named all-conference and All-Racine country in 2015 ... as a junior, he led the team with a .407 batting average, 11 triples and six doubles ... ranked no. 47 in the Wisconsin class of 2016 ... plans to study Sports Management. Coach Ramirez: "Aaron is probably the most versatile athlete in our recruiting class. He has the speed to defend center field and has shown the ability to hit the ball gap to gap with some pop. Aaron was also highly ranked as a pitching prospect and should be a strong two way player throughout his career here in Springfield."
	Caleb Stekl - C Mitchell, South Dakota | Jefferson High HT: 6'0 | WT: 195 | B/T: R/R High School Highlights Four-year member of the honor roll ... batted .412 with nine doubles in 16 games in his Spring legion season ... led high school team with 19 walks ... led the state of Iowa in putouts and putout percentage (16/16) ... finished second on the team with 27 RBI ... plans to study Political Science. Coach Ramirez: "Caleb already has a strong catcher frame and really looks the part. He has one of the quickest releases from behind the plate that I saw in this class of catchers in the midwest. Caleb's stength should allow him to develop into a very good all-around catcher in our program."
	Justin Vivar - LHP Chicago, Ill. | Taft High HT: 6'2 | WT: 220 | B/T: L/L High School Highlights Member of the National Honors Society ... part of the honor roll during his freshman and sophomore years ... 29-4 record in HS career at St. Rita and Taft ... participated in East vs West Double Duty Classic All-Star game in 2014 at US Cellular Field ... played club ball for Elite Training ... made the all-tournament team at the 2014 WWBA Underclass World Championship in Fort Myers, Fla. ... plans to study Accounting. Coach Ramirez: "Justin comes strongly recommended by Rich Ruffolo of Elite Baseball Chicago. He shows the mound presence and pitch ability to contribute to our pitching staff immediately. We are excited for Justin to be joining our program."
	Chris Witzke - LHP/OF Dakota City, Iowa | Humboldt High HT: 5'10 | WT: 165 | B/T: L/L High School Highlights Three-year letter winner in wrestling ... earned first-team all-conference honors in each of his first three seasons ... earned all-district honors in 2013, 2014 and 2015 ... named to the all-state third team as a junior ... played club ball for the Minnesota Blizzard ... in 2014 was a part of the All-PG Kernels tournament team in Cedar Rapids, Iowa after throwing a no-hitter ... in 2015 was named to the All-PG LakePoint tournament team. Coach Ramirez: "Chris first caught my eye when I saw him throw from the outfield. He has a very athletic throwing motion that will continue to carry over to the mound as he develops physically. His fastball and change up already show as college ready pitches and will only continue to improve."
	Cameron Zunkel - RHP Lombard, Ill. | Willowbrook High HT: 6'2 | WT: 170 | B/T: R/R High School Highlights Earned Illinois High School Coaches Association All-Area honors ... named to the West Suburban All-Conference squad ... batted .327 during his juinor season ... led the team with 11 doubles and third with 34 hits ... posted team-highs in innings pitched (62), strikeouts (57) and wins (9) ... finished with a 1.64 ERA. Coach Ramirez: "Zunkel will be the 2nd player I have signed from Willowbrook High School as he will join Michael Rothmund on the roster next fall. The baseball comes out of Cameron's hand as clean as any player in this recruiting class. He already shows the ability to pitch in the upper 80's and the sky is the limit as Cam progresses though our program."