PEORIA, Ill. -- Having to replenish a current roster that features 10 seniors, first-year Bradley Baseball head coach Elvis Dominguez and his staff hit the recruiting trail hard and have landed a 14-player class that will take the diamond for the Braves during the 2010 season. Dominguez announced his first Bradley recruiting class Thursday and the group consists of one catcher, two infielders, three outfielders, six pitchers and two current shortstops targeted to play both in the infield and outfield, and the large class will head to Peoria from seven different states.
Bradley Baseball Recruiting Class
Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown
David Compitello IF/OF 6-1 160 Schaumburg (Ill.) H.S.
Patrick Cooper RHP 6-3 205 Danville (Ky.) Boyle County H.S./Des Moines Area C.C.
Gus DeQuesada RHP 6-2 210 Miami (Fla.) Christopher Columbus H.S.
Mike Falsetti C 6-1 190 Elmwood Park (Ill.) Fenwick H.S.
Eric Holmes LHP 6-2 195 Wilton (Iowa) H.S./Des Moines Area C.C.
Andy Johnson RHP 6-1 190 Medina (Minn.) Wayzata H.S.
Rob Kennedy RHP 6-0 180 Chicago (Ill.) Northside Prep
Jason Leblebijian IF/OF 6-1 175 Arlington Heights (Ill.) Prospect H.S.
John Nasshan RHP 6-6 195 Niles (Ill.) West H.S.
Chris Ritter IF 6-2 195 Madison (Wis.) Edgewood H.S.
Bob Schuch OF 6-3 210 Evergreen Park (Ill.) Brother Rice H.S.
Christian Segar OF 6-0 190 Mendon (N.Y.) McQuaid Jesuit H.S.
EJ Sexton 1B 6-2 230 West Bend (Wis.) H.S.
Mike Tauchman OF 6-1 200 Palatine (Ill.) William Fremd H.S.
For more information on each recruit, click on his name above
“I am excited about the student-athletes who will be joining our program in the fall of 2009,” said Dominguez. “These 14 student-athletes are fine young men who will represent Bradley University in a first-class manner in the classroom, on the field and in the community.
“Coach (Jonathan) Hadra and recruiting coordinator John Corbin did a great job of identifying and bringing in a very talented class to fill our needs for the future,” Domingez continued. “Because this is our first recruiting class at Bradley, it will be a group that will be remembered for years to come.
“The large number of talented seniors graduating in the spring of 2009 has enabled us to bring in this excellent class,” Dominguez added. “We were looking for players who were not only gifted athletically and academically, but who would fit well into our team philosophy here at Bradley. Each of these players will have a chance to make an immediate impact on our program early in his career.
“Our recruiting philosophy is simple: we look for as many gifted athletes to place on the field as we can. This is evident in the 60-yard speed of many of our recruits, including Segar (6.5), Compitello (6.8), Schuch (6.8). Leblibijian (6.9) and Tauchman (6.9). Some will wear many hats, playing different positions during their careers. Even the pitchers we recruit almost always play a secondary position in high school.
“We have been able to attract these top-level student-athletes due to Bradley's high academic standards, its state-of-the-art facilities, including O'Brien Field, and the reputation of the Missouri Valley Conference. We also are fortunate to have an outstanding athletic department that is committed to the success of our program. Our players will soon have the opportunity to use a new weight room and student-athlete academic center in the Athletic Performance Arena, which is currently under construction and will open next fall.”
