The Bradley Baseball program earned recognition from several national publications and scouting services over the summer, most recently from Collegiate Baseball newspaper, which ranked Bradley's crop of newcomers among the top 75 recruiting classes in the country.
As the fall practice season is underway, Bradley is working 14 new players into the lineup. Bradley is one of four Missouri Valley Conference schools and one of 11 Midwestern based schools to rank among Collegiate Baseball's top 75.
"To have our recruiting class be recognized for the second consecutive year is a great honor," said third-year Bradley head coach Elvis Dominguez. "It shows that we are attracting not only great athletes, but also great students to Bradley University. A lot of the credit goes to our assistant coaches John Corbin and Sean Lyons for identifying the student-athletes in this class. To have our first two classes receive this national recognition puts our program among many of the traditional baseball programs and lets us know that we are setting a strong foundation for our program."
Meanwhile, Braves senior outfielder Brian Martin was named the No. 8 overall professional prospect from the summer Jayhawk League by Baseball America magazine and he joined Bradley teammates, junior third baseman Rob Elliott (7) and junior pitcher Jacob Booden (14), among the top 20 Jayhawk League prospects as rated by the Perfect Game website. Martin was the No. 16 prospect according to the Perfect Game ratings. Bradley and Valley rival Wichita State were the only two schools with three top 25 rated prospects in the Jayhawk League this summer. Elsewhere, junior pitcher Justin Ziegler also gained a No. 16 rating from the Perfect Game among the top pro prospects in the Great Lakes League.
"It really is a testament to the hard work that the players put in not only last spring, but throughout the summer," said Dominguez. "They not only went out and competed in some of the premier summer leagues in the country, but they all worked hard and got better. To have them acknowledged for their accomplishments this summer lets them know that their hard work did not go unnoticed."
The professional prospect ratings follows the all-star accomplishments of several Braves on the summer circuit in 2010. Junior pitcher Joe Bircher was announced a first-team postseason all-star and sophomore outfielder Mike Tauchman earned second-team notice in the Alaska Baseball League. In addition, Martin and Ziegler both earned first-team all-league honors in their respective summer collegiate leagues. Click here for a recap of Bradley Baseball's summer collegiate league awards.
The Braves have been engaged in their fall practice season since early September and will take on Des Moines Area Community College in an exhibition game Saturday at 3 p.m. at O'Brien Field. The team also will compete in a three-game intrasquad series Oct. 11, 12 and 15 and will host the annual Alumni Game Oct. 16 at 11 a.m., all at O'Brien Field.
