Baseball Announces Start of Recruiting Class

The Braves landed five players during the NLI Early-Signing Period

BradleyBraves.com

Bobby Parker, Associate AD for Communications Baseball 11/28/2016 3:55:00 PM

PEORIA, IL - Bradley Baseball's most recent recruiting class is battery powered. With an eye toward the 2018 season, Bradley has announced a five-man recruiting class that includes three pitchers, a catcher and an outfielder who will join Braves next fall.

Isaiah Glidden | RHP | 6-5 | 195 | R/R | Glendale, WI | Nicolet H.S.
A two-sport star at Nicolet High School, Glidden also plays basketball for the Knights and he led the hoops team in 3-pointers last season. On the diamond, Glidden was named a 2016 preseason honorable mention All-American.

As a member of the Puma Baseball Academy during the summer travel season, Glidden led his team in strikeouts while posting a 9-1 record with an earned run average below 1.50.

"Isaiah has a strong physical frame with a great arm," said Bradley head coach Elvis Dominguez. "His fastball has arm-side run that is complimented by a breaking ball and an occasional changeup. Overall, he is an exciting and projectable pitcher for us."

Brooks Gosswein | LHP | 6-2 | 175 | L/L | Barrington, IL | Barrington H.S.
A varsity pitcher since his freshman season, Gosswein was the co-most valuable player of the Mid-Suburban West League in 2016, adding to his all-conference and all-area honors. Enjoying an undefeated season on the mound, Gosswein helped Barrington to the MSL West title last year.

"Brooks is a left handed pitcher that brings balance to our rotation," said Dominguez. "His fastball is consistently around the 90 miles-per-hour mark. Coach (Larry) Scully has seen Brooks several times over the course of the last year and believes he can be a key contributor to the staff right away."

Michael Hojnacki | RHP | 6-2 | 175 | R/R | St. Louis, MO | Marquette H.S.
Pitching for Marquette High School and the Rawlings Tigers summer program, Hojnacki earned honorable mention status on Perfect Game's 2015 postseason and 2016 preseason All-America teams.

"Michael is another exciting arm for us," said Dominguez. "He predominantly pitches off of his fastball and is downhill with his delivery. His breaking ball has sharpness to it. With his loose arm action, he projects to add another 90-mile-per-hour arm to our staff."

Eli Rawlinson | OF | 6-4 | 215 | Saint Johns, FL | Creekside H.S.
Rawlinson earned first-team All-Saint Johns County and second-team All-First Coast Conference as a junior, while also being named his team's most valuable player.

"Eli is a guy from Florida that we are very excited about," said Dominguez. "He is a big, physical kid who has lots of pop in his bat. We have seen him consistently drive the ball to the gaps. We believe this approach will help him develop into a big-time power bat. We look for Eli to earn a job in our outfield right away."

Keaton Rice | C | 6-2 | 180 | L/R | Geneseo, IL | Geneseo H.S.
A two-year varsity letterwinner, Rice was the 2016 Northern Illinois Big 12 Conference Player of the Year while leading the Maple Leafs to the 2016 regional championship. The 2016 all-metro catcher also earned all-conference and honorable mention all-metro recognition as a sophomore in 2015 while helping Geneseo to a sectional runner-up finish.

"The catching position was a key piece to this class and we got a great one in Keaton Rice," said Dominguez. "Keaton is a rare breed of catcher in the sense that he offers both great defensive skills as well as a productive bat. We look for Keaton to play a key role early in his career."

With the start of the 2017 season three months away, Bradley Baseball will try to continue a two-year run that has seen the Braves rack up 65 wins, advance to the 2015 NCAA Regionals and play on the final day of each of the last two Missouri Valley Conference Baseball Championships. The Braves will open the 2017 campaign with a 3-game series Feb. 17-19 at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

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