Carterville - November 14th marks the opening of the NCAA Division I and Division II signing period. High school and junior college student athletes across the country make their commitment to continue their academic and athletic careers official by signing a National Letter of Intent. On Wednesday, eight members of the John A. Logan College baseball team made their commitments to Division I programs final. Including this year's group of early signees, 34 players have moved on to the next level over the last two and a half years with more to come this spring. Of those 34 players; one was drafted in the 5th round of the MLB draft, 28 moved on to the NCAA Division I level, two moved on to the NCAA Division II level, two moved on to the NCAA Division III level and one moved on to the NAIA level.
"First off, congratulations to this group of student athletes for signing to continue their career at the Division I level" said head coach Kyle Surprenant. "We pride ourselves in developing players on and off the field. To have this many guys sign early and several others coming in the spring is a tribute to their work ethic and buy in. As exciting of a time as this is for them, it is just the beginning. If anything, this means it is time to work even harder and that's what I expect to happen from this group."
Below is the list of student athletes that signed their NLI on Wednesday:
Hunter Combs, C: Indiana University – Big Ten Conference
Ashton Creal, OF: Southeastern Louisiana University – Southland Conference
Andrew Peters, RHP: University of South Carolina – Southeastern Conference
Jeff Purnell, RHP: Marshall University – Conference USA
Johnny Ray, RHP: Texas Christian University – Big 12 Conference
Austin Ruesch. RHP: Abilene Christian University – Southland Conference
Hunter Sullivan, INF/RHP: Middle Tennessee State University – Conference USA
Cooper Trinkle, INF: Indiana University – Big Ten Conference
