FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana baseball head coach Tracy Smith and his staff have announced the signing of three additional players to National Letters of Intent during the spring/summer signing period. Shortstop Jake Dunning (Orange Park, Fla./Florida Community College), right-handed pitcher Wyatt Hoff (La Jolla, Calif./LaJolla) and left-handed pitcher Matt Igel (Vincennes, Ind./Rivet) will join the Hoosier squad this fall.
Dunning, who will have two years of eligibility remaining with IU, hit .341 in 2008 in playing 41 games for FCC. He was also a standout on the defensive side, committing just 11 errors and posting a .949 fielding percentage at shortstop. A 6-4, 180-pound righthander, Dunning also hit 15 doubles, three home runs and stole 17 bases on 20 attempts last year. He played this summer for the Alaska Goldpanners in the Alaska Baseball League, playing in 32 games and starting 31 for the team.
“Jake is a tall, wiry shortstop with solid range and an above-average arm,” Smith said. “He also has the ability to pitch, which makes him very valuable. With the graduation of senior shortstop Tyler Cox, we look for Jake to come in and handle the shortstop position.”
Hoff led the Western League in strikeouts in 2008, setting down 84 batters to just six walks in 80 2/3 innings of work. The 6-foot-3 righty allowed just 66 hits on the year, notching seven wins and two saves on the season. He tallied six complete games on the campaign, including a pair of shutouts, two one-hitters and a no-hitter. The La Jolla, Calif., native stepped up in the clutch, throwing his no-hitter in the California Interscholastic Federation playoffs, with only a hit batsman preventing a perfect game.
“Wyatt is a kid who is very young and talented,” Smith said. “I came across him on a trip to California and I was stunned that he hadn’t been signed. He has the stuff to be a good draft pick in the future.”
Igel will join the Hoosiers after a stellar season for Rivet. In 67 1/3 innings, he went 7-3 with a 0.73 ERA and a whopping 136 strikeouts for the 1A school in 2008. The lefty garnered a multitude of honors following the season, as he was named All-Area Player of the Year, All-Blue Chip Conference and All-Southwestern Indiana. He was named his team’s Pitcher of the Year in each of his final three seasons, and helped Rivet to sectional championships in both 2006 and 2008.
“Matt’s a player that we got onto a little late,” Smith said. “He really has come into his own over the last year and a half. I can’t wait to see how he develops over his time with the Hoosiers.”
The three additional signees join the class of five who signed with the Hoosiers in November. Two of those – outfielder Alex Dickerson (48th round, Nationals) and left-handed pitcher Blake Monar (26th round, Yankees) – were selected in the 2008 MLB Draft, but elected not to sign with their respective teams and will join the IU program this fall. Three other standouts – left-hander Drew Leininger (Poway, Calif./Poway), catcher Josh Lyon (Indianapolis/Heritage Christian) and second baseman Cody Webber (Fountain Valley, Calif./Fountain Valley) – round out IU’s 2008 signing class.
