CHICAGO – UIC baseball coach Mike Dee announced Wednesday (Jan. 29) the addition of 14 student-athletes to the Flames baseball program. The 14 student-athletes, comprised of 11 high school students and three junior college transfers, will join the program beginning in the fall of 2020.
 
"We're excited about this class. It's two in a row that we think are really high quality," said Dee. "I think the future for our program is in good shape. Being able to recruit locally is important and it's taken us a long time to be able to do that. This is a highly recruited area, teams from all over the country come in here and recruit. I feel good that we are able to get kids that are fairly local that decide this is a really good option for us."
 
Eleven of the 14 incoming recruits are from Illinois, while a 12^th joins the Flames from nearby Chesterton, Indiana.
 
UIC's class features six pitchers, seven position players and one player who can pitch and play catcher.
 
"We are very excited about this incoming group of pitchers," said assistant coach John Flood. "In addition to being very talented, all of them love to compete, and it really shows when they are out on the mound. They all have a passion and drive to get better, and I think all of them have a chance to pitch important innings for us, right away."
 
"We're really excited about the group we have coming in," said associate head coach Sean McDermott. "I feel like we've addressed a lot of needs from an athletic standpoint and a physical standpoint. Most importantly, these guys embody what UIC stands for as a program. The guys are hungry, they want to develop, they want to get better and they want to play at a high level. We're excited about the overall athleticism of the group and we're proud to have them in our Flames family."
 
The Flames' complete signing class is below.

 
Clay Conn
INF | S/R | St. Charles East High School | St. Charles, Ill.
Coach McDermott on Conn: "Clay is a very confident player that has a great feel for the game. He is a tremendous defender in the middle of the diamond that plays really fast. His ability to hit and be on base will make him a great table-setter for our offense. He's a great fit here and will help add to the UIC infield defensive tradition of excellence."

 
Colton Conn
C | S/R | St. Charles East High School | St. Charles, Ill.
Coach McDermott on Conn: "Cole is a dirtbag that loves to play. He will bring leadership, energy and a presence behind the plate. His ability to hit from both sides of the plate with solid gap power will help him fit right into our offense. Cole loves to compete and craves competition. He is an awesome addition to our program, and we are very lucky to have him."


Nate Davis
LHP | L/L | Triton College (Ill.) | Manhattan, Ill.
Coach Flood on Davis: "Nate pitches with a ton of energy and one of those guys who is always in "attack mode." He has good life to his fastball and combines that with a very good slider, that can be equally tough on both lefties and righties."


Brandon Gelpi
OF | R/R/ | Central Catholic HS | Monroeville, Pa.
Coach McDermott on Gelpi: "Brandon is a very athletic physical OF that shows some power at the plate. He plays with tremendous energy and passion. Brandon is very driven to be the best player he can be. He loves to be pushed and compete which makes him a great fit for our program and we are very fortunate to have him in our Flames family."
 

James Harris
INF | R/R | Gwendolyn Brooke College Prep | Chicago, Ill.
Coach McDermott on Harris: "James was a great sign for us. I have watched him since he was 13 years old and watched him grow as a player. He has a great ability to barrel baseballs, runs very well, and plays extremely solid defense on both corners of the infield. He is a fun personality but make no mistake about it, James is about winning. We are very proud to have James as Flame."
 

Ben Hernandez
RHP | R/R | De La Salle Institute | Chicago, Ill.
Coach Flood on Hernandez: "We first met Ben, during his freshman year, when he attended one of our camps. Since that time, he has worked extremely hard and turned himself into one of the best high school pitchers in the country. He has very good command of an impressive arsenal of pitches, that includes one of the best changeups you'll see."


Jack McDermott
LHP | L/L | Bolingbrook High School | Bolingbrook, Ill.
Coach Flood on McDermott: "Jack is a wiry strong athlete, who is also a high-level high school wrestler. His arm works extremely well, and he can really spin the breaking ball. Once wrestling season is complete, and Jack can focus more on baseball specific work in the weight room, we think he has a chance to really take off."

 
Ryan Nagelbach
INF | S/R | Deerfield HS | Deerfield, Ill.
Coach McDermott on Nagelbach: "Ryan is a very smart heady player. Ryan is an exceptional defender as a shortstop. He is a very hard-nosed offensive switch hitter, that can handle the bat in all situations. As a HS QB he has great leadership, athleticism and relentless work ethic.  Ryan know what it will take to win as a team. He is a one of us to the core."
 

Peter Newton
RHP | R/R | Servite High School | Santa Ana, Calif.
Coach Flood on Newton: "Peter is a very good athlete that is relatively new to pitching. He has a very projectable frame, and a really fast arm. It's pretty easy to see him making some big strides very quickly here."


Breck Nowik
INF | R/R | Lake Forest High School | Lake Forest, Ill.
McDermott on Nowik: "Could not be more excited to have Breck coming to UIC. Breck is big bodied MIF that has a chance to be a middle of the order bat for us.  He is relentlessly driven and wants to be pushed to be great. Breck is a leader and brings a maturity into our program. I am looking forward to watching his growth and him impact our baseball program."

 
Luke Picchiotti
OF | L/L | John Hersey High School | Arlington Heights, Ill.
Coach McDermott on Picchiotti: "We were really excited to land Luke. He is an extremely physical outfielder with a strong arm and will provide us with a presence in the middle of our batting order. Luke is a very mature kid that is very motivated academically as well as focused on his baseball. Glad he's one of us."

 
Chris Torres
RHP | R/R | Wabash Valley College (Ill.) | Chesterton, Ind.
Coach Flood on Torres: "Chris is a big righty who's arm really works. He has really good velocity and spins a big-time curveball. Chris pitches with a ton of passion, that can be really infectious. Even though he's already pretty polished we think he still has a ton of upside."


Jeff Zack
RHP | R/R | Howard College (Texas) | Romeoville, Ill.
Coach Flood on Zack: "Jeff is a big physical righty with very quick and easy arm. All of his pitches are downhill with good life. He has above average velocity and a good assortment of off-speed pitches."

 
Matt Zahora
RHP/C | R/R | St. Laurence High School | Burbank, Ill.
Coach Flood on Zahora: "Matt is physical pitcher who is also the starting catcher for his HS. He has good raw arm strength, an above average slider, and really good feel for the strike zone. We are excited to see Matt's future, as he focuses more of his time on pitching."