CHICAGO – UIC baseball's acting head coach Sean McDermott announced the addition of eight newcomers to the roster in advance of the upcoming 2022 season Friday (Sept. 3).
 
"We're really excited about our recruiting class," said McDermott. "They are an extremely athletic group but more importantly they're the right fit. We got the right people that are here for the right reasons and are motivated to improve both academically and athletically. They have an opportunity to help us win some championships and are hungry for the opportunity to get to an NCAA Tournament."

UIC's signing class features eight student-athletes, including one outfielder, two infielders, four pitchers and one pitcher/utility player.
 
"I think this class has been instrumental in us being able to raise the level expectations within the program. We've been able to recruit top-level junior college players, high-profile high school players and attract great talent out of the transfer portal," added McDermott.
 
The Flames brought in a geographically diverse class, with four Illinois natives to go along with four out-of-state additions. UIC's non-Illinois natives hail from California, Minnesota, Texas and Washington while the four in-state prospects all reside in the greater Chicagoland area.
 
UIC signed a pair of student-athletes out of high school in pitcher/utility player Ryan Smith (Westchester, Ill.) and infielder Shea Upton (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) The Flames' remaining six newcomers come from the collegiate level, including a pair of transfers from the Power 5 ranks in Reece Lawler (RHP/University of Iowa) and Nate Peterson (LHP/Oklahoma State University).
 
UIC brought in a trio of transfers who played collegiately in Illinois in AJ Henkle (OF/McHenry County College),  Tyler Ingram (RHP/Rock Valley College) and Rayth Petersen (INF/Morton College). The Flames also welcome right-hander Alec Schuldt who played collegiately at Everett Community College in Washington.