Northern Illinois Baseball Announces Spring Signees :: Huskies add three quality players to a highly-touted fall group ranked best in both Illinois and the MAC

Huskies add three quality players to a highly-touted fall group ranked best in both Illinois and the MAC

April 28, 2008

DeKALB, Ill. - Northern Illinois announced the addition of three spring baseball signees who will join the team for the 2009 season. The Huskies added three quality and athletic players to their list of six fall signees, a group that ranked as both the best in the state of Illinois and the Mid-American Conference.

The trio of spring additions includes: P Kyle Glancy (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park-River Forest), IF Alex Jones (Kansas City, Kan./Piper), IF/OF/C Nick Morreale (Vernon Hills, Ill./Mesa C.C.).

"This group of three signees adds to our overall class strength," said head coach Ed Mathey. "Each brings excellent quality, both in terms of baseball ability and character, into Northern Illinois University. They all fit what we are doing and where we are going. [Associate Head Coach] Steve Joslyn addressed our needs with this class and when it is all said and done, this has a chance to be our highest-ranked class."

Morreale, the lone junior college signee, is currently at Mesa (Ariz.) Community College. The Vernon Hills, Ill., native was a high school All-American and earned area Player of the Year honors from the Daily Herald along with all-state accolades. In 2006, Morreale was a 46th-round draft choice of the Philadelphia Phillies following his senior campaign.

Glancy ranks among the Chicago Sun-Times' top 40 pitchers in Illinois and was also successful on the basketball court. He helped lead Oak Park-River Forest to a regional title as a senior and showed tremendous athletic ability with a No. 27 national ranking in Basketball Sparq Testing, which includes agility, strength, speed and flexibility tests.

Jones is the only non-Illinois product of the spring signees, hailing from Kansas City, Kan. He led his Piper High School team with a .544 batting average as a junior and earned all-conference honors. Also a football standout, Jones was an all-conference selection as both a wide receiver and as a linebacker and earned honorable mention all-state accolades as a receiver.

The spring additions join Mathey's six fall signees who were ranked No. 63 nationally by Perfect Game Crosschecker, the highest ranking among any Illinois or MAC school. That group includes P Kyle Stroup (Ingleside, Ill.), P Zach Badgley (McHenry, Ill.), IF Alex Beckmann (Batavia, Ill.), C Brett Frantini (Minooka, Ill.), OF/P Jake Hermsen (New London, Wisc.), P Chuck Lukanen (Elgin, Ill.) and P Chris Wakefield (Cherokee, Ga.).

-NIU-

Kyle Glancy

Kyle Glancy, P
6-2, 180
Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park-River Forest

High School: Rated among the top 40 pitchers in Illinois by the Chicago Sun-Times ... No. 64 ranked senior in the state by the Prep Baseball Report ... Threw a no-hitter during his junior season ... All-Academic selection in both baseball and basketball ... Ranked No. 27 nationally in Basketball Sparq Testing, a series of tests that includes agility, strength, speed and flexibility, with a score of 80.82 ... Was the sixth-man on the regional champion basketball team and played behind Iman Shumpert, the nation's eighth-ranked point guard.
High School Coach: Chris Ledbetter.
Personal: Born May 30, 1989 ... Parents are Christopher and Devra Glancy ... Father played second base for three seasons at Butler University.
Coach Mathey on Glancy: "Kyle is a righthanded pitcher with a fastball currently in the mid-to-upper 80's and good command of a breaking pitch in the low 80's. He is very athletic and was a key member of his high school basketball that was ranked in the state. Chris Ledbetter has a very good program at Oak Park-River Forest that prepares kids well for college. We expect Kyle to come in and do great things for us."

Alex Jones

Alex Jones, IF
5-11, 185
Kansas City, Kan./Piper

High School: A first team All-Kaw Valley League selection after leading the conference with a .544 batting average during his junior season ... Totaled 37 hits, 26 runs and 24 stolen bases with eight doubles and four triples as a junior ... Helped lead his team to an 18-5 record and third consecutive regional runner-up finish during junior year ... Hit .325 as a sophomore and .505 as a freshman ... Started every varsity game since his sophomore season ... Three-year football letterwinner ... Named team's most outstanding player and earned first team all-conference honors as both a linebacker and wide receiver during his senior year ... Team captain and honorable mention all-state as a wide receiver as a senior ... Scored nine touchdowns on offense and totaled a team-high 104 tackles on defense in his senior campaign ... Earned honorable mention all-conference as a kicker during his junior year and was a starting defensive back and wide receiver ... Started at defensive back as a sophomore ... Member of the honor roll all four years.
High School Coach: Beau Basler and Larry Beashore.

Personal: Led his American Legion teams in hitting for three consecutive seasons ... Born June 19, 1990 ... Parents are Billy and Betsy Jones.
Coach Mathey on Jones: "Alex is a very athletic individual who is strong, can swing the bat from the left side and has good arm strength. He can play any of three infield positions as well as the outfield. He was also a state caliber football player. In terms of strength and athletic ability, we feel that Alex is ready for the college level. We are very happy to have him as part of the Huskie family."

Nick Morreale

Nick Morreale, IF/OF/C
6-2, 210
Vernon Hills, Ill./Mesa C.C.

Junior College:
Played two seasons at Mesa C.C. Hit .286 with three home runs and two doubles as a freshman in an all-wood bat league.
High School: Drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 46th-round of the 2006 MLB Amateur Draft after his prep career ... Player of the Year, All-American, all-state selection and a three-time all-conference and two-time all-area choice ... Daily Herald Player of the Year and a IHSBCA all-state selection as a senior ...Entered his senior campaign as a Preseason All-American by Team One and the Baseball Factory ... Earned first team all-area and All-North Suburban Conference selection as a senior ... Selected as MVP of the Niles North Invite during senior season ... Earned his third consecutive team MVP honor as a senior ... Captained varsity squad during his junior and senior seasons ... Named first team all-state, first team all-area and first team all-conference as a junior ... Garnered first team all-conference honors as a sophomore.
High School Coach: Jay Czarnecki.
Personal: Born April 8, 1988 ... Parents are Barth Morreale and Susan Clark ... Brother, Barth, played baseball at Mesa C.C. ... Competed for the three-time national champion White Sox Academy team. Coach Mathey on Morreale: "Nick is a kid with Illinois roots who was an all-state player and drafted after his senior season. He was a catcher coming out of high school, but could play either corner infield position or the outfield. We think his bat will be a great fit into the lineup and being a junior college player, we are looking for him to come in and contribute quickly."