SIOUX FALLS, S.D-- The Augustana baseball team added 15 student-athletes who signed their National Letters of Intent to continue their athletic and academic careers at Augustana on Wednesday. Wednesday marks the first day a student-athlete is able to sign an NLI. 

"I talk so often about how important it is for us to find guys who really like Augustana, guys who like us as much as we like them. I've been doing this coaching thing for a while now and I can't say I've ever seen a class come together quite like this one has," said head coach Tim Huber. "It seemed like a sprint at times, wondering who was going to commit next and here we are with the biggest early signing class we have ever had. There is a mix here of guys from different parts of the country and different types of players but I'm really amazed how much this group of guys really really liked Augie and truly wanted to be a part of our baseball program. 

"One other thing that sticks out to me as a group are the academics of this class. We always recruit great students but as I was looking at final packages it became clear this is by far the most accomplished academic class we have brought in. Academic stats: Nine guys with a 4.0 GPA and the average GPA so far in this class is 3.91! There is no one below a 3.7."

Drew Ball | 6-5 | RHP | Red Wing, Minnesota | Red Wing High School

Huber on Ball: "Drew is a long and lean athletic pitcher with a bunch of potential. Standing 6'5", we believe he has a very bright future once he fills out and develops his frame. The stuff and ability are there, and the arm works well. He has put up some impressive strikeout numbers already at times and the velocity has not come close to peaking yet."

High School: Ball will graduate in June of 2022 from Red Wing High School. In his junior season, Ball pitched 49.6 innings, recording 88 strikeouts and garnered all-conference and all-section honors.

Jayson Bertsch | 5-9 | IF/OF/UTL | Omaha, Nebraska | Elkhorn South High School

Huber on Bertsch: "Jayson is a physical kid who has worked very hard in the weight room. He can run and his bat tool has a chance to be very, very good. He is a great fit for the type of guy we recruit in those regards. In terms of position, like we tell a lot of guys, we will figure that out. He has played 2B, some 1B and OF as well."

High School: Bertsch will graduate from Elkhorn South High School in May of 2022. As a junior, Bertsch held a batting average of .313 and an on base percentage of .387. Bertsch garnered academic all-state honors and was a part of the honor roll at Elkhorn South High School.

Matt Brown | 6-0 | UTL/RHP | Brandon, South Dakota | Brandon Valley High School

Huber on Brown: "Matt plays with an edge and being a local guy, we had a good chance to get to know that about him. He has played multiple positions and has more pop in his bat than I expected for his size. He also is a competitive guy on the mound."

High School: Brown will graduate from Brandon Valley High School in May of 2022. Brown hit .345 with 15 extra bases while adding on 20 stolen bases. He had 43 RBI and ended the year with 3 home runs as a junior. 

Ryan Clementi | 5-10 | RHP/UTL | Lincoln, Nebraska | Lincoln East High School

Huber on Clementi: "Ryan is probably a pitcher foremost but impressed me the closer we looked at him on the position side of things, behind the plate as a catcher, and his potential on offense. Time will tell how that plays out and we expect him to be more ready to help on the mound. He is a smaller stature guy but strong for his size and already has arm strength and stuff that has a chance to get outs on the mound."

High School: Clementi will graduate from Lincoln East High School in May of 2022. As a junior, Clementi recorded a batting average of .373 and pitched 35.2 innings and recorded 38 strikeouts. Clementi garnered first team all-conference, academic all-conference and all-state honorable mention honors.

Ethan Cole | 6-2 | LHP/1B/OF | Fond du Lac, Wisconsin | Winnebago Lutheran Academy

Huber on Cole: "Ethan is a small town, multi-sport athlete who we expect to really blow up once he gets to college and focuses on baseball. He is a big athletic guy, and we are very happy to add a left-hand hitting, left-hand throwing recruit. He is a pitcher with a ton of potential and is equally impressive at the plate. The combination of those two things has us very excited to see what Ethan brings to our program and we expect him to be an immediate impact guy."

High School: Cole will graduate from Winnebago Lutheran Academy in May of 2022. As a junior, he had a batting average of .436, tallied three home runs, 18 RBIs, and garnered first team all-conference, all-area team, and honorable mention all-state honors.

Jason Fink | 6-6 | RHP | Gillette, Wyoming | Campbell County High School

Huber on Fink: "At 6'6'' Jason is a big right-handed pitcher who is going to be a really physical guy in a couple of years. Once he focuses on pitching the sky's the limit and I think he is going to throw really hard. His stuff will improve as he develops. The ball already comes out of his hand really well."

High School: Fink will graduate from Campbell County High School in May of 2022. As a junior, he pitched 57.1 innings, held a record of 9-1 on the mound, and garnered all-state second team honors. Fink tallied 99 strikeouts as a junior and pitched 68.1 innings, helping his team to third place in the Gopher Classic.

Cole Goeser | 5-11| C/1B | Elkhorn, Nebraska | Elkhorn South High School

Huber on Goeser: "Cole can flat out hit. The little bit we have seen from him, he has shown us that ability is there. He plays the game hard and is a hard-working guy. He has played 1B and catcher in HS and we expect him to get bigger/stronger and fine tune his skills behind the plate."

High School:  Goeser will graduate from Elkhorn South High School in May of 2022. In the spring and summer of his junior year, Goeser had a .389 batting average, and scored 12 runs with 18 RBIs. He also earned academic all-state honors.

J.D. Hennen | 6-0 | RHP/IF | Alexandria, Minnesota | Alexandria Area High School

Huber on Hennen: "While JD is only 5'11" he has longer levers for his height and his arm works really well. We think he will really improve on the mound once he gets to college and refines his pitches. The stuff is going to be good for sure. If he commands the strike zone he could be very good."

High School: Hennen will graduate in June of 2022 from Alexandria Area High School. As a junior, he pitched 12.2 innings, tallying 18 strikeouts and holding an earned run average of 1.66. Hennen earned all-CLC honorable mention and was a member of the section 8 AAA tournament team.

Parker Mooney | 5-11 | IF | Omaha, Nebraska | Creighton Preparatory School

Huber on Mooney: "As a coach's kid we expect Parker to know the game and work hard at his craft. He can really hit, has a nice swing and adds a much-needed left-handed presence in our infield. He has played 1B, 2B, 3B and we like the position flexibility he has."

High School: Mooney will graduate from Creighton Preparatory School in May of 2022. In his junior season, Mooney held a batting average of .373 and an on base percentage of .510. Mooney recorded two home runs and 19 RBIs, earning Nebraska all-state honorable mention honors.

Jacob Ornelles | 6-0| IF | Honolulu, Hawai'i | Punahou School

Huber on Ornelles: "I saw Jacob this fall and immediately liked what I saw from him as an undersized player. Once he gets stronger I think he has a chance to be really good. He adds some great depth to our infield and has the ability to move around to a couple two or three spots there. At the plate, he has a solid swing and sneaky pop."

High School: Ornelles will graduate from Punahou School in June of 2022. As a junior, he hit .267 in a shortened season. Ornelles hit three RBIs and scored three runs, helping his team to second place in the ILH championship.

Ragan Pinnow | 6-1 | IF | River Falls, Wisconsin | River Falls High School

Huber on Pinnow: "Ragan is a baseball player, plain and simple. He isn't going to do anything crazy flashy but does everything really well. I see him as someone who comes in and immediately puts pressure on our older guys for playing time in the infield."

High School: Pinnow will graduate from River Falls High School in May of 2022. As a junior, he held a batting average of .394 and an on base percentage of .439. Pinnow had 20 RBIs and garnered second team all-conference and second team all-district honors.

Sam Ryberg | 6-2 | OF | Omaha, Nebraska | Creighton Preparatory School

Huber on Ryberg: "One of three left-handed hitters in this class, we are happy to add Sam to our OF mix. He was under the radar this year because he missed much of the year with an injury. After getting a chance to see his skills we were immediately impressed, and he fits our program well. As he fills out and matures, we expect to see his game really take off."

High School: Ryberg will graduate from Creighton Preparatory School in May of 2022. As a junior, Ryberg had a batting average of .289 and had 22 hits. He helped his team to the semi-finals of the state tournament in the same year.

Jack Sutton | 6-1| 3B/UTL | Sioux Falls, South Dakota | Harrisburg High School

Huber on Sutton: "Jack will be a legacy baseball player at Augie. It is always exciting to add someone who knows our program so well. He can really hit and is a physical guy at the plate. He has improved every year in high school and had an impressive offensive showing this past year. We look forward to seeing what he can do. He is a hard-working guy who puts a lot of time into his development. Jack is coming off an arm injury but will also be an option on the mound if healthy."

High School: Sutton will graduate from Harrisburg High School in May of 2022. As a junior, Sutton had a batting average of .395 and a slugging percentage of .593. He recorded three home runs and set a team record with 34 RBI's while helping his team to a state championship.

Brody Von Berge | 6-2 | RHP| Hudson, Wisconsin | Hudson High School

Huber on Von Berge: "Having twins on our team will be a first for me. They aren't even here yet and I'm confused already! Brody has the potential for a plus changeup and that pitch always plays at the college level. Clearly that is a good start and we are excited to see where the velocity goes with development as he has already shown mid 80s fastball velocity. That is a good combo to go with a changeup that he is very confident in."

High School: Von Berge will graduate from Hudson High School in May of 2022. As a junior, he pitched 19.1 innings, recorded 22 strikeouts, and his earned run average was 2.53. Von Berge garnered academic all-conference honors and helped his team to a conference championship.

Logan Von Berge | 6-2 | RHP | Hudson, Wisconsin | Hudson Senior High School

Huber on Von Berge: "Logan has shown a little more velocity than his brother and has been in the upper 80s at some events with his fastball. He is probably a bit of a different type of pitcher being more of a fastball-slider guy. Like his brother, he has a good pitcher frame, and we expect his development to really take off in college."

High School: Von Berge will graduate from Hudson High School in May of 2022. During his junior season, Von Berge pitched 18 innings, recorded 24 strikeouts, and had an earned run average of 2.00. Von Berge earned academic all-conference honors and was named an all-conference honorable mention pitcher.

--GoAugie.com--