Northwestern University Athletics
Baseball Announces Signings for 2001 Season
9/7/2000 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Sept. 7, 2000
EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern University baseball coach Paul Stevens has announced the signing of six players to national letters of intent. They will begin play with the Wildcats this spring.
"We believe this is an outstanding class," said Stevens, who enters his 14th season as the Wildcats' coach. "We expect a number of them to step right into our lineup, based on their skills, speed and work ethic. These are some young men who will be impact players at Northwestern and in the Big Ten."
Northwestern's freshman class features three players who were honorable mention All-America in USA Today, including David Gresky (North Royalton, Ohio/St. Ignatius) who was named the Player of the Year in Ohio. Gresky was also a 22nd-round pick of the Florida Marlins in June's Major League Baseball draft.
Several Chicago-area players will stay close to home. Dan Pohlman (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) and Jason Krynski (Niles, Ill./Niles West) were all-state players, while Josh Lieberman (Mundelein, Ill/Mundelein) was an all-area pick by several publications last spring at Mundelein. Another local, Steve Haake (Belleville, Ill./Gibault), transfers to Northwestern after spending two years at Southwestern Illinois College.
The group is rounded out by Dan Konecny (Ripon, Wis./Ripon), an all-state pitcher. Konecny, who stands 6-5, went 11-0 as a senior and boasted a 0.57 earned-run average.
Last year, Northwestern went 30-27 overall and finished sixth in the Big Ten. That qualified them for the conference's postseason tournament, where they were eliminated by losses to Minnesota and Ohio State.
NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY BASEBALL
THE CLASS OF 2004
DAVID GRESKY
6-3 * 200 * L/L * North Royalton, Ohio/St. Ignatius
High School: 22nd-round pick of the Florida Marlins in the 2000 MLB draft ... USA Today Ohio State Player of the Year as a senior ... Cleveland Plain Dealer Player of the Year ... Tri-County Catholic League MVP ... Cuyahoga County Player of the Year ... Set school single-season records for hits (50), home runs (10) and RBI (51) ... Led team to first state championship game ... 1999 National 18-year-old Student-Athlete of the Year ... 1998 AAU Lake Erie Association Baseball MVP ... Also lettered in football at St. Ignatius, led team to Division 1 state title as a senior ... Won 2000 Wirtz Award as top athlete at St. Ignatius ... National Honor Society member.
STEVE HAAKE
6-1 * 180 * L/R * Belleville, Ill./Gibault -- JC TRANSFER
College: Comes to Northwestern from Southwestern Illinois College ... Earned all-conference as a sophomore (Great Rivers Athletic) ... Hit .385 with six home runs and 48 RBI ... 57 stolen bases in two years ... Athletic honor roll student both years.
High School: Lettered as a senior in baseball ... Team MVP ... Hit .395 with three home runs, 34 RBI ... Also had 16 doubles ... St. Louis Post-Dispatch third-team all-metro ... Belleville News Democrat honorable mention all-area ... Baseball team went 28-7 and made regional final ... Also lettered in basketball.
DAN KONECNY
6-5 * 205 * R/R * Ripon, Wis./Ripon
High School: Lettered two times in baseball, earning first-team All-East Central Conference both times ... As a senior, went 11-0 on the mound with a 0.57 ERA ... In 69 innings, struck out 108 batters and walked just 28 ... First-team all-state ... Conference and Area Player of the Year ... All-USA Today Honorable Mention ... Baseball team won state championship his senior year ... Also lettered in basketball and football ... Wisconsin State All-Star in baseball and basketball (coaches association) ... Academic All-State in baseball and basketball ... Vice President of his class at Ripon.
JASON KRYNSKI
6-3 * 190 * R/R * Niles, Ill./Niles West
High School: Three-year letterwinner ... Set school single-season records for batting average (.541), hits (60), home runs (11) and RBI (50) as a senior ... On the mound, went 7-1 with a 1.63 ERA ... Chicago Tribune first-team all-state ... Chicago Sun-Times first-team all-area ... Pioneer Press first-team all-area ... All-USA Today Honorable Mention ... Played in Illinois Coaches Association East/West All-State Game ... Participated in IHSA's 2000 Hitting Derby ... Also lettered two times apiece in basketball and golf.
JOSH LIEBERMAN
5-10 * 165 * R/R * Mundelein, Ill./Mundelein
High School: Three-year letterwinner in baseball ... Set school career records for hits (124) and triples ... Last year, set school single-season records for runs (49) and stolen bases (22) ... Team had three successive best-ever seasons, going 23-12 in 1998, 28-10 in 1999 and 32-5 in 2000 ... 2000 team won North Suburban Conference title for first time in 19 years ... 2000 All-State shortstop by Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association ... 2000 All-State Special Mention by Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times ... Two-time Daily Herald Lake County All-Area ... Pioneer Press All-Area in 2000 ... Two-time All-North Suburban Conference ... Three-time winner of Pioneer Press Golf Glove ... Two-time Academic All-North Suburban Conference.
DAN POHLMAN
6-1 * 225 * R/R * Barrington, Ill./Barrington
High School: Four-year letterwinner in baseball ... Hit .404 as a sophomore, .434 as a junior and .510 as a senior ... 35 career home runs and 145 career RBI ... Three-time all-conference (Mid-Suburban West) and all-area ... Two-time Chicago Sun-Times first-team all-state ... Daily Herald Player of the Year ... Chicago Tribune and Daily Herald Chicago Athlete of the Year ... Academic all-state three times ... Academic all-conference.
