DETROIT - Wayne State University head baseball coach Ryan Kelley has announced that five prospective student-athletes signed National Letters of Intent to enroll at WSU in the fall and join the baseball program.
Two student-athletes,
Christian Bilkovic (West Bloomfield, Mich.) and
Mark Lepri (Shelby Twp., Mich./Utica Eisenhower), signed their NLIs in November. Three others joined them this past spring -
Ryan Buter (North Muskegon, Mich.),
Jeff Sorenson (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson) and
Kirk Stambaugh (Sylvania, Ohio./Southview).
"We are excited about this recruiting class. These individuals have experienced significant success on the field. However, they have also performed very well academically," said Kelley. "We look forward to them joining the WSU family and helping us reach our goals on and off the field."
Bilkovic, who played three years West Bloomfield’s varsity squad, posted a 5-4 record with a 3.70 ERA as a senior. The left-hander also hit .310 with 19 doubles. As a junior, Bilkovic went 3-0 with a 3.50 ERA.
Lepri batted .417 with six home runs and 35 RBI as a senior at Utica Eisenhower last spring. The catcher/first baseman was named Eisenhower’s offensive MVP and was selected to play in the MHSBCA East-West All-Star Game at Comerica Park. In addition to earning second team all-state status in 2010, Lepri was a two-time all-county and all-conference selection. He hit .434 with 31 RBI in 2009 and was named Eisenhower’s “Breakout Player of the Year.”
Buter comes in to WSU already with collegiate experience, having played two years at Kellogg Community College. Last season, he tied for the national lead in NJCAA Division II with 28 doubles while batting .431 with seven home runs and team-best totals in RBI (52) and runs scored (49). Buter had an impressive high school career at North Muskegon, where he owns or shares 13 school records. He hit .565 as a senior and led the Norsemen to the semifinals of the state tournament in 2008.
A four-year varsity letterwinner at Livonia Stevenson, Sorenson batted .427 with a school-record 12 home runs and 50 runs batted in as a senior. He also went 5-2 on the mound with a 1.02 ERA, collecting 90 strikeouts with only 10 walks in 48 innings pitched. A first-team all-state selection, he was also chosen to play in the East-West All-Star Game. Sorenson graduated in possession of eight school records as well as a pair of no-hitters.
Stambaugh went 9-1 as the ace of a Sylvania Southview staff which led the team to the regional semifinals in 2010. A four-year varsity letterwinner for the Cougars, Stambaugh was a .400 hitter in his last two seasons and went 7-0 on the mound as a junior. He was a two-time all-league and all-district selection.
These five student-athletes will help to offset the loss of a nine-member senior class from the 2010 squad which won 32 games, earned the GLIAC regular-season and tournament championships, and advanced to the NCAA Midwest Regional.