Eastern Michigan Athletics

EMU Baseball Adds 11 for 2016 Campaign

EMU Baseball Adds 11 for 2016 Campaign

7/31/2015 10:00:00 AM | Baseball

Head Coach Mark Van Ameyde adds five pitchers and six position players to the roster


Complete Release (PDF).

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- Eastern Michigan University Head Baseball Coach Mark Van Ameyde  announced that 11 student-athletes will join the program starting in the 2015-16 school year after signing national letters of intent.  

Josh Bravin (Las Vegas, Nev.-Silverado-Palomar College), Caleb Hester (Coloma, Mich.-Coloma), Robert Iacobelli (Rochester Hills, Mich.-Brother Rice), Antonio Jacobs (Bay City, Mich.-John Glenn-Spartanburg Methodist), Drake Lubin (West Bloomfield, Mich.-Walled Lake Northern), John Rensel (Tallmadge, Ohio-Tallmadge), Kevin Shul (Albuquerque, N.M.-Albuquerque Academy-Southern Nevada), Jeremy Stidham (Colorado Springs, Colo.-Sand Creek-Colby C.C.), Joey Sweigart (Saline, Mich.-Saline), Justin Thompson (Canton, Mich.-Plymouth-Concordia University) and Jake Weiss (Marietta, Ga.-George Walton Comprehensive) have all decided to continue their baseball careers as members of the EMU baseball program.

"I want to thank my assistant coaches Eric Roof and Spencer Schmitz for their tireless work in helping put together this recruiting class,"  Van Ameyde said. "We have really invested our time and effort into the recruiting process and feel we addressed a number of needs with these young men. We are always looking for the right fit for our program and these student/athletes will be great representatives of Eastern Michigan and the baseball program. As with our early signees, more than half of these players are from Michigan which will continue to be a priority for us moving forward."

The signing class consists of six young men who hail from the state of Michigan as well as student-athletes from Colorado, Georgia, New Mexico, Nevada and Ohio. Six of the signees will have graduated from high school in the spring of 2015 while five others come from the collegiate ranks.

The 11 incoming players join Tyler Butzin (Dearborn, Mich.-John F. Kennedy), Gary Clift Jr. (Brunswick, Ohio-Brunswick), Davis Feldman (Warren, Mich.-Brother Rice), Thomas Lindeman (Milan, Mich.-Milan) and Max Schuemann (Portage, Mich.-Portage Northern) who each signed earlier in the year.

The Eagles will play a 56-game schedule in 2016 as the team will open up the regular season in the state of Florida, Feb. 19. The complete schedule will be released later this fall.

Below are profiles of the 11 new signees...

Josh Bravin     RHP     R/R    6-1    185    Jr.-Jr.    Las Vegas, Nev.-Silverado-Palomar College

EMU: 2016: Transferred to EMU from Palomar College...PALOMAR: In 2015, appeared in nine games posting a 0.00 ERA in 10.2 innings of work...Had a save and a .161 batting average against as a sophomore....Selected to the 2014 California Community College Baseball Coaches Association Fall Showcase...Part of a team that advanced to the 2015 California State Final Four while finishing as both 2014 and 2015 PCAC Champions...Team was the No. 1 seed in the Southern California Playoffs and the Comets were named the No. 9 team in nation by PerfectGame USA with a 37-8 overall record...HIGH SCHOOL: Attended Silverado and played for Head Coach Brian Whitaker...Notched a 5-2 record with 54 strikeouts in 40 innings as a senior, also had a .337 average at the plate...Part of a team that was the 2012 Southeast League Champions and the 2012 Region Championship Runner-Up...Pitched and got the win with a complete game five-hitter in the regional semifinal game...PERSONAL: Full name: Joshua Michael Bravin...Son of Bob and Kathleen Bravin...Has sister, Chelsea...Major: Exercise Science.

Caleb Hester     LHP    L/L    5-11    170    Fr.-Fr.    Coloma, Mich.-Coloma

EMU: 2016: One of the incoming recruits...HIGH SCHOOL: Played for Head Coach Kevin VanPeteghem at Coloma...Was a four-time letterwinner for the Comets...As a senior, recorded 119 strikeouts and a 1.15 ERA...Went on a stretch of 23.1 innings pitched without giving up a hit...Posted consecutive no hitters...Both as a junior and a senior, set the school record for most strikeout in a seven-inning game with 18...Selected the Offensive MVP as a sophomore and the Defensive MVP as both a junior and senior...Honors by him teammaters with the Ultimate Grinder Award in 2015...Named all-conference all four years, including adding all-district honors as a senior...Led conference in strikeouts in his final year...A three-sport athlete also playing basketball and football...PERSONAL: Full name: Caleb Micheal Hester...Son of Kevin Hester and Amy Johnson...Has three brothers, Tyler, Joshua and Elijah, and four sisters, Grace, Faith, Hope and Charity...Major: Undecided.

Robert Iacobelli    C    R/R    6-1    195    Fr.-Fr.    Rochester Hills, Mich.-Brother Rice

EMU: 2016: One of the incoming recruits...HIGH SCHOOL: Played for Head Coach Bob Riker at Brother Rice...Was a three-time letterwinner for the Warriors...In 2015, posted a .390 average with three home runs...Named to the Catholic All-Academic Team as well as the Perfect Game All-Central Regional Team...Part of teams that won three Catholic League titles, one State Championship runner-up, two district titles and one regional...In the summer of his sophomore year was the AABC MVP of the State Championship Series...PERSONAL: Full name: Robert Michael Iacobelli...Son of Al and Susanne Iacobelli...Has a sister, Stephanie...Major: Undecided.

Tone Jacobs     RHP     R/R    6-1    210    So.-So.    Bay City, Mich.-John Glenn-Spartanburg Methodist

EMU: 2016: Transferred to EMU from Spartanburg Methodist College...SPARTANBURG METHODIST: Appeared in six games, posting a 2-2 record with a 2.87 ERA...Tossed 15.2 innings with 13 strikeouts and a .242 batting average against...HIGH SCHOOL: Attended Bay City John Glenn and played for Head Coach Jeff Hartt...As a senior, went 7-2 with an 0.61 ERA and 75 strikeouts....Only allowed 11 hits during the year as he posted a school-best nine saves...Named team MVP, all-district, all-region, dream team, all-state while grabbing a spot on the MHSBCA all-star game roster during his final year...Part of a team that was a state semifinalist in 2012 while earning conference titles 2011 and 2014....PERSONAL: Full name: Antonio DeVonte Jacobs...Son of Haleshia Morris...Has two sisters, Destiny and Makiya Morris...Major: Accounting.

Drake Lubin     OF     R/L    5-10    170    Fr.-Fr.    West Bloomfield, Mich.-Walled Lake Northern

EMU: 2016: One of the incoming recruits...HIGH SCHOOL: Played for Head Coach Kevin LaPlante at Walled Lake Northern...Was a three-time letterwinner for the Knights...As a senior, earned all-conference, all-district and all-county honors after racking up honorable mention all-state accolades as a junior...Was a member of the 2014 KLAA North Division Championship team that went 23-7...In 2015, scored 35 runs, while hitting over .350...Also pitched a school-best 8-1 record with a 0.87 ERA...In 2014, posted a .452 batting average with an OBP of .558 while scoring a single-season record 39 runs...His 42 hits as a junior rank second most in a single-season in school history...Also holds the school's career records in runs scored, wins, and ERA while finishing in the top in average, OBP, and hits...Underwent Tommy John surgery in October of 2013...Also played basketball, leading the team in scoring...PERSONAL: Full name: Drake Edward Lubin...Son of Jay and Mary Lubin...Has one brother, Cole...Major: Business.

John Rensel     1B     L/R    6-4    230    Fr.-Fr.    Tallmadge, Ohio-Tallmadge

EMU: 2016: One of the incoming recruits...HIGH SCHOOL: Played for Head Coach Kenny Linn at Tallmadge...Was a three-time letterwinner and two-time captain for the Blue Devils...As a senior, posted a .330 batting average with eight double and 10 RBI and a 2-0 record on the mound after missing first 10 games due to illness...Twice collected all-league honors while helping his teams to a pair of district championships...Also played football and basketball...PERSONAL: Full name: John Albion Rensel Jr..Son of John and Juli Rensel... Has a brother, Jake, and a sister, Zoe...Major: Undecided.

Kevin Shul     RHP     R/R    6-3    235    Jr.-Jr.    Albuquerque, N.M.-Albuquerque Academy-Southern Nevada

EMU: 2016: Transferred to EMU from College of Southern Nevada...COLLEGE OF SOUTHERN NEVADA: Appeared in nine games out of the bullpen for the Coyotes...Struck out seven batters in 11.2 innings pitched...HIGH SCHOOL: Attended Albuquerque Academy...Three-time letterwinner...Named First Team All-State, First Team All-District, First Team All-Metro, and was a New Balance All-American as an infielder...Elected team captain one season...PERSONAL: Full name: Kevin Rudy Shul...Son of Randy and Linda Shul...Has one brother, Craig, who played baseball at UNLV...Major: Exercise Science.

Jeremy Stidham     C/OF     R/R    5-10    180    Jr.-Jr.    Colorado Springs, Colo.-Sand Creek-Colby C.C.

EMU: 2016: Transferred to EMU from Colby Community College...COLBY C.C.: Played for Head Coach Ryan Carter as a Trojan...As a sophomore, earned second team all-conference honors after garnering all-conference honorable mention accolades as a freshman...In 2015, he hit .286 with five home runs, three triples, 28 RBI and 32 runs scored to go along with 11 steals...HIGH SCHOOL: Played for Head Coach Mark Bowers at Sand Creek High School...Was a three-time letterwinner and twice selected captain...Set the school's career runs scored record at 84, while also setting the all-time mark for hits (74), triples (9) and stolen bases (37)...As a senior posted a .431 batting average while earning second team all-conference honors...Also earned second team all-league accolades as a junior after picking up honorable mention recognition as a sophomore...PERSONAL: Full name: Jeremy Jacob Stidham...Son of Gerald and Cynthia Stidham...Has one brother, Joshua...Major: Criminal Justice.

Joey Sweigart    OF    L/R    5-8    150    Fr.-Fr.    Saline, Mich.-Saline

EMU: 2016: One of the incoming recruits...HIGH SCHOOL: Played for Head Coach Scott Theisen at Saline...Was a three-time letterwinner and a captain for the Hornets...Part of a team with the highest winning percentage in Saline history senior year (35-3)...Posted a 91-20 overall record in his three years...As the lead-off hitter in 2015, hit .404 and led the team with 32 runs scored and 19 stolen bases...Tied the school's career steals mark with 60...Was twice selected first team all-conference and all-district...During his season year, picked up all-region honors...Selected as the team's Defensive MVP both his junior and senior years, as we was error less in 84 fielding chances (51-for-51 junior year, 43-for-43 senior year)...Had .400 average with 43 runs, 26 steals, 23 walks for a .510 OBP as a junior...Four-year academic honor roll honoree...PERSONAL: Full name: Joseph Russell Sweigart...Son of Jim and Susie Sweigart... Has a sister, Michelle...Major: Business.

Justin Thompson    RHP    R/R    5-11    165    Jr.-Jr.     Canton, Mich.-Plymouth-Concordia University

EMU: 2016: Transferred to EMU from Concordia Unversity...CONCORDIA: In 2013, appeared in 10 games posting a 2-1 record and a 6.52 ERA out of the bullpen....In 17.2 innings of work, stuck of three batters...HIGH SCHOOL: Played for Head Coach Bryan Boyd at Plymouth High School...As a senior, received the team's award for Pitcher of the Year and was named to the all-conference team...Posted a .310 batting average to go along with a  2.10 ERA and a 7-2 record on the mound...PERSONAL: Full name: Justin Thompson...Son of Joel and Diane Thompson...Has one sister, Nichole...Major: Criminal Justice.

Jake Weiss    OF    R/R    5-11    175    Fr.-Fr.    Marietta, Ga.-George Walton Comprehensive

EMU: 2016: One of the incoming recruits...HIGH SCHOOL: Played for Head Coach Russ Dickerson at George Walton Comprehensive High School...A leading national college scouting organization, ranked the all-purpose outfielder, as a top-20 national Division I prospect in June 2014...Played on three separate teams: the 18U Titans in Marietta, Ga; the East Cobb Baseball High School team in Marietta, Ga.; and the 18U Schaumburg Seminoles in Chicago, Ill....In 2014, participated in the Perfect Game's WWBA World Championship, a tournament which featured some of the best rising stars in the game....In seven games, hit .356 and had a perfect fielding percentage...In 2013, his 16U East Cobb Titans, won a national championship at the Sandlot World Series in Nashville...Began his baseball career at the age of five, and started playing as a member of year-round travel clubs at the age of 11 out of East Cobb Baseball, the nations' leading baseball development organization tagged by Sports Illustrated as the "nation's MLB Baseball factory"...PERSONAL: Full name: Jake Michael Weiss...Son of Scott and Marci...Mother is a 1981 EMU graduate...Has two sisters, Alexandra and Monica...Major: Business.
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