Leatherneck Baseball Inks Four on Signing Day

Friday, November 10, 2023 | By: WIU ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS

MACOMB – The Western Illinois baseball program announced its 2023 November signing class on Wednesday, adding four new players to the roster.
Among the signees are pitchers Anthony Steinhoff and Max Tripure, centerfielder Justin Bogard and shortstop Wandel Campana.

"We are very excited to add these four guys to our program and they will all have an immediate impact and will be very exciting for Leatherneck fans to watch," coach Terry Davis said. "When identifying players that are going to help us change the culture of the program, we are looking for guys that are committed to being great players and have high expectations for themselves, are committed to doing something that's never been done before here at Western and want to play professional baseball and all four of these guys want to do that."

The class is the first November signing period class for Davis and his staff, as they look to build on the work done over the summer and this fall.

"As a coaching staff we identified in August exactly what we needed from a recruiting standpoint in this class, and we are off to a good start," Davis said. "Anytime you can go out and get two left-handed hitters who can play in the middle of the field, a 6'9 left-handed pitcher, and 88-91 three-pitch mix for strikes you're going to be excited about that. We feel really good about the athleticism in the middle of the field and now we just have fill in around that.

"Congratulations to our entire coaching staff, especially Recruiting Coordinator and Pitching Coach Max Fecske for putting together the beginnings of a great 2024 Recruiting Class that will move us closer to where we want to be as a program. We have work left to do but this is a great start. Go Necks."

Justin Bogard - 6'3 190 - LHH CF – Kaskaskia CC

"Justin is an electric athlete with professional tools across the board. Justin comes to us from Atlanta, Georgia by way of Kaskaskia CC and as a prep star was a member of the East Cobb Astros organization which is known as one of the most reputable summer organizations in the country," Davis said. "Justin is a great athlete, an even better person, and will have an immediate impact on our program."

Last season: 51 games, 47 hits, 43 runs, three home runs, 18 RBI, 22 stolen bases. Hit .303 with an on-base percentage of .415 and a slugging percentage of .452. Had a fielding percentage of 1.000.

Wandel Campana – 6'0 190 – LHH SS – Lincoln Land CC

"Wandel is a very athletic player that can play any position on the field and possesses a combination of strength, speed, and power offensively," the coach said. "In addition, Wandel is the type of player that we want in our program from a work ethic and toughness standpoint. Wandel will make everyone in this program better because of how good he wants Western to be and because of how great of a player he wants to be."

Last season: 52 games, .244 batting average, two home runs, 21 RBI, 45 runs, 20 stolen bases. Hit safely in 26 of 52 games, .458 on base percentage, 38 walks, .952 fielding percentage

Anthony Steinhoff – 6'9 220 – LHP – Iowa Central CC

"Anthony is a very projectable 6'9 LHP that has been up to 88 this fall and is nowhere near his full potential," Davis said. "The sky is the limit for Anthony, and we expect him to have an impact on the front end of our rotation. Anthony has the ability to create a really uncomfortable at bat for both left and right-handed hitters and we are excited that he is a part of our program!"

Max Tripure – 6'2 185 – RHP – Frontier CC

"Max will have an immediate impact on our pitching staff with his consistency and ability to command the zone," Davis said. "Max is 88-91 with three pitches for strikes and will look to play a big role for the Leathernecks on the mound upon arrival. Max is a model of consistency that we expect to show up daily and make others around him better and eat up a ton of innings on the mound."

Last season: 42 innings pitched, 16 appearances, three starts, one save. 35 hits, 57 strikeouts, 12.21 strikeouts per nine innings.

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