Drake Westcott’s fresh start paying off in big way
CHAMPAIGN (WCIA) — Now in his second season with the Illini, Drake Westcott calls transferring to his home state “the best decision I ever made.” The The Edwardsville native spent two seasons at Louisville but only played in 12 games. After redshirting his first year, Westcott hit .158 making one start with the Cardinals. He knew it was time for a change, ultimately landing in Champaign.
“Sometimes guys leave because they’re not playing, sometimes there’s baggage,” Illinois head coach Dan Hartleb said. “We did our homework on him and felt like he was a good fit.”
Turns out a change up in scenery was exactly what he needed. Westcott hit the ground running in Orange and Blue last season starting 51 games, hitting a team high 18 home runs and 47 RBI.
“The ability to just like play free and have an approach and go out there and just play free really I mean that’s honestly the biggest thing for me,” Westcott said. “I feel like I am able to tap into that more here than I was at my previous situation.”
And that mindset of playing free has carried into year two with the Illini. His 13 home runs are tied for third in the Big Ten.
“Drake’s meant a ton,” Illinois junior outfielder Ryan Moerman said. “Love playing with Big Diesel right there.”
“Off the field Drake is just a fun guy to be around,” Illinois senior catcher Jacob Schroeder said. “He’s funny, he likes to play golf, keeps guys loose.”
With a one game lead in the conference with two weekends left in the regular season, the Illini will look to Westcott to keep things loose. Something the transfer is more than comfortable doing as the Illini look to win a Big Ten title.
“We just go out here and have fun and the more fun you have, the better we’ve been playing,” Westcott said.
Illinois hosts Iowa this weekend for a three-game series starting Friday night at 6 p.m. in Champaign, before traveling to Purdue next weekend to close out the regular season.
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