'I can focus on myself': Inside Tremont sophomore's early commitment to Illini baseball

Baseball has suddenly become less stressful for Blaine Williams.

The Tremont sophomore-to-be verbally committed to the University of Illinois via social media last week, announcing his decision while also thanking his family, friends, coaches and teammates in the post. Williams, who is ranked No. 17 in the class of 2025 by Prep Baseball Report Illinois, has been recruited to play catcher for the Fighting Illini.

“Since my commitment, it's been a lot easier to not be worried about performing and playing well in front of all the scouts all the time,” he said. “Now, I can just focus more on myself — getting stronger, getting better at the game of baseball, and just performing on the field when I go (to Illinois).

“I mean, it's just more of me basically upgrading myself now until I get to the next level.”

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After attending an Illinois game in May, Williams says he loved it "all" at the Champaign-Urbana-based campus — the atmosphere, the fans and the facilities. Ultimately, he chose Illinois over several other Big Ten Conference schools.

A huge weight has also been lifted off Williams’ shoulders, ending the recruiting process with three years remaining in his high school career.

“(I) had been talking to a couple of schools,” he said, “but Illinois really just kind of fit really well for (me) because like I wanted to stay home — kind of represent our state when I can play (there) — and that way my family can come to my games.

“I've always liked the University of Illinois, too.”

Williams’ work ethic and athleticism — he’s taking reps as the varsity quarterback for the upcoming season — really stood out to Tremont coach Jesse Getz. Getz had gotten a chance to help coach Williams as an eighth-grader and knew what type of talent the 5-foot-11, 170-pounder possessed.

After playing just a few junior varsity games, Williams became the starting catcher for Tremont, which ended its season at 16-10 after losing in a Class 2A regional championship. He occupied the five-hole in the Turks lineup for most of the season, hitting .232 in 69 at-bats with two doubles, 14 RBIs, 19 runs scored and eight stolen bases.

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Williams, who also pitched a couple of varsity innings, made just one error in 147.2 innings and threw out five potential base stealers. He didn’t call pitches full-time but did in certain situations.

“He's just a naturally athletic kid,” Getz said, “and the work he puts in on top of that … it's pretty noticeable, really. As a freshman, he was built like an upperclassman almost.

“The kid just flat out hustles all the time. He doesn't have any reps that he takes off, I guess is the best way to put it. But that's another thing that really stood out to me. I mean, whether he's catching or just running the bases, I mean, he just plays the game hard.”

Recruiting freshmen as well as getting them to make a college choice has become common over the last 5-7 years, according to Ben Diggle. The owner of Diggle’s Diamonds, a central Illinois-based college baseball recruiting service, says it has evolved from getting players to commit following their sophomore season to now even earlier.

These recruiting tactics were started by many of the southern colleges and has trickled into the Midwest.

“Now, it’s sped up to getting freshman to commit,” said Diggle, who has helped 23 players reach professional baseball. “And that’s really an outgrowth of the big schools like your (Southeastern Conference) and (Atlantic Coast Conference) doing it. … (In) the so-called ‘Power Five’ schools, it’s fairly common.”

Securing the younger talent has become the main reason for the change in philosophy. In the case of Williams, he’s already throwing 84-87 miles per hour off the mound, has a 1.99 pop time and hits 85 mph on the radar from behind the plate.

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“Those are the kinds of numbers you see on a kid that’s a senior in high school these days,” Diggle said. “As a freshman, you assume, that they are no doubt going to get much better.”

Diggle estimates by the time Williams is a senior, he could end up throwing near 94 mph as a pitcher with his catcher velocity close to 88 mph.

“You're really just betting that (his numbers are) going to continue to go up at such a young age,” Diggle said.

Adam Duvall is a Journal Star sports reporter. Email him at aduvall@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @AdamDuvall.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Illini baseball recruiting: Tremont sophomore Blaine Williams commits