Libertyville’s Barton makes top prospects ranking
By John Leuschjleusch@dailyherald.comFormer Libertyville High School and Eastern Illinois baseball pitcher Troy Barton was named among the Valley League Top 35 Prospects by Perfect Game USA for his performances on the diamond this summer.
Barton was selected at No. 24.
He is the fifth-ranked college junior in The Valley Baseball League Top 35 List. He led his team, the Covington Lumberjacks, to the 2011 Valley Baseball League championship series by striking out eight in a 3-1 win over the Winchester Royals.
Barton helped lead the Covington Lumberjacks to a 27-25 overall record and a Valley Baseball League championship this summer.
He concluded the summer with a 2-2 record and a 2.40 ERA. He had the second most strikeouts on the team (44) in 45.0 innings of work.
The Valley League was formed in 1923 and became a NCAA-sanctioned league in 1961. Although the NCAA no longer has direct involvement with summer leagues, the league still operates under NCAA rules. The league adopted wooden bats in 1993.
The VBL is funded in part by a grant from Major League Baseball and is a member of the National Alliance of College Summer Baseball, a national affiliation of summer leagues. The league has produced well over 1,000 professional baseball players, including a record 79 former players drafted in the 2008 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
Women#146;s soccer
A goal by freshman Elise Kotsakis (Fremd) in the 68th minute and a shutout defensive effort by the Butler women#146;s soccer team gave the Bulldogs a 1-0 win at Indiana State Friday evening.
The game-winner was scored on the end of a dangerous 7-pass combo. The key moment was when junior Rachael Melendez sent a pass down the right side to freshman Lucy Chauvin. The freshman beat her defender and served a ball into the 6-yard box, where Kotsakis headed the ball into the net.
The goal, Kotsakis#146; second of the season, came officially at 67:56.
#147;Elise is a goal scorer,#148; said Butler head coach Tari St. John. #147;She plays the game optimistically and gets herself in great position on the field,#148;
Women#146;s volleyball
Wisconsin-Milwaukee freshman Kayla Price (Fremd) was named to the all-tournament team at the ASU Sheraton Classic.
Price, making her collegiate debut, averaged 9.54 assists per set while adding 34 digs and six kills.
Women#146;s basketball
Former Rolling Meadows basketball player Jimmy Colloton always wanted to be a basketball coach.
His father Jay is a longtime area coach and currently assistant in the Hoffman Estates girls basketball program.
Jay, an Arlington High School graduate, used to be an assistant to former Wheeling girls basketball coach Rachel Bauer in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
#147;I can remember going to every practice with my dad when he coached at Wheeling back then and thinking that I wanted to coach college hoops,#148; Jimmy said.
But he never imagined he would end up doing it in Bloomington, Ind., only months after graduating from Wittenberg University.
#147;It#146;s a dream come true and I#146;m so thankful that coach (Felisha-Legette) Jack took a chance on me,#148; Colloton said.
Legette-Jack, the Indiana head women#146;s basketball coach, added Colloton to her staff as graduate assistant. Colloton began the official duties in his new role on Monday, Aug. 1.
#147;To be able to learn from the staff here at Indiana will be invaluable,#148; said Colloton, who graduated with honors from Wittenberg while achieving a 3.95 GPA and earned his way to the dean#146;s list honor roll in each of his eight semesters.
He graduated in May with an economics degree after being a student assistant coach for four years. That experience culminated with a second round trip to the Division III NCAA tournament in 2011.
Colloton also worked men#146;s basketball camps at Illinois, Wisconsin, Purdue, Wittenberg and Notre Dame during his undergrad years.
During his senior year, he sent out over 400 letters to men#146;s and women#146;s basketball programs expressing his interested in college coaching.
#147;I only received two responses, one from Florida State#146;s women#146;s program and one from Indiana,#148; he said. #147;I also applied to about 100 other coaching jobs over the summer.#148;
His responsibilities as a graduate assistant on Legette-Jack#146;s staff are primarily office related.
Colloton will oversee the managers and male practice players as well as assist in all aspects of basketball operations. He is in a two-year graduate program for Sports Management at Indiana and expects to complete it by May of 2013.
#147;I am thrilled that Jimmy has joined our Hoosier family,#148; Legette-Jack said. #147;After meeting him the first day, he just seemed like a great fit for our staff. He is hungry to learn and is very humble and willing to do whatever he can to help us get better. His last coach, whom I have great respect for, thinks he is one of the hardest workers he has encountered. We welcome Jimmy to Bloomington with open arms.#148;
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