Gaedele achieves goal at Valparaiso

Kyle Gaedele had a goal when he came to Rolling Meadows as a freshman.

The senior achieved his plan of playing Division I baseball Monday night when he made a verbal commitment to play for Valparaiso University.

"I like everything about it," Gaedele said. "I think it was the best choice."

Gaedele visited the Valparaiso campus with his parents Labor Day weekend.

He also visited and had an offer from Eastern Illinois and had an offer from Eastern Kentucky, where Arlington American Legion teammate Tim Scanlan committed nearly two weeks ago.

Valparaiso went 22-34 in its first year under head coach Tracy Woodson, who played for the 1988 World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers in a five-year major-league career. Assistant coach Brian Schmack is a 1991 Meadows graduate who pitched for the Detroit Tigers in 2003.

Valparaiso's current freshman class includes Daily Herald All-Area players Ryan O'Gara and Steve Godawa (Buffalo Grove) and Arlington Legion teammate Will Hagel (Prospect).

"They have a great perspective on what they want to do," Gaedele said. "They just had their first actual recruiting class. I like what they're trying to do."

Gaedele hit .354 with 6 homers and 26 RBI and was 5-5 with a 3.10 ERA, 51 strikeouts and 35 walks last spring. As a sophomore, he hit .343 with a homer and 19 RBI and was 6-4 with a 3.50 ERA, 44 strikeouts and 26 walks.

Gaedele said he'll definitely play the outfield and also get a chance to pitch.

"They said I have a very good opportunity to play right away," said Gaedele, who has a 4.24 grade point average on a 5.0 scale and a 22 ACT and is undecided on his major. "They expect me to come in and play and I liked that about it."

What also made Gaedele happy will be signing his letter intent in the early period in November. The All-Area basketball player led the Mid-Suburban League in scoring last season at 17.5 points a game.

"I wanted to get it done before basketball and baseball started, so I didn't have so much pressure to succeed," Gaedele said. "I always want to succeed, but now I can worry about winning."