Funke, King make choices

Huntley senior left-handed pitcher Tanner Funke made a verbal commitment on Sunday to Southern Illinois University.

Funke went 7-4 for last spring for the Red Raiders with 1 save and a 1.98 ERA in 64 innings. He struck out 91 and walked 33. The SIU staff became interested after seeing Funke pitch at the Stevenson High School Showcase in June. They watched him again in July when Funke pitched for the McHenry County Hurricanes in the Bloomington Tournament of Champions.

SIU offered a scholarship on July 20, but Funke needed time to decide with offers from eight other Division-I schools on the table.

"The whole time I was afraid of losing SIU because it was just a great fit," Funke said. "(Playing professional baseball) is my ultimate goal and two of their pitchers are pitching in the pros now. I think they can definitely help me get where I eventually want to be."

Funke is the second area pitcher to commit to a Division-I college in the last month. Bartlett senior Kyle King committed to play at Creighton in early August.

Like Funke, King began drawing college interest after the Stevenson Showcase. He visited Creighton in late July and committed four days after he returned from Omaha.

"I love the facilities and the coaches are great," King said. "Creighton has always been a winning program. I couldn't be more excited."