Carlson takes Wildcats pitch

Jon Carlson had some good options for his college baseball career.

The 6-foot-3 Rolling Meadows left-hander made visits to Kentucky and California. Louisville also showed serious interest.

But after a trip to Kentucky's campus this weekend, Carlson decided to throw his strikes for the Wildcats. He made a verbal commitment Tuesday night and made it official by signing a letter of intent Wednesday.

"I really got along with all three coaches (head coach Gary Henderson and assistants Brad Bohannon and Brian Green) and they play in one of the best conferences," said Carlson of the Southeastern Conference. "That really made my decision."

Carlson and hard-throwing Conant righty Walt Wijas, who made a commitment earlier this fall, will join what has become one of the SEC's top programs. The Wildcats tied the school victory record with 44 last season and went to the NCAA regional finals.

Baseball America ranked Kentucky's 2009 recruiting class the fourth-best in the nation. Carlson said he was brought in strictly to pitch and was one of two lefties in its 2010 recruiting class.

"There will be a lot of opportunities and chances to get playing time," Carlson said.

Carlson was a Daily Herald All-Area pick who helped Meadows win the Mid-Suburban East title. He was 3-1 with 2 saves, a 4.14 ERA, 59 strikeouts and 30 walks in 502/3 innings.

As a sophomore, Carlson was 2-3 with a 3.04 ERA and 56 strikeouts in 48 innings. He has a "B" average and plans to study communications or business.

Carlson, who said he was hitting 88-89 mph on the radar gun this summer, was glad to get the process completed early.

"I didn't want to wait until April to make a decision," Carlson said. "I wanted to worry about playing baseball for my high school team. Now it's all done and taken care of."

• Palatine senior righty Dan Huenecke also will take care of his college future Friday when he signs with Belmont University in Nashville.

Huenecke also had interest from Valparaiso and a scholarship offer from Division II Lewis. He said he was at a travel tournament in Kentucky about six weeks ago when Belmont coaches saw him pitch.

"I really liked the coaches and the campus was nice," Huenecke said. "It had a lot to doo with the coaches and I felt good about everything with them. I felt they were going to work with me a lot and give me a good shot my freshman year."

Huenecke is 11-7 in his varsity career with a 4.68 ERA, 61 strikeouts and 53 walks in 881/3 innings. He will join a Belmont program that suffered just its second losing season in the last six.

Academics were also a high priority for Huenecke, who is leaning toward studying chemistry, has a weighted 4.3 grade point average and scored 29 on the ACT.

"I wanted to go somewhere I'd come out with a degree that mattered.

"I really liked the coaches and the school and everything worked out. Everything fell into place."

Hard-throwing Fremd righty Mike Schoolcraft committed earlier this fall to the University of Illinois-Chicago.