Warren's Kennedy commits to Jacksonville

Sean Kennedy's humbled self-description reminds you that he's still a high school kid.

"I don't have a full beard and I'm not ripped yet," the Warren senior said when asked about his potential to fill out his 6-foot-1 frame.

"I wish I could grow a full beard," he added with a laugh. "But I don't think it's going to happen."

Kennedy's arm is more developed.

A left-hander who posted 82 strikeouts in 62 innings pitched last spring and was the Blue Devils' ace with 6 wins, he signed a national letter of intent with Jacksonville University last week. The Dolphins play Division I ball as a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference.

Kennedy visited the Florida campus at the start of the school year and made a verbal commitment, choosing JU over Dayton and Ohio.

"They've got a good program and I really like it down there," he said.

The warm weather, which allows the Dolphins to play year-round, didn't hurt in Kennedy's decision process.

"It was a factor of course, but it wasn't the deciding factor," he said.

Kennedy is optimistic his best is yet to come. While he averaged more than a strikeout per inning as a junior, and says his fastball was clocked between 87-88 mph last summer at the Stevenson Showcase, he isn't a pitcher who relies on overpowering batters.

"My best pitch is my changeup," he said. "It's probably my out pitch against righties, and when I'm ahead in the count against lefties my out pitch is probably my slider."

Kennedy has been an integral member of Warren's varsity pitching staff since his sophomore year, earning all-conference and all-area honors last season. He pitched for the Kenosha Indians last summer, then shut it down for the fall.

"I played so much over the summer that I needed a little bit of a break," he said. "So I took the fall off and just worked on my mechanics and stuff like that."

There will be no shortage of Division I arms in Lake County in the spring. Other area pitchers who have signed include Stevenson's Scott Firth (Clemson), Brad Sorkin (Illinois State) and Matt Robin (Ohio); Libertyville's Troy Barton (Eastern Illinois) and Brooks McDowell (Southern Illinois-Edwardsville); Carmel's Joe Burg (Hofstra); and Wauconda's Bryce Lahrman (Dayton).

"It's definitely a strong year for the whole conference," Kennedy said. "I think there's going to be a lot of low-scoring games. I think we'll be able to put up numbers, though."