The Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference (ISCC) and the NJCAA's Region 4 recognized seven Waubonsee Community College baseball players for their outstanding play this past spring. The Chiefs' Chazz Crook was named to the All-ISCC First Team and the All-Region Second Team squads, while Matthew Bivens was selected All-ISCC Second Team and All-Region Second Team. Garrett Peters and Jonny Marquez were each chosen All-ISCC Second team, with Dante Maietta tabbed All-Region Second Team. Maietta, Joel Johnson and Brian Wrenn were each named All-ISCC Honorable Mention. Chiefs' head coach Rodney Lopez was named the ISCC Baseball Coach of the Year after guiding Waubonsee to the league title.
Crook, a freshman from Orem, Utah batted .337 on the season with a team-leading 16 doubles and 46 runs batted in. The 6'4" shortstop also smacked three triples and a pair of home runs, scored 35 times, stole a dozen bases and compiled a .489 slugging percentage. A freshman from Yorkville, Bivens finished the season with a .352 batting average and a .447 on-base percentage. The versatile right-handed hitter also scored 33 runs, was hit-by-pitch a team-leading 13 times, and compiled a .969 fielding percentage splitting time between right field and first base.
Peters booked a team-leading .372 batting average with 46 runs scored. The sophomore from Geneva registered 70 hits including four triples and a pair of homers, while knocking in 35 runs and stealing 20 bases. The speedy centerfielder also committed only one error in 122 chances on the way to posting a .992 fielding percentage.
A left-handed hitter, Marquez ripped 11 doubles and four home runs to go along with 33 runs driven in during the season. The freshman from South Elgin High School finished with a .311 batting average, a .485 slugging percentage and drew 20 walks primarily serving as the Chiefs' designated hitter. Marquez was selected the NJCAA Division III Player of the Week for the second week of March after batting .500 with a double, a home run and five runs driven in during the Chiefs initial four games of their spring trip to Florida.
Maietta, a 6'3" and 220-pound right-handed pitcher finished with four wins over 11 appearances. The Morton West High School product struck out 42 batters in 39 and a third innings pitched, tossing five complete games in nine starts on the mound. The Berwyn native will be transferring to Benedictine University-Mesa in Arizona to continue his playing career.
Johnson, an Oswego High School graduate, batted .296 overall with a .437 on-base percentage as the lead-off hitter in the Chiefs' lineup. The left-handed, freshman outfielder scored 41 runs, stole 16 bases and drew a team-leading 33 walks. A right-handed pitcher from Geneva High School, Wrenn finished with a 3-3 record and a 4.19 earned run average over 34 and a third innings pitched. The sophomore tossed three complete games in six starts before an injury ended his season early. Wrenn will be continuing his collegiate career at Winona State University in Minnesota.
Waubonsee finished the season 30-27 overall and reached the Region 4 Division III Tournament championship game before falling to Joliet Junior College 10-6. The Chiefs went 12-2 in conference play to win the ISCC title for the eighth time and first time since 2014, the final year of long-time head coach Dave Randall's Hall of Fame career at Waubonsee. During the season the Chiefs scored wins over nationally-ranked Niagara County (NY) Community College, Herkimer (NY) Community College, Oakton Community College, the College of DuPage and Joliet Junior College on the way to receiving votes for the top-20 in the NJCAA Division III poll.
Chazz Crook Matthew Bivens Garrett Peters Jonny Marquez
Dante Maietta Joel Johnson Brian Wrenn Head Coach Rodney Lopez