CHAMPAIGN — The 2019 Illinois baseball recruiting class is the last one for coach Dan Hartleb that came without the benefit of the Susan and Clint Atkins Baseball Training Center. The eight players Illinois signed Wednesday, plus three more Hartleb said he couldn't yet talk about, all picked the Illini without knowing a major facility upgrade was on the way.
"We got tons of texts," Hartleb said. "Our phones were blowing up from former players, guys that will be playing here in the future and a number of coaches — college and high school and summer league coaches — just talking about the impact this facility will have on our program long term.