CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) -- As he spent his second season at Kankakee Community College, Casey Fletcher was about a day away from accepting the best offer he had to keep playing baseball - at Morehead State in Kentucky.
At the last minute, an assistant coach from Illinois offered him a shot at making the roster. No scholarship, just a chance to walk on.
The son and grandson of Illinois graduates, Fletcher took it. And two seasons later, it couldn't have worked out much better.
The senior outfielder is one of the top hitters on one of the top teams (47-8-1) in college baseball, one that won 27 games in a row and is set to host the first NCAA regional in school history.