Braden Babcock cracks Top 100

Baseball Oshawa Legionaires Elite program graduate Braden Babcock (McCook College NE) is ranked 97th in the recent Perfect Game Junior College Top 150 Prospects in North America. One of 3 Canadians ranked in the Top 100 https://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=17809

Babcock was one of three McCook Community College baseball players who signed letters of intent Wednesday, November 14 to continue their athletic careers at four-year schools. National Signing Day, the first day student/athletes can sign a contract to play at the junior college level or sign with an NAIA school was a monumental one for the former Maxwell Heights Secondary School student.

Babcock, a 6-foot-3, 225 pound sophomore signed on to play at Southern Illinois, an NCAA Division I school in Carbondale, Ill., part of the Missouri Valley Conference. Twenty-four Saluki alumni have gone on to the Major Leagues including former Toronto Blue Jays pitcher and seven-time all-star Dave Stieb, and two-time all-star Steve Finley. Southern Illinois has played in the NCAA tournament 14 times and in the College World Series five times.
"They have a great reputation for winning and play in an awesome conference, and a brand new coaching staff from some high-level teams," Babcock said in a release by the McCook Indians.
During his freshman campaign Babcock tied Vargas for the team lead with 10 starts. Babcock was second on the squad in innings pitched with 58.2. He went 4-5 on the season with a 3.53 ERA and a complete game. He struck out 64, allowed 58 hits and walked 30. At the Region IX Sophomore All-Star game in Arizona, he was clocked between 87-90 mph and struck out all five of the batters he faced. He was named to the Omaha World-Herald all Junior College team in June.
Babcock said Southern Illinois reached out to him right off the bat, and maintained interest all through the recruiting process.
"I've really enjoyed friendships and relationships I've made here," Babcock said. "The culture is so much different here than you will see at D1 schools. You just get so much closer to your friends, your coaching staff and the players on your team."