Johnny Beck may be several months away from beginning his senior baseball season with the Rochelle varsity team, but the 6-foot-8-inch pitcher has taken the next step toward continuing his career beyond the high school level.
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Johnny Beck may be several months away from beginning his senior baseball season with the Rochelle varsity team, but the 6-foot-8-inch pitcher has taken the next step toward continuing his career beyond the high school level.
Beck announced on Twitter that he has given a verbal commitment to play baseball at Western Illinois University beginning in 2019. Beck made the announcement Thursday evening, and he said he plans to sign a National Letter of Intent in November.
“Western Illinois University just seemed like the perfect fit for me,” Beck said. “The campus was the ideal location for me and the coaches are very involved with me both academically and athletically. The team also plays great competition.”
Beck earned First-Team All-Conference recognition from the Northern Illinois Big 12 this past school year in both basketball and baseball. The left-handed pitcher headlined the Rochelle rotation this past season, going 7-1 with a 1.40 ERA while striking out 100 batters in just 58 innings for an average of 15.3 strikeouts per nine innings. He tossed six complete games including a no-hitter against Geneseo and a 17-strikeout effort against Belvidere.
“I’m looking forward to the higher level of competition the most,” Beck said. “I’m excited to be able to excel against Division I competition and take my talents to another level… I feel like I’m pretty good at keeping hitters off balance but I have a few things I’d definitely like to work on during my senior year and in college. A couple of things include increasing my velocity and developing a changeup.”
A two-sport athlete at Rochelle Township High School, Beck led the Rochelle varsity boys basketball team in scoring, blocks and rebounding en route to earning an Honorable Mention on the News-Gazette’s 86th All-State Boys Basketball Team. Beck also received All-Area recognition for baseball by the Rockford Register Star, and he was one of several RTHS athletes invited to attend the 2018 Best of Rock River Valley Preps Awards Banquet on Tuesday, June 26.
“Western Illinois will be getting a player that works insanely hard, and someone who wants to be as good as he can be,” Beck said. “I’m extremely passionate about baseball, and I think I can impact their program in a positive way.”
Beck said he plans to major in management and minor in business, and he said those two areas of education will give him the most opportunities to be successful when his baseball career is over.
