Ball State University Athletics
Baseball Inks Four Recruits for 2016 Season
November 13, 2014 | Baseball
Four student-athletes – CJ Alexander, Maverick Bacon, Nick Floyd and Trent Theisen – have signed national letters of intent to attend Ball State and compete on the baseball team, according to head coach Rich Maloney.
“We are excited to welcome these four talented young men into our Ball State family,” Maloney said. “We have a good thing going here and these young men will have the challenge of continuing the progression of the players who have come before them. I want to commend the job of recruiting coordinator Scott French and pitching coach Todd Linklater on landing these outstanding young men.”
Alexander is a senior shortstop at Bishop Verot High School in Florida, but was born in Merrillville, Ind., and attended Crown Point High School before moving to Florida. Alexander batted .380 as a junior and earned BVHS Player of the Week honors on a number of occasions. The son of Chuck and Paula Alexander, CJ's father played baseball with Coach Maloney at Western Michigan and Chuck went on to play five years of professional baseball.
“CJ Alexander is a 6'4 wiry right handed pitcher and infielder,” Maloney said. “CJ has grown nine inches in the last two years and epitomizes the term, late bloomer. He is very athletic and has a bright future. CJ has a plus arm, good actions and the makings of a plus hitter. We expect at some point in his career for him to be a two-way player for Ball State.”
Bacon is from Waynetown, Ind., and in his final season at North Montgomery High School playing for Coach Matt Voorhees. An All-Sagamore Athletic Conference selection as a junior after earning second-team honors in his first two seasons, Bacon managed a .553 batting average last spring. He tallied 29 runs-batted-in, 33 runs scored and five saves for the Chargers. A team captain as a junior and senior, Bacon was the Journal Review Player of the Year and made the Lafayette Journal and Courier Big School All-Area First Team as a junior. In his first three seasons, Bacon is batting .443 with 73 RBI, 20 doubles, five triples and one home run. The shortstop helped North Montgomery to a 19-8 record last season and a 55-28 mark in his first three seasons. The son of Todd and Carmen Bacon, he earned academic all-conference honors and owns a 3.8 grade-point average on the school's 4.0 scale. Bacon's father played basketball and baseball at Earlham College.
“Maverick Bacon is a very gritty middle infielder, who has a strong arm, solid bat and is very competitive,” Maloney said. “His dad is the college coach at Marian University, so he was raised in a strong baseball family. We are excited about his future in our program.”
Floyd, a native of Elkhart, Ind., is a right handed pitcher for Coach Darin Mast at Jimtown High School. In addition to owning a 3.9 GPA on the school's 4.0 scale, Floyd owns an 11-6 pitching record with a 1.56 earned-run average in his career for the Jimmies. He has struck out 126 batters, while walking only 18 in his career and set the school record with a 9.75-to-1.0 ratio of strikeouts to walks as a junior with 78 K's and only eight walks. Floyd was named a team captain prior to his junior season and earned his team's Most Valuable Player honors in 2014. He has helped the Jimmies to a 52-23 record and three Northern State Conference Championships in his first three seasons. The son of Mill and Diana Floyd, Nick also competes in basketball at Jimtown and was team captain, all-conference and the Jimmie's Most Valuable Player as a junior.
“Nick Floyd is a wiry right handed pitcher who has a fast arm and we are excited to work with him to see him develop,” Maloney said.
Theisen is in his fourth season as a catcher for the Saline Hornets in Michigan. A three-year all-district selection, Theisen was named to the Division I All-State Team as a junior. A two-year team captain, Theisen has helped his team to the state semifinals and state quarterfinals in his career. He batted .400 with 39 hits, 11 doubles, two home runs and 29 runs scored as a junior. Theisen also stole 15-of-15 bases and managed 35 RBI and a .510 on-base percentage last season. In addition, Theisen is a quarterback on the football team and has led the team to a 6-0 Southeastern Conference record through the first eight games of his senior season. He has passed for nearly 3,000 yards with 26 touchdowns and only six interceptions. The son of his high school coach Scott Theisen and his wife, Amy, Trent owns a 3.9 GPA and is a four-year honor roll student.
“Trent Theisen is a tough-nosed athletic catcher with a solid arm and has the makings of becoming an excellent hitter,” Maloney said. “He is the leader and quarterback of his powerful high school football team and his dad is one of the premier high school coaches in the state of Michigan.”
Ball State posted a 39-18 overall record in 2014 and won the Mid-American Conference Regular Season Championship with a 22-4 mark. The Cardinals will open the 2015 season in February and a season schedule should be available soon at www.ballstatesports.com.
