With the first game on the Minutemen schedule coming up on Tuesday June 1, the team has announced their full roster of 32 players.
The Minutemen will have 12 men at the mound, and 20 position players on the roster for this season.
Many Minutemen have returned for the second season in team history. The team is bringing back infielders Ryan Nelson (Eastern Kentucky/Aurora, Ill.) and Brennan Brogni (Illinois Springfield, Flagstaff, Ariz.), catcher Brad Miller (Spoon River/ Oak Forest, Ill.) and pitchers Nic Vitiritti (Carthage/ Lansing, Ill.), Mike Koszewski (Cincinnati/ Oak Brook, Ill.) and Hugh Sullivan (Spring Hill/ Chicago, Ill.)
The Minutemen will have a lot more chemistry coming to the team. Multiple players play together on the same college team in the regular season. Prairie State has nine players on the Minutemen. They have pitchers Ethen Otstott (Oak Forest, Ill.), Justin Supergan (Valparaiso, Ind.), Mike Denton (Country Club Hills, Ill.) and Evan Karasoff (Midlothian, Ill.). They also brought in catcher Nico Pena (Chicago, Ill.), first basemen Isaac Rivera (Oak Forest, Ill.) and Gabe Cortez (Tinley Park, Ill.) and outfielder brothers Josh and Isaiah Gaines (Homewood, Ill.)
There are also multiple other teammates who will be playing with one another on the Minutemen this season. First baseman Zack Beatty (Maple Park, Ill.), and infielder Owen Lester (St. Charles, Ill.) come from McCook Community College; pitcher Troy Stravanovic (Elmhurst, Ill.) and Nic Vitiritti play for Carthage; Brennan Brogni and outfielder Josh Stivers (Pleasant Valley, Iowa.) share the field at Illinois Springfield; and infielder Noah Mazza (Plainfield, Ill.), and pitchers Doug Loden (St. John, Ind.), Gino Gazillo (Chicago, Ill.) and Josh Fleming (Plainfield, Ill.) play with each other at Joliet Junior College.
To round out the roster, the Minutemen brought in pitchers Devin Smith (Prairie State/Mokena, Ill.) and Chris Henry (Morehouse/ Chicago Ill.), as well as first basemen Alphonzo Franks (Southeastern Illinois/ Munster, Ind.) and Nick Semanick (Franklin/ Whiting, Ind.), catchers Austin Velasquez (Quincy/ Lansing, Ill.) and Nate Villagomez (Moraine Valley/ Burbank, Ill.), outfielder Jorge Santos (South Suburban/ Homewood, Ill.) and high school second baseman Armani Sanchez (Lake Central HS/ St. John, Ind.).
The man in charge of gelling the players together is manager Deandre Gilmore, with the help of his assistant, pitching and catching coach, Francisco Unzueta.
2021 MCL Minutemen Roster
# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. B/T College / Hometown
1 Brad Miller C 6-0 205 R/R Spoon River/Oak Forest, Ill.
2 Hugh Sullivan RHP 6-0 165 R/R Spring Hill/ Chicago, Ill.
3 Devin Smith RHP 6-5 190 R/R Kentucky Wesleyan/ Teutopolis, Ill.
4 Ethen Otstott LHP 6-2 170 L/L Prairie State/ Oak Forest, Ill.
5 Josh Gaines OF 5-8 162 R/R Prairie State/ Homewood, Ill.
6 Isaiah Gaines OF 5-8 170 R/R Prairie State/ Homewood, Ill.
7 Justin Supergan RHP 6-0 180 R/R Prairie State/ Valparaiso, Ind.
8 Gabe Cortez 1B 5-10 200 R/R Prairie State/ Tinley Park, Ill.
9 Jorge Santos OF 6-1 160 R/R South Suburban/ Homewood, Ill.
10 Armani Sanchez 2B 5-8 137 R/R Uncommitted/ St. John, Ind.
11 Nico Pena C 5-8 165 R/R Prairie State/ Chicago Ill.
12 Brennan Brogni INF 5-10 175 L/R Illinois Springfield/ Flagstaff, Ariz.
13 Mike Denton RHP 5-10 260 R/R Prairie State/ Country Club Hills, Ill.
14 Austin Velasquez C 6-0 270 R/R Quincy / Lansing, Ill.
15 Nick Semancik 1B 5-9 215 R/R Franklin/ Whiting, Ind.
16 Alphonzo Franks 1B 6-0 161 R/R Southeastern Illinois / Munster, Ind.
17 Isaac Rivera 1B 6-0 195 L/L Prairie State/ Oak Forest, Ill.
18 Nate Villagomez C 6-0 180 R/R Moraine Valley / Burbank, Ill.
19 Chris Henry RHP 6-0 170 R/R Morehouse / Chicago, Ill.
20 Gino Gazillo RHP 6-0 180 L/R Joliet JC / Chicago, Ill.
21 Evan Karasoff RHP 5-6 150 R/R Prairie State / Midlothian, Ill.
22 Mike Koszewski OF 5-11 180 L/L Cincinnati/ Oak Brook, Ill.
23 Troy Sirvanovic RHP 6-2 165 R/R Carthage/ Elmhurst, Ill.
24 Nic Vitiritti RHP 6-2 195 R/R Carthage / Lansing, Ill.
25 Josh Fleming RHP 6-2 180 R/R Joliet JC/ Plainfield, Ill.
26 Ryan Nelson INF 6-0 180 R/R Eastern Kentucky/ Aurora, Ill.
27 Chris Broccolino INF 6-0 185 R/R Roosevelt / Schaumburg, Ill.
28 Noah Mazza INF 5-10 165 R/R Joliet JC / Plainfield, Ill.
29 Douglas Loden RHP 5-10 185 R/R Joliet JC/ St. John, Ind.
30 Josh Stivers OF 6-3 210 R/R Illinois Springfield / Pleasant Valley, Iowa.
31 Zack Beatty 1B 6-6 260 R/R McCook CC/ Maple Park, Ill.
32 Owen Lester INF 5-6 165 R/R McCook CC/ St. Charles, Ill.
Manager: Deandre Gilmore
Assistant and Pitching/Catching Coach: Francisco Unzueta