Clarke College baseball coach Chad Harris has announced the names of 13 players he has secured for the upcoming season. The class includes five players from the junior college ranks and eight high school players.

Leading the way are four transfers from Olympic College in Bremerton, Washington. Jesse Cummings, Alex McKinlay, Jared Munson, and Brady Harris will all be making their way from the northwest to Dubuque in August. Cummings, an infielder who received second-team all- conference honors this season, hit .367 with 28 RBI's. Munson, an outfielder originally from Reno, Nev., hit .327 with 16 stolen bases and was first team all-conference for the second season in a row. Munson also received the conference Gold Glove Award for his play in center field. Olympic College competes in the North Region of NWACC (Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges) which is a wood bat conference.

"I'm very excited to have signed all four guys from Olympic," said Harris. "The competition these guys have been facing the past two years is extremely tough and I feel they are a perfect fit with the building of this program. Not only are they good ball players, they are great people and they are very solid academically."

Also coming in from the junior college ranks is left-handed pitcher Pete Sullivan, who played at North Iowa Area Community College. Sullivan carried a 4-3 record with a 4.88 ERA this season at NIACC while striking out 56 hitters in 59 innings pitched. Sullivan is originally from Waterloo, Iowa, and attended Columbus Catholic High School.

"Pete has competed and has been successful at a solid junior college program," said Harris. "He will be a big part of our staff, bringing in experience as a starter from the left side."

From the high school ranks, Clarke has signed eight players ranging from Wisconsin and Missouri to Illinois and Iowa. From Wisconsin, the Crusaders will be adding David Galando, a third baseman from Kettle Moraine High School; Cale Ross, a right-handed pitcher from Brookfield Central High School; and Brandon Sobojinski, an infielder from Lourdes Academy in Oshkosh. From Missouri, Clarke has signed Kyle Bretsch, a right-handed pitcher from St. Charles Lutheran High School. Coming to Clarke from Illinois will be Alex Kopf, an infielder from Maine-West High School, Adam Szurkowski, an infielder from Yorkville High School, and Brian McCabe, a left-handed pitcher and outfielder from Lena-Winslow High School. From Iowa, Drew Higgins will be joining the Crusaders. Higgins is a catcher and will be coming from Cedar Rapids Jefferson High School.

"I'm very excited about the incoming freshmen," said Harris. "We've got some pitching in there that could help us early and I think some of the position guys could challenge for playing time as well. As a whole, this is the best academic class we've brought in so far. Our incoming freshmen have an average ACT score of 25."

Harris, who is in his fourth year as the Crusaders head coach, said even though he is happy with this class, he would still like to add a couple more student-athletes to the list.

"Our season is long. You always have injury issues to deal with as well as everyday issues. I would like to add another arm or two and maybe a position player or two, just to give us that depth and security. If we could get our roster at 35-36, I would be very pleased."

The Crusaders are coming off a year which saw a much improved team in 2009. The ballclub went from just seven wins in 2008 to 18 wins in 2009, including a victory over NCAA Division I Western Illinois. Harris' squad raised its team batting average over 50 points from the 2008 season to .294 and hit 35 home runs, compared to just 11 the previous year. On the mound, the pitching staff lowered its team ERA by almost two full runs and defensively, the Crusaders raised their fielding percentage by two points.

"There's no way I'm satisfied with 18 wins, but when you look at the progress the program is making, that does mean something. We're getting there. It's just takes time, hard work, and the right kids."