Lowery signs with ICC to play baseball

[January 20, 2015]  MOUNT PULASKI - Michael Lowery, a senior at Mount Pulaski High School, was among seven baseball players signed by Illinois Central College Sunday afternoon at the CougarPlex in East Peoria. Lowery plans to attend ICC not only to play baseball but to also pursue an Associate's Degree in Engineering Science.

Head coach Brett Kelley and recruiting coordinator Ben Diggle were on hand to welcome Lowery and the rest of the 2015 recruiting class. Coach Kelley is really excited about this upcoming class. "We look for the guys that are gonna work hard. We look for the guys that want to develop and we look for the multi-sport athletes because we really feel that they can accelerate their progress here for two years." Coach Kelley said of Lowery, "We really like what he can do....a hard thrower who can also play shortstop and can hit." Coach Kelly has high expectations for Lowery both on the mound and as an offensive force. As a junior on the mound for the Toppers last season, Lowery was 8-1 with a 1.18 ERA and 92 strikeouts and 12 walks in 59.1 innings. At the plate he batted .507 for the Toppers with 11 doubles, 2 triples, 1 home run and 26 RBIs. He earned first-team all-state honors from the Illinois High School Baseball Coach's Association as well as All-Area honors from the Decatur Herald & Review and the Springfield State Journal-Register. Lowery led the Hilltopper baseball team to the regional championship last season for the first time since 2004.

Lowery is also a two-sport athlete who is currently on the Hilltopper basketball team. Last season the basketball team also won the regional making it the first time since 1984 that both basketball and baseball had accomplished such a feat at Mount Pulaski High School.

Lowery ranks as the No. 211 player in Illinois' Class of 2015 according to the Prep Baseball Report. Coach Kelley also offered this about Lowery, "A friend of the program that coaches in Mount Pulaski's conference called us after Mike beat his team and said we had better take a look. Unfortunately, due to some rainouts, we could never catch him in action and then he got dinged up and missed most of the summer. But once we saw what he could do on the mound and at the plate, we knew we had found a hidden gem."

Lowery has also played summer ball for the Central Illinois Slam, based out of Sherman, since he was nine years old. The Slam are coached by Rick Edwards, and Lowery gives a lot of credit to Edwards for teaching him the fundamentals of baseball.

This summer Lowery will join the Central Illinois Outlaws of Peoria. The Outlaws are coached by Ryan Camp, a former pitcher for the ISU Redbirds.

Lowery also credits his high school baseball coaching staff for being instrumental in his recent success. "They're awesome," he says of the Toppers staff. That staff includes Head Coach Joel Washko and his brother, Jared Washko, the pitching coach, as well as assistants Troy Bugard and Brian Smith.

Last, but not least, Lowery's dad has been the most important coach in his career. Lowery's dad, Doug, built a pitching machine in the backyard when Lowery was little. The elder Lowery continues to throw batting practice to his son nearly everyday. "He probably throws BP to me at least three times a week....just not on game days," says Lowery, smiling. Their dedication to the game of baseball is certainly paying off after all these years as Lowery looks forward to joining the ICC Cougars baseball team in the fall.

In the meantime, Lowery has a basketball season to finish up and a baseball season to look forward to for the Toppers before his high school graduation in May. Off the field, Lowery has been a member of the Honor Roll each of his first seven semesters and is a member of the FFA and the Toppers Spirit Squad.

Congratulations, Mike!

The ICC Class of 2015 also includes:

Cole Cook Washington Community High School
Brady Fairfield Metamora Township High School
Trenton Hicks Pinckneyville High School
Braden Mann Metamora Township High School
Jimmy McCaughey Washington Community High School
Noah Peterson Morton High School

[Teena Lowery]