Baseball Signs Catcher Rush Olson
11/21/2002 | 12:00:00 | Baseball
Nov. 21, 2002
Carbondale, Ill. - Southern Illinois University head baseball coach Dan Callahan announced today the signing of Rush Olson, who will join the Salukis in 2003-04.
Olson, a native of McLean, Ill., comes to SIU from Olympia High School, where he helped lead the Spartans to a Class A state baseball championship, while going 35-1 last season. A 6-2, 210-pound catcher, he threw out 16 of 19 baserunners.
"We only had three needs for our 2003-04 recruiting class - a catcher, a pitcher and three outfielders," said Callahan. "With the signing of Rush Olson, I feel quite confident we signed one of the top catchers in Illinois. We feel Rush is a good catch and throw guy who adds a strong left-handed bat, and with the departure of Toby Barnett after the '03 season, we feel Rush has the ability to come in and push for playing time immediately."
Olson, who will compete with Brendan Lutz and Brett Bakanec for playing time behind the plate next year, feels he can make an impact right away.
"I think I have a pretty good chance of playing as a freshman," said Olson in a statement released by the Bloomington Pantagraph. "I hope to bring a strong arm to the team."
According to Olympia coach Ron Smith, a solid arm isn't the only selling point for Olson.
"He is very, very strong defensively," described Smith. "He does a great job receiving and blocking balls in the dirt."
Offensively, Olson appears to be a left-handed hitter with power. The Olympia standout said he has a batting cage in his yard and that he has been taking cuts almost every day to improve his swing. Last season, Olson hit .321 with two home runs and 22 RBI.
While Olson fills SIU's need for a catcher, the Salukis will continue to look for some outfielders and a pitcher. As of now, those plans have been interrupted by high school football playoffs.
"Although we still have a chance to get a commitment from a pitcher relatively soon, I'm a little disappointed about our outfield recruiting scenario," concluded Callahan. "It was our goal to sign three outfielders this week, but as it turned out, some of our top recruits in that area are involved in their respective states' football playoffs. Because of that, we'll have to wait to get them to Carbondale for official visits."