Baseball seniors Ethan Glassman, Dylan Bradford, Rob Czarniecki and Troy Barrett hold joint signing ceremony.

Patrick Mochen
Onwardtrojans.com

Four Chesterton baseball seniors signed papers to finalize their college decisions and choose where they will continue their baseball careers. Pitcher Dylan Bradford signed with Grace College in Winona Lake, Indiana. Shortstop and pitcher Ethan Glassman will be headed to Kankakee Community College in Kankakee, Illinois. Center fielder/pitcher Rob Czarniecki committed to play for the University of Kentucky in Lexington, and lefty ace/outfielder Troy Barrett will go to Purdue in West Lafayette. Czarniecki will be on full ride, while the others are all on near-full scholarships. The four seniors, along with junior John Knight, will account for the majority of the varsity pitching rotation.
“The cool thing about all four of them is that their best baseball is still ahead of them,” Coach Bogner said. “They will grow even more, get more mature, and they will probably get more individualized instruction, where here they are better than the average kid by far.”
Bradford, who just finished his football career at tight end/fullback, played last baseball season largely in a reliever role, coming in behind starters such as Barrett. Bradford could make more starts this season on the mound.
When prompted on his college choice, Bradford said, “I know they have a really good engineering program, which is what I am trying to major in. Their offense is really good, and pitching is a need there. Coach (Ryan) Roth, I love him. He’s down to earth, and he’s also the pitching coach.”
Glassman led the team for runs batted in last season with 25. He is likely to play shortstop and pitch in college, although he may get shuffled around in the infield this season. Glassman plans to major in sports management.
“I really liked the coach,” Glassman said. “He’s a smart guy and there’s lots of development I could get out of there.”
Bogner added, “I had a couple catchers who played for me that went to Kankakee, and they loved it.”
Of the four recruits, Glassman has the least experience pitching on the high school mound, but will likely pitch more this year.
When asked about his pitching, Glassman said, “I’m still developing, but just normal fastball, curveball, changeup.
Barrett chose Purdue because of the opportunity they presented for him to improve.
“Their facilities had everything you needed to succeed,” he said.
Barrett still is recovering from surgery to correct a bone spur in his left elbow. He is undecided on his major, but is choosing between business, management, or engineering.
An all-state selection as a sophomore, Czarniecki has been the Trojans’ most powerful hitter at the plate. Czarniecki spent the first half of the season recovering from a hamstring injury, and wasn’t able to contribute as a pitcher. He will be back on the mound this year in a reliever role.
Talking about his Kentucky commitment, Czarniecki said, “I loved the town, the coaches, and all the people that I met, and when I was down there I had a feeling that it was the right place for me. Last year, I didn’t really get to play a whole lot, so this year I’m really trying to do everything I can. It was very hard watching all the games, so I’ve been motivated.”
He will be majoring in sports management.
“It's like business management but for sports,” Czarniecki said, and then jokingly added, “so I can be a general manager. GM of the Bears, but they don’t need me right now because they are so good.”
Bogner added, “They are all good academically, they wouldn’t be getting recruited if they weren’t. Dylan is my student aid, and I always see him grinding out calculus. Glassman is also doing his calculus in my SRT. I had Rob and Troy in my Geometry class, and they’re good students.”