University of Southern Indiana Baseball announces the signing of infielder/pitcher Brandon Juarez; outfielder Ethan Rothschild; and junior college infielder Ricardo Van Grieken for the 2023 season. The trio are the first to sign with USI Baseball and Head Coach Tracy Archuleta during the fall season.
Juarez is a senior at Evansville Christian School (Newburgh, Indiana) and has lettered in baseball, soccer, and basketball. The ECS single-game record holder for strikeouts was the 2019 Southern Roads Conference Player of the Year and a two-time ECS Most Valuable Player (2019, 2021). He also has been a member of two ECS Southern Roads Conference Championships.
“Brandon is a two-way player that has some power at the plate and on the mound,” said Archuleta. “He has played and competed at a high level all through his high school career.”
Rothschild has lettered in baseball and tennis at Central High School (Evansville, Indiana). He has a .295 career average at CHS with 31 runs scored and 25 RBIs in 46 games. Rothschild stole a two-year best 14 bases in 2021.
“Ethan fits our system with his ability to steal bases and has a great short game,” Archuleta commented. “He is a plus defender in the outfield with good arm strength.”
Van Grieken will transfer to USI from Indian Hills Community College (Ottumwa, Iowa), which advanced the 2021 NJCAA World Series semifinals. The native of Merida, Venezuela, batted .335 with 45 RBIs, 13 doubles, 2 triples, three home runs, and nine stolen bases as a redshirt freshman at Indian Hills.
“Ricky is a solid player that is a plus defender which solidifies our middle infield and handles the bat well,” said Archuleta. He is a very instinctive player and helped Indian Hills to the NJCAA World Series last year. We look forward to working with him and seeing him grow as a player.”
USI, which received votes for the ABCA Top 40 poll, opens 2022 play on February 18.
