NORMAL - Joe Waropay's passions are baseball and art. The University High School senior will get to pursue both in college after signing a national letter of intent for a baseball scholarship at Western Illinois.

Waropay batted .358 with 14 doubles and one triple as a junior catcher. While his ability to hit and perform behind the plate caught recruiters' eyes, he also wanted a place where he could major in art.

"I'm the Renaissance Man," Waropay said, laughing. "Art has always been a love of mine, too. It's my weakness. I paint. People see what I've painted and they're like, 'Wow, you did that?' I've always loved being creative and painting."

On the diamond, Waropay batted .450 and .385 the past two summers for the Bloomington-Normal Baseball Association 18-under Gold, which qualified for the National Amateur Baseball Federation World Series.

Also a starting lineman in football and a standout wrestler, Waropay said baseball "has always been my favorite sport."

"It's what I wanted to do since I was little," Waropay said. "It's definitely another step toward achieving my goals in life."

Waropay also received interest from Michigan and East Carolina and considered NAIA schools Azuza Pacific and Savannah (Ga.) College of Art and Design before accepting the offer from Western Illinois.

"A big aspect was playing time," Waropay said. "They'll have a senior catcher when I'm a freshman, and the coach (Stan Hyman) wants us to split the job. It's Division I baseball, and I felt like I could make a difference in the program."

U High coach Greg Bee said Waropay brings enthusiasm, passion and leadership in addition to his baseball skills.

"With him being vocal, at catcher he's like a captain on the field, which is great to have," Bee said. "Defensively, as far as receiving and blocking, there's no one better. You don't worry about any kind of passed balls or things in the dirt because he's going to be a backstop on everything.

"Offensively, he really picked it up last year. He relaxed a lot better and became a very productive hitter. He continued that in the summer, and that's where he may have earned a scholarship with what he did offensively in the spring and summer."