Illinois State associate head baseball coach Mark Kingston's first recruiting class has produced eight signed national letters of intent from players who will enroll at ISU next fall.

"This class is very important in the process of building our program," said Kingston, who will serve as an assistant to Coach Jim Brownlee in 2009 before taking over as head coach.

"They all have the type of talent that will elevate the perception of Illinois State baseball. They had plenty of college options, and we are proud that they want to be a part of the direction we are headed."

The Redbirds landed five of the top 50 high school players in Illinois, according to Prep Baseball Report.

Leading that group is Decatur MacArthur outfielder Blair Springfield, ranked as the top hitter in the state and No. 5 player overall.

"Blair is ranked as the top hitter in the state, and we think he deserves it. He can do a lot of things well on the baseball field," Kingston said. "He is athletic, has power, arm strength and speed. He is a major sign for our program, and shows the type of player we want to attract here."

Also headed to ISU are infielders Angelo Burrage (Prep Baseball Report's No. 16 Illinois player) of Chicago St. Rita and Brett Kay (No. 42) of Arlington Heights St. Viator and pitchers Brad Sorkin (No. 22) of Buffalo Grove and Cam Verbeke (No. 12) of Elmwood Park.

"Angelo is already a top-level hitter. He possesses an extremely quick bat and had tremendous left-handed power," said Kingston. "Cam possesses one of the best arms in the state. His fastball can already reach 90 mph and will continue to rise as he gains weight."

The Redbirds added a junior college outfielder in Heartland's Ty Wiesemeyer, who batted .401 in his first season with the Hawks.

"Ty is the prototypical college centerfielder," Kingston said. "He has good tools across the board. His left-handed swing should fit well at the top of our order."

ISU signed two Minnesota preps in pitcher Steve Maher and infielder Brett Thaden.