Albrecht commits to Purdue
By Anthony Schlass, Current Staff
It was just a matter of time before West shortstop Evan Albrecht followed in the footsteps of his three West teammates and lifelong best friends.
By committing to Purdue University, Albrecht becomes the fourth Division I baseball commit for the Spartans, behind teammates Anthony Schlass (Oklahoma), Nathan Burns (Oregon State) and Jack Thelen (Wisconsin-Milwaukee). Albrecht, a junior, has played two seasons for the Spartans and has two more to go.
The recruiting process was not the most enjoyable for the sure-handed shortstop.
“The recruiting process wasn’t too challenging for me to start because I had the University of La Crosse going into the Futures Games,” Albrecht said.
The Futures Games is a showcase put on by Prep Baseball Report intended to expose the top incoming juniors in each state to a wide spread of collegiate coaches.
“Futures Games is where it turned around with plenty of coaches but the recruiting process was stressful,” Albrecht said. “At times I lost sleep about it. I’d be thinking about it at school or whatever I’m doing.”
In the end Albrecht feels confident he made the right decision.
“It was difficult to make a decision but I feel Purdue is the right fit because it’s a very good campus, very lively, the football team is decent,” he said. “The coaching staff is really what brought me to Purdue. Coach Mark Wasikowski has had great success in the past making that a big draw to Purdue. Education is a big part too.”
Bill Albrecht, West head coach and Evan’s uncle, was happy to hear the news.
“Most players play sports for their schools, but Evan is a throwback to a time where winning was the goal,” Coach Albrecht said. “He is a fierce competitor, thus a great leader for our team. Evan has worked extremely hard to become the player he is today and will do very well at the next level because of his competitiveness.”
Nate Fleischman and the centerfielder for the West Spartans has high praise for Evan as well.
“He is a great player and he sparks the team chemistry with his leadership. He also has the best hands I have ever seen,” Fleischman said.
While playing for his uncle, Evan has developed necessary attributes that will carry over to the next level.
“Playing for West baseball is some good [stuff], man. Coach Albrecht is a guy you want to play for. No matter what player you are, he will pull out their full potential. Playing for West is a good foundation for baseball along with Brad [Burns] when we were younger,” Albrecht said.
The future is bright for the young shortstop both athletically and academically.
“Not sure what I want to major in. I’m thinking business, communications but it can change in two years,” Albrecht said.
Albrecht hit .327 with 23 RBI and was a perfect 25/25 in stolen bases last summer for the Spartans. The team posted a 27-4 overall record.
Albrecht and the boys will be a force to be reckoned with next summer, similar to that of a boilermaker.
(Photographs by John Ehlke, courtesy of the Washington County Daily News.)
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