The breadth of the Fighting Illini baseball roster is beginning to take on a local flavor.

The most recent addition to this trend was made official on Tuesday when RHP Crayton Burnett from nearby St. Joseph-Ogden H.S was introduced as a member of the 2021 signing class, bringing that number to 10 players incoming for head coach Dan Hartleb’s squad.

Burnett, who grew up just minutes from the U of I campus, is just the latest in a series of hurlers that have led St. Joseph-Ogden to successful seasons the past few seasons.

Burnett, who is ranked as the #55 player in Illinois by Perfect Game and the #60 recruit by Prep Baseball Report, is having a phenomenal senior season for the Spartans, who are 21-2 overall and 8-0 in the Illini Prairie Conference.

Burnett is 6-0 on the season with a miniscule 0.39 ERA in 36 innings. He has struck out 77 batters, while walking just three thus far in the season.

“Ever since I was a young kid, I have dreamed of playing for the Fighting Illini and growing up watching them and going to games, when the opportunity presented itself to play for them, I couldn’t pass it up,” Burnett said.

Hartleb, who was a pitching coach for years before becoming the head coach at Illinois, knows what to look for in pitching prospects and thinks that Burnett has what he’s looking for in a prospect.

“He is a very good pitching prospect and has command of multiple pitches, but the thing that I think stands out most about him is his competitiveness and bulldog mentality,” Hartleb said. “I think that is very important in a player that they are willing to compete, and Crayton definitely shows that ability.”

Burnett follows hurlers that have played at St. Joseph-Ogden under head coach Josh Haley and have played at D-1 schools. Dalton Parker (Purdue) and current SJO assistant coach Hunter Hart (Arkansas, SIU), among others, have played for Haley and according to the coach, there is no magic formula as to the sustained success of the program producing pitchers.

“First of all, they have the God-given talent to pitch, and then you mix in the competition and the desire to get better, you have the ingredients to success on the mound,” Haley said. “These guys see the players in front of them and want to be like their predecessors, and we’ve been lucky to have several players that have emulated the guys in front of them. If there’s a formula for success, that’s it.”

For Burnett, pitching was something that I picked up at a young age. I liked the competition of each pitch and fell in love with the game early. I’ve worked hard and give it my all every pitch. Probably one of the things I do the best is my command and throwing strikes up there,” Burnett added regarding why he gravitated toward baseball at such an early age and what some of his strengths are.

Illinois pitching coach Mark Allen, who will do the bulk of the work with the pitchers on the Illini roster, thinks he is getting a quality arm in Burnett based on the criteria that he looks for in a pitcher at the collegiate level.

“First of all, you are looking for someone that has the ability to start coming in,” Allen said. “ A lot of factors come into play with this decision, such as makeup, mentality, the ability to throw strikes and land multiple pitches for strikes. We feel that Crayton has those attributes, and while it may not be immediate, can eventually work his way into being in the weekend rotation for us.”

As most players do that compete at the collegiate level, Burnett aspires one day of playing at the professional level. He has command on three different pitches and has baffled opponents all season for the Spartans, who are one of the top teams in the state of Illinois in Class 2A.

Burnett comes from an athletic family with older sister Abagail being a standout volleyball player, as well as younger sister Kennedi, who is also a superb volleyball athlete.

Burnett has one no-hitter to his credit this season, and in his last four starts, has not given up a run while in that stretch also recording games surrendering one, two and three hits.

“The only other no-hitter I’ve ever thrown was with my travel team (The Hitters) last year,” Burnett said. “The camaraderie that our team has makes it fun to go out there each time. We’re well-rounded and loaded from top to bottom.”

Burnett announced his commitment to Illinois this past October but did not officially sign his NLI until last week. At a ceremony in St. Joseph on Tuesday, with family and teammates present to celebrate with him, he made it official.