Freshman right-handed pitcher Sam Coonrod practices field exercises Thursday at Abe Martin Field. Coonrod was Coach Dan Callahan’s last pick before his death Nov. 15, after a long battle with a rare form of skin cancer. –€“ Lynnette Oostmeyer | Daily Egyptian

Nearly a year after the death of former SIU baseball Coach Dan Callahan, his final recruit has now put on the Saluki uniform.

Freshman pitcher Sam Coonrod is three weeks into his college experience and now has a full week invested as a Saluki ballplayer. Coach Cal first saw Coonrod pitch in an all-star game in the summer between his junior and senior year of high school, and his former coach, Greg Pohlman, said his credentials back up what the former coach saw in him 15 months ago.

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“He brought the full package to our baseball team for four years,” Pohlman said. “We had a remarkable season and he was a big part of it.”

One part of the remarkable season included Coonrod and his teammates claiming the school’s first Illinois High School Association class 1A state championship.

Pohlman said he thought Coonrod’s greatest accomplishment in his senior year was either his 12 strikeouts in the semi-final game, leading up to the state championship, or any one of the five no-hitters he threw his senior year.

Instead, Coonrod said his greatest achievement was not his personal statistics, but the success his team had in his final season as a Carrollton Hawk.

“Whenever we won state,” Coonrod said. “No doubt.”

In addition to the no-hitters, he went 11-0, struck out 113 batters in 62 innings pitched and finished with a microscopic 1.35 ERA his senior year.

With the success Coonrod had throughout his high school career, Coach Ken Henderson said there was a point when he was worried Coonrod would skip out on the college experience and go straight into the MLB draft.

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Coonrod said the scouts frequently attended his games last season, but nothing materialized about the possibility of getting drafted before college.

“I don’t know why so many of them would come to my games and I wouldn’t get drafted,” said Coonrod with a laugh. “I guess I just wasn’t good enough.”

Henderson said Coonrod made the right decision to play college ball instead of pursuing the draft. He said he drew the attention of the scouts based on his natural ability to pitch, but still has small tweaks and mechanical issues to work out before he’s ready to pitch professionally.

“Three years from now, if he stays healthy and continues to work hard, he’ll have a good shot and some opportunities to play pro ball,” Henderson said. “He really just needs to learn to pitch at this level.”

While Coonrod is mostly known for his pitching ability, he also had success in the field and at the plate. Last season he had a .434 batting average with 38 runs, 35 RBIs and one home run while at the plate.

Despite the success he had in the batter’s box and the experience he had in the outfield and at the shortstop position, Henderson said his role on the team will be limited to the mound.

“He’s a very athletic guy but it’s tough to be a two-way guy here,” Henderson said. “If you try to do two things, you’re taking away from one or the other.”

Henderson recognized his success at the plate in high school, but said it is his arm that will lead to the team’s success in the Missouri Valley Conference.

“His future here is on the mound and his future beyond here in pro ball is definitely on the mound,” Henderson said. “That’s why we brought him in and that’s definitely our intent.”

Coonrod acknowledged Henderson’s recommendation to stick to the mound, and agreed it would be best for the team.

“I’d like to (hit), but I know I’m not good enough,” said Coonrod with a laugh.