Prospect's Scanlan a hit with Eastern Kentucky

Tim Scanlan hopes to deliver a few big hits tonight for Prospect in its Mid-Suburban League football showdown at Fremd.

Scanlan is also big hitter on the baseball field. And the senior third baseman hit it off with Division I Eastern Kentucky as he made a verbal commitment to the program Thursday.

It was the first scholarship offer for the all-area pick who hit .424 with 4 homers, 12 doubles and 34 RBI in the spring. Scanlan helped the Arlington American Legion team reach the Great Lakes Regional.

"I had interest from a lot of schools around here and probably if I would have waited, I would have gotten more offers," said Scanlan, a two-way lineman for the Knights. "I figured this was the right fit.

"There was no point of just holding out to see if you get more offers when you already know this is the right place for you."

Scanlan will join former Prospect star Matt Davis, an All-Area co-captain in 2005, at Eastern Kentucky. Scanlan stayed with Davis on a campus visit last weekend.

Scanlan was also impressed with Davis' teammates, head coach Elvis Dominguez and the fact the school is building a new stadium.

"Coach Dominguez just does a great job down there and I know his program is focused on player development," said Prospect coach Ross Giusti. "There's so much upside to Tim's game. He keeps getting better every year and keeps getting stronger."

Scanlan, who hopes to follow in his dad's footsteps and become a police officer, achieved a long-time goal.

"It's always something I wanted and I've always strived to become a Division I player," Scanlan said. "That's why I'm real happy to get it."

And happy to get it out of the way with the early period for signing letters of intent in November. Scanlan saw the toll the process took on Prospect teammate Will Hagel, who didn't sign with Valparaiso until this summer.

"Last season I felt really pressured before conference because I wasn't playing well," Scanlan said. "I started to get scared and think 'I'm blowing it.'

"Then I started playing well … but I was always under pressure to get talked to. It's a huge relief and now I can concentrate on other things."

"Everything just worked out perfectly for me."