College Achievers: Mundelein grad Pacella racking up big numbers
We’ve waited long enough to write about Mundelein High School product Daniel Pacella.
The 6-foot-4, 235-pound Illinois State University junior outfielder recently was named Missouri Valley Conference player of the week. Over four games he had 9 hits in 17 at bats with 3 doubles, 6 RBI and 6 runs scored. Teammate Brayden Bakes (Huntley), a freshman outfielder, earned the award in late March.
Entering Friday’s games, Pacella led the MVC with a .407 batting average, a .756 slugging percentage and a 1.244 OPS (on-base average plus slugging percentage), and was in the top-10 in seven other offensive categories. He had yet to make an error in the field and, coming into Friday, had reached base in 26 straight games.
Driving in 155 runs over his three seasons at Illinois State, Pacella currently ranks fourth all-time in Redbirds history, just four RBI out of third place. All-MVC in 2024, his 61 RBI that season were the most at Illinois State in 23 years. In 2023 he set the program’s freshman mark with 56 RBI.
Dig it
A classmate of Pacella’s at Mundelein, Loyola University junior setter Ryan McElligott made first-team all-conference in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association. Named MIVA offensive player of the week last month, through games of April 17 the 6-5 McElligott ranked second in the NCAA with 10.83 assists per set, and led all MIVA players at 11.04 assists per set. He is also among league leaders in digs, aces and blocks.
Setting the bars high
Michigan State’s Gabrielle Stephen (Bartlett) has been in here before as a Big Ten Conference women’s gymnast of the week, and as first-team all-Big Ten. She ended her senior season with a third-place finish on bars (9.9375) in the NCAA Championship semifinals in Fort Worth, Tex. It was Michigan State’s second championship appearance and first since 1988.
Earlier this month, Stephen became the Spartans’ first Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association regional gymnast of the year. She scored a perfect 10 on vault to win that event and captured regional titles on bars and all-around at the NCAA University Park Regional at Penn State. Stephen’s all-around score of 39.750 was the second-best in Michigan State history.
Stephen scored another perfect 10 on balance beam and placed second in all-around at the Big Ten Championships in Ann Arbor, Mich. Stephen earned her fourth straight first-team All-Big Ten honor and was voted to the All-Championships Team.
He WHIPs it
Junior Tony Pluta (St. Viator) is having a strong season as a right-handed relief pitcher for the University of Arizona baseball team.
A teammate both at St. Viator and at Arizona with Wildcats junior pitcher Casey Hintz, whom we featured previously, Pluta is tied with several other Division I pitchers with 7 saves, among the most in the nation.
Listed at 5-9 and 189 pounds, Pluta’s minuscule .80 WHIP (walks plus hits per innings pitched) likely would be on the leaderboard as well, but that is reserved for pitchers who’ve thrown more than Pluta’s 18⅔ innings.
Over his 17 appearances through Thursday, all in relief, Pluta owns a 2.41 ERA and has struck out 18 batters while walking only two. Opponents are hitting just .203 against him.
Named to the 2024 PAC 12 spring academic honor roll as a sophomore, Pluta was St. Viator’s Class of 2022 salutatorian.