Illinois’ basketball program has found a recruiting goldmine in Peoria, finding great players in recent years with the likes of Sergio McClain, Marcus Griffin, Frank Williams, Brian Randle and, most recently, Jamar Smith. Now, the Illini baseball program may have found its diamond-in-the-rough in Central Illinois, in the small town of Mattoon.

Currently, one-third of Illinois’ starting lineup hails from Mattoon High School. But redshirt-sophomore second baseman Ryan Hastings, junior outfielder Ryan Snowden and freshman outfielder Kyle Hudson have each found their way into the lineup on different paths.

Hastings is the only one of the trio to be conventionally recruited out of high school to play baseball at Illinois and began his career as an Illini with one of the best freshman seasons in Illinois baseball history.

Hastings ended his freshman season recording 53 hits, placing him 10th all-time in freshman hits at Illinois, and was primed for an outstanding sophomore season. However, Hastings was forced to take a medical-shirt after injuring his wrist early into last season.

“It was tough, but at the same time it was a great learning experience for me,” Hastings said. “It was one of those things where you really don’t appreciate the game as much until it is taken away from you.”

Even though it was hard to watch his teammates out on the field and not be able to be a part of last year’s Big Ten Championship run, Hastings came away with a few valuable lessons.

“I really began to appreciate the game a lot more,” he said. “I got the opportunity to see things from a different perspective and see how the game operates from the other side.”

The improvements are seen not only by Hastings, but also by his coaches, especially assistant coach Eric Snider, who recruited all three Mattoon boys.

“He doesn’t take things for granted anymore,” Snider said. “He comes out every day now and plays hard. When you’re not playing and see everybody else playing, you don’t take things for granted and you take care of business when it’s your time, which it his now.”

Hastings wasn’t only learning ways to improve his game over the course of last season, but was also playing a large role in bringing fellow teammate Ryan Snowden to Illinois.

“I didn’t really have to say too much to the coaches about Ryan,” Hastings said. “He is a great player and he worked hard to improve his game and he ended up where he wanted to be. He was a kid that if they offered something, he was going to come here.”

Snowden began his collegiate career at Kaskaskia Community College, playing two seasons for the Blue Devils and earning team MVP and Offensive Player of the Year in 2005 as well as Rookie of the Year honors in 2004.

“I didn’t receive any of the Division-I college scholarships I would’ve liked out of high school,” Snowden said. “So I decided to go play at Kaskaskia to start off. I liked the coach and what he had to say there. It was just the right situation for me at the time.”

Despite not getting the D-I scholarship offers he had hoped for as a senior in high school, Snowden feels his experience at Kaskaskia benefited him greatly. And, after a stellar sophomore season with the Blue Devils, the Illini couldn’t ignore his talent.

“We didn’t recruit him out of high school because we had a lot of outfielders at that time,” Snider said. “We thought it was best for Ryan to go play at a junior college, knowing we would recruit him after that. Ryan got some experience at the junior college level and the opportunity to play everyday. If he would’ve come here out of high school he probably would’ve played sparingly.”

During his visit to Illinois, Snowden decided to stay with a familiar face and friend – Hastings. While Hastings wasn’t formally involved in the recruiting process, Snowden knew who to turn to for advice about the team.

“Hastings and I have been good friends since we were kids,” Snowden said. “When I first got here it really helped having somebody I know show me around and let me know how things work here as a team. He was straightforward with me and let me know how things are done here. He told me it was a good situation and I believed him.”

While Snowden and Hastings were preparing to reunite for the start of the 2006 season, another Mattoon native was making a name for himself at Memorial Stadium. Freshman Kyle Hudson, who led the Illini football squad in receiving yards during the 2005 season, was recruited by the Illinois football coaching staff. But during his recruitment, Hudson asked a question that most other recruits to Illinois don’t.

He asked if he could play baseball.

“Baseball was actually my first love growing up,” Hudson said. “I knew I wanted to play baseball for awhile when I was in high school, it was just a matter of seeing if it would work or not.”

After the conclusion of the football season, Hudson and the coaching staffs made the proper arrangements with both programs and the NCAA to begin his preparation for playing baseball in the spring.

“The first time I talked to Coach Zook I told him that I wanted to play baseball,” Hudson said. “He told me if I did what I needed to do and worked as hard as I could, then everything would work out.”

Although Hudson is two years younger than Hastings and Snowden, he had the privilege of playing with them for the second half of his sophomore season on the varsity baseball team at Mattoon High School.

“It was pretty neat getting to play with them in high school,” Hudson said. “I’m glad to be back with them, and it’s a fun time. We had good chemistry in high school and we carried it on to college.”

Once again, it would be Hastings who introduced his coaches to the talent lying within one of his former teammates.

“All the Mattoon boys stick together,” Snider said. “Hastings brought up Snowden and Hudson by putting in a good word for them with us. Kyle is a competitor and very athletic. The first time I saw Kyle he ran about a 3.7 down the base line, which is about what Mickey Mantle ran when he was coming up. He wants to be the Deon Sanders of Illinois.”

During the transition from football to baseball, Hudson quickly found his former teammates to be a good way to get acquainted with his new team and was grateful to have them by his side at the beginning of the season.

“I went in knowing a couple of baseball players but I didn’t know too many of the guys,” Hudson said. “I went in there and I had those two guys to talk to and it was a good situation for me because I was a little uncomfortable around the people I didn’t know, and I really appreciate them helping me out in getting comfortable.”

While each player took different routes to make the team, they all have made the most of their time spent in the field and at the plate, and all three will play important roles for the Illini’s attempt to repeat as Big Ten Champions.

“Having played with them before, there is definitely a comfort factor,” Hastings said. “It’s nice having guys that you’ve played with before here, and reflects pretty well on the Mattoon program. Mattoon is a baseball town and we pride ourselves on that. We work hard there on baseball and the results speak for themselves.”