July 8, 2009

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Greetings, Illini fans! This is Casey McMurray writing from sunny Santa Barbara, Calif., where I am currently playing for the Santa Barbara Foresters in the California Collegiate League (CCL). The season has had a few bumps in the road early on in the year, but now that our whole team has arrived we are in full force and look to repeat as National Champions in the NBC World Series in August in Wichita, Kan.

We are nearing the All-Star break here in the next couple of days, which will be held in Compton, Ca. Currently, we are sitting on top of our league with a 22-5 record and may have one of the best pitching staffs in the country right now.

I am playing with highly talented teammates that come from all over the country and represent some major colleges. With the talented teammates that I play alongside, it has forced me to open my eyes and is giving me the opportunity to play other positions that I may not have a chance to at school.

All in all, I am having a good time out here. I would like to wish my Illini teammates good luck with the rest of their summer seasons and congratulate Brandon, Dom, and Joe for taking their careers in baseball to the next level!

Go Illini!
Casey McMurray