Published: July 02, 2008 03:57 pm            

Bulls look to gain recognition

Boasting eight former players making it all the way to the Major Leagues, the Indiana Bulls have built quite a tradition.

“Our alumni is basically the backbone of our organization,” said Indiana Bulls Vice President of Baseball Operations Quinn Moore. “Because we were probably the first to start travel baseball in Indiana, we’ve been able to build quite a reputation built on our alumni ... The alumni is the one actually doing the work.” 

In addition to the big leaguers, the Bulls had 89 players selected in the MLB Draft and 230 players go on the play baseball at the collegiate level as of 2006. Also, 10 former Bulls have gone on to win the Indiana Mr. Baseball award. Five former Bulls — including former Brownsburg star Lance Lynn — were taken in the 2008 MLB Draft.  

Due to having all of the recent success with post-high school athletes, the Bulls are now able to appeal to the most highly-rated players in the state. 

“(The reputation) is why we’re able to continue to get the Tucker Barnharts, the Drew Storens, the Lance Lynns of the world,” Moore said. “It’s because we’ve been doing it for longer and we know how to do it the right way. It’s more of the players’ hard work than anything. We’re just out there helping them get exposure.” 

The Bulls this season — including Brownsburg standout Barnhart — hope to carry on the tradition.

Barnhart will enter his senior season with the Bulldogs attempting to build on a junior campaign which saw him hit .500 with 11 home runs and 38 RBI.

“(Barnhart) is a baseball rat, great kid, hard worker, plays the game the right way,” Moore said. “I was around him all last summer. I’ve spent a lot of time around him the last two years. He’s a great kid and great teammate — a great ball player.” 

All players who are residents of Indiana and are between the ages of 13-18 are eligible to participate on one of the Bulls’ six teams. There is one team for each age level except 17, which has two. Moore said that — though there is some turnover — usually around 75 percent of a team remains the same going into the following season. 

The stated mission of the Bulls is to allow high school baseball players the opportunity to gain exposure to college coaches and professional scouts at an earlier age, while developing their talents. 

“We basically try to maximize the kids’ exposure to college coaches and pro scouts,” Moore said. “We try to get them in front of as many college coaches as we can. At the younger ages — for someone who’s 13, 14, 15, 16 — we try to develop them. At the 17 level, it’s about exposure.” 

The Bulls travel around the Midwest, playing against some of the best competition that other states have to offer, while adding convenience to collegiate coaches. 

Other than Barnhart, Brownsburg has a number of other players with the Bulls this season. Bobby Carr (13), David Oliger (14), Matt Bowman (15), Joel Stucker (16), Mitchell Burton (17U Black), Alex Berlyn (18), and Jeff King (18) are all members. Avon’s Bryce Burgess is a member of the Bulls’ 17U White team, while fellow Oriole Rob McPike is a member of the 18 team.

        

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