June 15, 2004

Chicago, Ill. - University of Illinois at Chicago Head Baseball Coach Mike Dee announced on Tuesday afternoon that he has inked Mark Hallberg (Barron, Wis./Barron) to a National Letter of Intent marking the ninth recruit to sign with the Flames for the 2005 campaign.

Hallberg will join Jon Brown, Larry Gempp Jr., Brian Nolte, Jonathan Rivera, Brett Schaefer, Chris Stinson, Jake Wasechek, George Whitten and Kevin Zalnis as the 2005 recruiting class.

"Mark Hallberg is a kid who is a big character guy for us and has a tremendous work ethic," Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator Sean McDermott said. "He wants to be a great player and felt like this was a place where he could develop at.

"He's a great kid who will be a leader in this program and we're excited to have him."

Hallberg, a shortstop, enjoyed a spectacular senior campaign as he batted .494 with six homers and 32 RBI, while setting school records with 14 doubles and a slugging percentage of .987.

He also has a keen eye at the plate, as he has not struck out over the past two seasons, spanning over 190+ at-bats.