La Crosse, Wis. – The La Crosse Loggers tapped into four national powerhouse programs to secure their latest set of signings when they announced that South Carolina’s Carson Hornung, Washington’s Coby Morales, North Carolina’s Dylan King and Texas’ Ace Whitehead will all be dawning the Logger pinstripes this summer.
Carson Hornung’s signing continues the trend of South Carolina Gamecocks coming to La Crosse for the summer Northwoods League experience and solidifies one of the top freshman prospects in the country for the Lumbermen. Perfect Game ranked Hornung as the 55th best freshman in the nation in this year’s class as he was part of South Carolina’s nationally ranked recruiting class. The left-handed hitting corner infielder, who can also play outfield, is from Overland Park, KS and was also ranked as the second-best prospect in the state coming out of Blue Valley Southwest High School.
The Pac-12 Washington Huskies have been sending great players to La Crosse for over a decade and that will also continue this summer when left-handed slugger Coby Morales suits up. Morales just began his first season with Washington this past weekend when he opened the spring campaign in right field and hitting in the clean-up spot. The 6-3, 225-pound Downey, Calif. native enjoyed a very successful stint at Cypress Junior College in 2021 before transferring to Washington. At Cypress, Morales hit .345 with four home runs and 23 RBI’s. He followed that up with an even bigger summer in the West Coast League when he hit .349 (6th in the league) with six home runs and drove in 34 for the Ridgefield Raptors.
Freshman backstop Dylan King from the University of North Carolina will become the first Tar Heel to join the Loggers since 2011. A highly touted recruit out of American Heritage High School in Delray Beach, Fla. King was ranked as the sixth best catching prospect in the state. The 6-2, 200-pound catcher got a jump start on summer collegiate baseball last summer when he competed for the Delray Beach Lightning in the South Florida Summer Collegiate League. Perfect Game ranked him as the #4 prospect in the entire league last summer as a high school senior.
Another fab freshman joining the Loggers is Ace Whitehead from the #1 ranked team in the nation, the Texas Longhorns. Whitehead, who has the two-way ability to play outfield and also pitch, enjoyed a prolific career at Lampasas High School in Lampasas, Tex. where he was an all-state honoree in baseball and was also one of the top quarterbacks in the state of Texas, amassing over 12,500 yards passing and 170 touchdowns during his prep career.
Hornung, Morales, King, Whitehead and the rest of the Loggers will open their 2022 campaign on May 30 when they travel to Eau Claire. The 2022 home opener is set for Tuesday, May 31 when the Loggers welcome the Express for a 6:35 p.m. first pitch. Season tickets and ticket packages for the 20th anniversary season of Loggers Baseball are on sale now with information available at www.lacrosseloggers.com or by calling the Loggers ticket office at 608-796-9553. Fans can also visit the Loggers office at 1225 Caledonia Street, La Crosse between 8:30-5, Monday thru Friday.
####
The La Crosse Loggers are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Having completed its’ 28th season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 22 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, over 250 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and World Series Champion Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and MLB Gold Glove finalist and 2019 Second Team All-MLB shortstop Marcus Semien (TOR). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.lacrosseloggers.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Loggers as your favorite team.
