Brooks Bryan was a star at catcher and in the outfield last season, and the Trojans have added another promising player at the position.
“I feel like Troy is very underrated,” said Jimmy Janicki, a freshman catcher on the Troy baseball team.
The freshman from Downers Grove, Illinois, was the 92nd ranked prospect in PrepBaseball’s top 100 class of 2024 before joining the Trojans.
“It was definitely a big adjustment,” said Janicki about adjusting to Troy from Illinois. “A lot different people here, in a good way.
“A lot of hospitality; I love that part.”
The catcher is ranked as the number nine incoming freshman catcher in the nation after batting .410 in three varsity seasons at Downers Grove North High School.
“When you look at that list there’s not a lot of guys from non-P4’s,” said head baseball coach Skyler Meade. “We’re competing against the top teams in the country. We’re competing with them for recruits; obviously we have to compete against them on the field.
“We’re judged against them, so you have to get great players to school, and Jimmy is obviously one of those.”
Janicki is joining a loaded Trojan catching room, one that features junior Brooks Bryan, who set the Troy single season record in RBIs in the 2024 season and features senior Jason Hawkins, who Meade describes as a great leader. The Trojans also added another freshman to the catching room with Tyler Cooks from New York.
Meade also looked to the past history of successful Trojan catchers when talking about Janicki’s potential.
“Since we’ve been here, you look at the quick lineage of catchers we’ve had,” Meade said. “You know, Clay Stearns obviously, he was number one in the country in receiving plus.
“Our first year here, Caleb Bartolero -- playing A ball with the Angels -- was a tremendous catcher for us.”
Meade and the rest of the Trojans have plenty to be excited about going into the 2025 season, and they get an early glimpse of that team as they travel to Jackson, Tennessee to play reigning national champions Tennessee in a fall scrimmage on Oct. 27.
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