EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern fifth-year seniors Scott Heelan and Kyle Ruchim and senior starting pitcher Brandon Magallones have been named Big Ten Players to Watch for the upcoming 2015 season, the conference announced Wednesday.
Heelan is coming off an All-Big Ten season in 2014. The Gurnee, Ill., native drove in a team-high 33 runs a season ago while batting .317 with 15 extra-base hits and only 16 strikeouts in 189 at-bats. The versatile Wildcat split time at both second base, where he earned All-Big Ten honors in 2014, and catcher, though this season his primary focus figures to be behind the plate.
Magallones looks to lead the Wildcats' rotation for the second consecutive season. As a junior, the Manhattan, Ill., native ranked tied for second on the team with four wins and second with 77.2 innings pitched. The senior owns 16 victories in 36 career starts with a 4.27 ERA in 244.2 IP. Magallones is slated to start for the 'Cats on Opening Day, Friday, Feb. 13, against Oregon State.
Ruchim makes the list after missing all but two games of the 2014 campaign. After receiving a medical redshirt to regain his final season of eligibility, the Buffalo Grove, Ill., native figures to be a force in the middle of NU's lineup. As a junior in 2013, Ruchim earned All-Big Ten honors as an outfielder while batting .365 in 42 games. He had 61 hits, including 21 that went for extra bases. Ruchim collected 26 RBI and 10 stolen bases during his last healthy season.
Ruchim was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2014 Major League Baseball Draft, but he did not sign and elected to return to Evanston to complete a graduate degree and play one final season of collegiate baseball.
Northwestern opens the season at the Surprise College Baseball Classic in Surprise, Ariz. Besides Oregon State, Chicago's Big Ten Team will face New Mexico and Michigan State in the desert. All games will be played at Surprise Stadium, the spring training home of the Kansas City Royals and Texas Rangers.
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