Whitko High School senior Drew Bradford has signed a letter of intent to continue his baseball career at Indiana Wesleyan University. Seated with Drew are parents Travis and Angie Bradford. In the back row are former Whitko baseball head coach Erik Hisner, Indiana Wesleyan coach Rich Benjamin; and Drew’s sister, Audrey Bradford. (Photo provided)

SOUTH WHITLEY – Whitko senior Drew Bradford made it official this week, signing to continue his baseball career with Indiana Wesleyan University.

Bradford helped Whitko accomplish one of its finest seasons in over 40 years of Wildcat baseball. The righty went 9-1 on the year – his only loss in the regional against Wapahani – and accrued eye-popping numbers of 103 strikeouts in 75 innings and a 1.02 earned run average. Whitko won its first-ever sectional title during its 21-10 campaign.

On offense, he led the team with a .417 batting average, 43 hits, 34 RBI, 20 stolen bases and nine doubles. He added a .512 on-base percentage and 36 runs scored, which helped him earn All-Three Rivers Conference First Team honors for the third straight year. Bradford was later selected as the IHSBCA District 1 Player of the Year and then an IHSBCA North-South All-Star.

Indiana Wesleyan is an NAIA school in the Crossroads League. In 2017, the Wildcats went 27-30 overall and 12-15 in conference.