Lukas, Jillson sign to play UM baseball

OLD TOWN – Jarrett Lukas had a busy day Wednesday.

He went to school, followed by a successful went duck hunting outing.

The Old Town senior also found a spare minute to fulfill an athletic dream, signing an NCAA National Letter of Intent to accept a partial scholarship from the University of Maine baseball program after he graduates from high school next spring.

“The University of Maine was my No. 1 choice all the way,” said Lukas, who also considered several other Division I and II programs as well as the Div. III University of Southern Maine.

Lukas is one of two in-state players to return National Letters of Intent to Maine baseball coach Steve Trimper on Wednesday. Lukas will be joined on the UMaine roster next fall by lefthanded pitcher Josh Jillson of Oak Hill High School in Wales.

“It’s very important to get the best players in the state to come to the University of Maine, and they’re two guys we wanted to sign,” said Trimper.

After being primarily a catcher during his early baseball days, the 6-foot-1, 185-pound Lukas has pitched and played several infield positions at Old Town High and with the American Legion Zone 1 Orono Twins.

“He’s got the tools to play anywhere,” said Old Town High coach Dave Utterback. “He’s got speed, he’s got good instincts, and he’s got a strong, accurate arm.”

Lukas played mostly shortstop and pitcher last spring in helping Old Town High reach the Eastern Maine Class A playoffs. He batted .555 for the Coyotes with four home runs, 18 runs scored, and 23 RBIs in 17 games.

Last summer, he earned American Legion All-Zone 1 honors for the second straight year as a second baseman with the Twins, batting .478 with nine home runs, 28 runs scored, and 29 RBIs in 20 games.

Lukas also is a three-year captain for the Old Town football team and currently is recovering from a broken bone in his left wrist he suffered midway through the recently completed football season. An honor roll student, Lukas also plays percussion in the school band.

“He’s just an athletic kid,” said Trimper, who plans to start Lukas out as a shortstop at UMaine. “He’s played a lot of positions, so he gives us a utility kind of guy who can do a lot of different things.”

The son of Timothy Lukas and Karal Perry, Lukas said he began thinking seriously about playing Division I baseball between his freshman and sophomore years at Old Town.

In recent years he has trained during the offseason at the Frozen Ropes baseball facility in Portland under former UMaine baseball players Mike Coutts and Nick Caiazzo, as well as putting in extra time before school at Old Town.

“Jarrett’s said all along that he’d like to play Division I baseball,” said Utterback, “and I think I really realized that when I’d come to school at 7:15 in the morning and he’d already be there hitting in the batting cage. I knew he was gearing up to play Division I.”

Jillson led Oak Hill to the 2006 Class B championship, pitching a three-hit shutout as the Raiders shut out Bucksport in the state final.

The hard-throwing lefty finished the spring with an 8-0 record with 77 strikeouts in 49 2/3 innings while batting .400 with three home runs, seven doubles, and two triples.

Last summer Jillson went 2-0 with a 1.94 earned run average during the American Legion regular season in leading Monmouth to a berth in the state tournament.

“Josh is intriguing,” said Trimper. “I really like his mental makeup. He’s not afraid to pitch inside, and he’s not afraid to fail.

“He’s also a lefthanded pitcher, which are hard to come by, and he throws in the upper 80s consistently.”

All National Letter of Intent signings are contingent upon admission to the University of Maine and compliance with all NCAA rules, including registration with the NCAA Clearinghouse.

McNally, Barnies sign with Bears

UMaine men’s basketball coach Ted Woodward announced Wednesday that his program has received National Letters of Intent from Maine standouts Sean McNally of Gardiner and Troy Barnies of Edward Little of Auburn.

McNally, a 6-foot-7 center, led Gardiner to a 14-4 record last winter and a berth in the Eastern Maine Class A semifinals. He averaged 19.1 points, 12.3 rebounds, and 4 blocked shots per game and was named to the Bangor Daily News All-Maine second team.

Barnies, a 6-foot-7 forward, averaged 22.6 points and 11.3 rebounds per game last winter while leading Edward Little to a 14-4 regular-season record.