Pair of WSL Alum Sign Professional Contracts
March 4, 2016
A pair of former Wisconsin State Leaguers will be getting a shot to continue their careers in the professional ranks. Sheboygan A's alum Colin Willis and West Bend 7 Up alum Joel Sharon both signed contracts in the Frontier League.
A pair of former Wisconsin State Leaguers will be getting a shot to continue their careers in the professional ranks. Sheboygan A’s alum Colin Willis and West Bend 7 Up alum Joel Sharon both signed contracts in the Frontier League. Formed in 1993, the Frontier League is the oldest currently running independent professional baseball league. The 2016 season will feature 12 teams in two divisions playing 96 game schedules.
Willis played parts of three season’s with the A’s, having suited up in 2010, 2011 and 2014. He has a career .352 batting average, with 106 hits, 14 doubles, 44 RBI while only striking out 18 times in 301 at-bats.
A native of Sheboygan, WI, Willis played collegiately at Purdue North Central, a NAIA school located in Westville, IN, where he holds a number of school single-season records, including: runs scored (65), hits (93), stolen bases (28), at-bats (211) and plate appearances (244).
Willis was named the A’s team MVP in 2014 after hitting .403 and helping lead the A’s to the 2014 Langsdorf League Championship. In that season, Willis also was the batting champion of the Langsdorf League as well as co-Most Valuable Player in the Northeastern Wisconsin Baseball League.
Willis becomes the 41st known A’s alum to play professional baseball, joining Tyler Jones (2009), Gunnar Eastman (2013) and Josh Uhen (2010) as current alumni playing professional baseball.
Sharon, a 2015 graduate from Concordia University in Mequon, WI, had a productive but limited summer with 7 Up in 2015 due to an arm injury. Listed as an outfielder and pitcher, Sharon appeared in seven games for West Bend, hitting .435 with 10 hits in 23 at-bats.
Sharon also saw time on the mound for 7 Up, going 1-2 with one save in 25.2 innings pitched. He was a four-year letter winner at Concordia.
Willis will join the Lake Erie Crushers in Avon, OH. Sharon will report to the Schaumburg Boomers in Schaumburg, IL. Both teams compete in the league’s eastern division. The 2016 Frontier League season kicks-off on May 12.
The Wisconsin State League is one of the premier semi-professional/amateur baseball leagues in the mid-west. In operation since 1970, the Wisconsin State League is a highly competitive league that features many of the midwest's top current and former collegiate athletes, as well as many former professional baseball players. Keep up to date on everything happening in the Wisconsin State League by following the league online on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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