Congratulations are in order for Outlaws 15-U coach Dave Rodgers of East Peoria.

Coach Rodgers was awarded the Les Miller Man of the Year Award by the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association at their annual clinic and banquet last weekend in Chicago. The Les Miller Award is the highest honor the IHSBCA bestows.

Coach Rodgers is a long time coach at both the junior-high level and the high-school level as well as the Illinois Coaches Association overseer of its baseball division.

Congratulations are also in order for a pair of Outlaw players, one current and one former.

Former Outlaw outfielder Seth Schwindenhammer, now of the Boston Red Sox, was named the IHSBCA's Class 3A Player of the Year at the banquet. Seth was a fifth-round draft pick of the Boston Red Sox in the 2009 draft following a standout senior season at Limestone.

Congrats are also due for current Outlaw pitcher/first baseman Luke Staub, who signed with Southeastern Iowa Community College. The Blackhawks entered the season as the No. 8-ranked NJCAA Division I team in the country.