Baseball: Sycamore grad Kyle Hartmann commits to NIU

The day before the Fourth of July, Kyle Hartmann decommitted from Western Kentucky, the NCAA Division I baseball program he had been committed to for almost a year.

Less than a month later he found his new home; one very close to his old one.

The recent Sycamore graduate committed to NIU last week.

“I was a little shocked about how late in the game it was,” Hartmann said. “After everything opened up, I realized NIU is the best school for me and my family.”

As he was about to report to Western Kentucky, he said he and the school realized there was a miscommunication on the specifics of his offer. He decided to reopen his recruiting process July 3.

On Thursday, he announced he found a home with second-year head coach Ryan Copeland and the Huskies.

“I liked the coaches there a lot, and the program is heading in the right way,” Hartmann said. “There’s something to be said about staying home and turning the program around.

“Something just sounds cool about that – stay home, help turn the program around, be the local kid.”

The Huskies were 21-33 last year and 14-16 in the Mid-American Conference. It was the most wins in a season since a 24-32 campaign in 2016. The Huskies last had a winning record in 2011.

“They had a really good season last year with not even their players,” Hartmann said. “So it should be an even better season bringing in their own guys.”

Hartmann was a Daily Chronicle All-Area Baseball selection in 2023 and 2024.

He hit .371 with two home runs and 24 RBIs this year. He also did not commit an error at catcher all season as the Spartans came a win away from a return trip to the Class 3A state finals.

In 2023, Hartmann helped the Spartans take third in Class 3A. He hit .380 with seven home runs and 37 RBIs.

Hartmann said about five or six schools reached out to him in his second recruiting window, and he ended up with the Huskies in large part because of the coaching staff.

“Especially nowadays with college coaches moving around and leaving to bigger and better places, I really didn’t get that vibe at all,” Hartmann said. “Head coach and all the assistants really like it and will be there for a long time.”