Sept. 10, 2012

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Northern Illinois baseball player Jeff Zimmerman (Tinley Park/Victor J. Andrew) has been selected to Perfect Game USA's top-prospect list for the Northwoods League. Zimmerman played for the Madison Mallards over the summer, where he set the single season record for RBI (57) and tied the home runs record in a season (13). Zimmerman was ranked 50th out of 75.

"It's great," said Head Coach Ed Mathey, "Jeff went out and had a heck of a summer and it's good to see, he's been a good player in our program. He came out like a gangbuster with 11 home runs and 47 RBI to earn Freshman All-America honors. He fell off a little in his sophomore year but that's not unusual, teams tend to earmark those kinds of players and do not allow them be the guy that beats them. But it's great for Jeff and Northern Illinois baseball.

Zimmerman made a team-high 66 appearances for the Mallards over the summer, playing first base and also pitching from time-to-time. The junior totaled the fourth-highest batting average of its everyday players (.274), and as mentioned, hit 13 home runs and 57 RBI to tie and break the Madison Mallards single season records. The Tinley Park, native also carried a slugging percentage of .456 and an on-base percentage of .357.

On the mound, Zimmerman pitched four innings and struck out three batters to one walk. He did not surrender a run in his four relief appearances  for the Mallards.

Perfect Game USA listed its top Major League Baseball prospects for most summer baseball leagues, where it ranked the Northwoods League as the No. 2 summer baseball league for level of play and MLB prospects out of 24 leagues listed.