East’s Roan keeping Division I dream alive

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College sports recruiting turned into a two-way street shortly after Al Gore invented the Internet, with athletes presenting themselves to coaches and schools through e-mails, message boards and videos.

St. Charles East senior outfielder Steph Roan began taking the proactive route last year, but since has landed in a place she did not target in her initial blitz.

Until recently, Roan hardly had even heard of Kankakee Community College, whose coach, Dennis Clark, operated the old-fashioned way.

He tapped Roan on the shoulder this summer at a tournament for her club softball team, the Wasco Diamonds. That grew into her verbal commitment to Kankakee late this week. 

Roan still harbors the NCAA Division I aspirations she took into the recruiting process, though her declining of Michigan State’s preferred walk-on offer might be misleading. Indiana and Central Michigan, among others, also were in the mix, but Roan figured she could stand to fine-tune her skills before playing in the Big Ten or Big East, her target conferences.

“I know if I keep working hard, keep plugging away, keep hitting for two years, I can find out where I am,” Roan said. “Hopefully, that matches up to where my dream is.”

Roan’s season in Wasco is winding down, and she soon will resume her role as a guard for the East girls basketball team. Roan said her parents have urged her to consider basketball at Kankakee to stay in shape for softball, but she is not rushing to make her decision.

Roan returned to the computer shortly after her first encounter with Clark, perusing Kankakee’s athletic Web site to learn about former players in the program. She saw that a handful of Cavalier sophomores would be moving on to play at universities such as Bradley and Illinois-Springfield next spring.

She also had observed Clark as a “father figure” who stressed academics and responsible conduct away from the field.

“He takes care of the kids and he sends a lot of his girls off to D-I schools,” Roan said.

She’s hoping to be among the next batch.

Get a grip: Seconds after signing his scorecard at Tuesday’s IHSA Class 3A Streamwood Boys Golf Regional, East senior Kyle Cook wanted back out in the rain to shave off a few strokes.

He could get a second chance Monday when East hosts a sectional at St. Andrews, as the wet stuff returns to the forecast after a brief respite.

Just look at page 3.

Should that prediction hold up, the purity of postseason golf in these parts will have taken another hit. Mother Nature marred most conference tournaments late last week, then played a role in regionals.

No wonder Cook pined for for new rain gloves in the clubhouse at Bartlett Hills.

Teammate Jordan Wetsch, who shot 5-over-par 76, called the weather no trouble, but others disagreed. The biggest obstacle in poor conditions proved to be the short game and readjusting putts, players said.

Good thing they’ve had the chance to get their feet – and clubs – wet during practices this week.

• Kevin Druley is a sportswriter for The Chronicle. He can be reached at 630-845-5347 or  kdruley@kcchronicle.com.