Rick Ladjevich
Rick Ladjevich was one of the most phenomenal high school basketball players ever produced in Mercer County, who also shined on the baseball diamond and was eventually drafted by the Seattle Mariners.
At West Middlesex High School he established numerous hoop records. His junior year 1988-89 he scored 444 points and was named 2nd team All-Conference. His senior year he set a Mercer County single-season record by scoring 827 points and averaging 29 points-per-game.
He hit for a Mercer County record 63 points in a game against Greenville. He was named All-Conference MVP and voted to the All-State team. In baseball for the Big Reds, he was All-Conference MVP his senior year, while earning 1st-Team as a junior and 2nd-Team as a sophomore. He earned a full scholarship to play baseball from 1990-92 at Crowder Junior College, where as a freshman he led the team in batting average (.429), hits, homers (6) and RBI (61). He was named All-Region, as well as Most Outstanding Freshman and team MVP. As a sophomore he had 65 RBI and was named honorable mention All-American.
He moved on to the University of Central Missouri on a full scholarship. As a junior he was named 3rdTeam All-American, conference MVP and Hitter of the Year. He batted .419 with 45 RBI to lead team. Rick�s senior season he was named the Division II Player of the Year, as well as Baseball America Small College Player of the Year. He was conference MVP and Hitter of the Year while leading the team to the national championship. He hit .460 with 14 homers and had a Div. 2 record 97 RBI. He set a conference mark with 17 totals bases in one game, and tied a conference record with 4 homers in 1 game.
He was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 26th round in 1994. He was a career .300 hitter in the minor leagues and was named to the 1995 California League mid- and post-season all-star Games. He has coached area high school girls� softball and boys� basketball.