Indiana University Athletics
Butler Feeling at Home in Bloomington
3/9/2016 9:24:00 PM | Baseball
By: Sam Beishuizen | Twitter
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Tony Butler says there was never any doubt in his mind that he was a Division I baseball player.
He just had a roundabout way of proving it.
Indiana is the junior second baseman's third ball club in as many years. He spent his true freshman season at Virginia before transferring to Madison Junior College for a season before eventually winding up a Hoosier.
Three weeks into his first season in Bloomington, Butler said he's confident he's found a home.
"It's a different process than most players take to get to Indiana," Butler said. "This just seemed like the right place for me. I couldn't be happier to be here."
Butler began his collegiate career at Virginia but was never able to establish an identity as a Cavalier. He played in nine games, logging one start, but had just two hits in 11 at-bats.
While playing for the Madison Mallards the summer after his freshman season, Butler opted to transfer to Madison College with the intention of finding a new Division I program to play for the following season. The Madison, Wisconsin, school was just a 30 minute drive from his hometown of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin.
Butler was committed to Indiana for the 2016 season by the end of November 2014, well before ever taking the field at Madison College. While an assistant coach at Louisville, head coach Chris Lemonis recruited Butler out of high school and quickly got in contact once he found out Butler was looking for a new school.
It didn't take long for assistant coach Kyle Cheesebrough to decide he liked what he saw in Butler. Indiana's coaching staff scheduled Butler for a campus visit in early November and had his commitment within two weeks.
"He was a kid we knew would show up every day and just play," Cheesebrough said. "Whether it was a good day or a bad day, we knew we could get an older, veteran player to come in here and just be a grinder mentality and come up in any spot we needed him."
In Butler, Indiana's coaches saw a pseudo veteran they'd be able to pencil in at multiple positions whether it be in the middle infield, third base or even the outfield. His defensive versatility played a role in getting him to Bloomington, but Butler's found a home in the middle infield for the time being.
"He definitely has veteran actions and attitude," Cheesebrough said. "He has a lot of experience and has played at a really high level. It was something we thought we needed to solidify some of the younger talent we had coming in."
Butler's already picked up some notoriety around the clubhouse for his glove.
In practice this week, he earned the coveted yellow jersey handed out to the top defensive performer after making a handful of diving stops in Florida last weekend.
"Defense, man, that was something we knew we were getting out of him," Cheesebrough said. "Any type of offense is going to be a bonus for Tony, but he's a better hitter than he's shown. He's a tremendous ballplayer, but he plays defense at another level."
Lemonis said he's confident Butler's bat will come alive with time as he gets comfortable. At the time the Hoosiers broke from spring training, he said Butler was actually one of the best performing hitters IU had.
Regardless of when the hits come, Butler will keep grinding away and impacting the game however he can whether that's mentoring a teammate or making flashy plays with the leather.
It's what Indiana's coaches brought him to Bloomington to do.
"I think a lot of players that play at this level, especially in this program, we all have confidence in our abilities and our team's abilities," Butler said. "I never really had any doubt. I knew I'd be back sometime, and I'm happy it's here."
IUHoosiers.com
He just had a roundabout way of proving it.
Indiana is the junior second baseman's third ball club in as many years. He spent his true freshman season at Virginia before transferring to Madison Junior College for a season before eventually winding up a Hoosier.
Three weeks into his first season in Bloomington, Butler said he's confident he's found a home.
"It's a different process than most players take to get to Indiana," Butler said. "This just seemed like the right place for me. I couldn't be happier to be here."
Butler began his collegiate career at Virginia but was never able to establish an identity as a Cavalier. He played in nine games, logging one start, but had just two hits in 11 at-bats.
While playing for the Madison Mallards the summer after his freshman season, Butler opted to transfer to Madison College with the intention of finding a new Division I program to play for the following season. The Madison, Wisconsin, school was just a 30 minute drive from his hometown of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin.
Butler was committed to Indiana for the 2016 season by the end of November 2014, well before ever taking the field at Madison College. While an assistant coach at Louisville, head coach Chris Lemonis recruited Butler out of high school and quickly got in contact once he found out Butler was looking for a new school.
It didn't take long for assistant coach Kyle Cheesebrough to decide he liked what he saw in Butler. Indiana's coaching staff scheduled Butler for a campus visit in early November and had his commitment within two weeks.
"He was a kid we knew would show up every day and just play," Cheesebrough said. "Whether it was a good day or a bad day, we knew we could get an older, veteran player to come in here and just be a grinder mentality and come up in any spot we needed him."
In Butler, Indiana's coaches saw a pseudo veteran they'd be able to pencil in at multiple positions whether it be in the middle infield, third base or even the outfield. His defensive versatility played a role in getting him to Bloomington, but Butler's found a home in the middle infield for the time being.
"He definitely has veteran actions and attitude," Cheesebrough said. "He has a lot of experience and has played at a really high level. It was something we thought we needed to solidify some of the younger talent we had coming in."
Butler's already picked up some notoriety around the clubhouse for his glove.
In practice this week, he earned the coveted yellow jersey handed out to the top defensive performer after making a handful of diving stops in Florida last weekend.
"Defense, man, that was something we knew we were getting out of him," Cheesebrough said. "Any type of offense is going to be a bonus for Tony, but he's a better hitter than he's shown. He's a tremendous ballplayer, but he plays defense at another level."
Lemonis said he's confident Butler's bat will come alive with time as he gets comfortable. At the time the Hoosiers broke from spring training, he said Butler was actually one of the best performing hitters IU had.
Regardless of when the hits come, Butler will keep grinding away and impacting the game however he can whether that's mentoring a teammate or making flashy plays with the leather.
It's what Indiana's coaches brought him to Bloomington to do.
"I think a lot of players that play at this level, especially in this program, we all have confidence in our abilities and our team's abilities," Butler said. "I never really had any doubt. I knew I'd be back sometime, and I'm happy it's here."
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