SCHAUMBURG, Ill. — Buffalo Grove High School standout OF Jeff Harkensee and his college teammate at Southeastern Louisiana University RHP Tyler Watkins agreed to terms with the Schaumburg Boomers, Manager Jamie Bennett announced today.

Harkensee, 24, was born in Park Ridge, Ill. and makes his home in Arlington Heights after graduating from Southeastern Louisiana in 2011. Harkensee led the Lions in homers (10) and RBI (55) after batting .308/.376/.507 as a senior. The Arlington Heights native was also named to the ABCA All-South Central Region Second Team as well as the All-Southland Conference Third Team.

As a junior in 2010, Harkensee hit .325/.394/.529 and led the Southland Conference with 27 doubles, which placed him tenth nationally and set a Lions single-season record. The 5’11” outfielder was one of four players to start all 59 games for Southeastern Louisiana, and Harkensee led the team in total bases (127) and multi-hit games (24). His impressive 2010 season led to a Second Team All-Southland Conference Selection.

After his first season as a member of the Lions Baseball Team, Harkensee spent the summer of 2010 with the Okotoks Dawgs of the Western Major Baseball League, Canada’s premier summer collegiate baseball league. Harkensee helped lead the Dawgs to a 29-18 record after batting .394/.418/.612 with 17 doubles, seven homers and 41 RBI.

Prior to transferring to Southeastern Louisiana, Harkensee played football as a freshman at Illinois State before concentrating on baseball full-time. Harkensee excelled in his sophomore campaign at Mesa (Ariz.) Community College where the lefty batted .363 with 20 doubles, four triples, six homers and 46 runs batted in. Those numbers were good enough to garner First-Team All-Arizona Community College Athletic Conference and First-Team All-Region I honors.

A two-year letter winner at Buffalo Grove High School, Harkensee was tabbed as an All-Conference and Class 7A All-Area selection in both baseball and football, serving as team captain in both sports.

Watkins, 24, graduated in 2011 from Southeastern Louisiana where he and Watkins helped lead the Lions Baseball Team to a combined 75-41 over two seasons. Watkins led the team in wins with a 10-4 record and innings pitched (102.0). The 6’5” right hander allowed 37 earned runs and 112 hits while posting a 3.26 ERA. Watkins started 15 games and threw five complete games including one shutout in 2011. Watkins also struck out 50 while walking just 11 batters.

In 2010 as a junior, Watkins earned a 6-3 record and a 3.80 ERA. Watkins tied for most innings pitched (90.0) and was second on the team with 59 strikeouts. Watkins spent two seasons at Pearl River (Miss.) Community College where he went 8-5 and led the team with a 1.76 ERA as a sophomore. In 81.0 innings pitched in 2008, Watkins struck out 81 batters and surrendered just 20 free passes.

Watkins attended Petal High School in Petal, Miss. where he was named to the first team for All-Area, All-District and Class 6A All-State as a senior. Watkins went 10-2 with a 1.23 ERA in a school-record 22 appearances en route to being named Most Valuable Pitcher in the district.

Both Harkensee and Watkins were named to the Second Team Academic All-Southland Conference in both 2010 and 2011 during their time at Southeastern Louisiana.

In a separate move last week, the Boomers traded RHP Mark Larini to the Roswell Invaders (Pecos League) for future considerations.

With the additions of Harkensee and Watkins, the Boomers now have 24 players on the active roster, which may consist of up to 34 players on May 2 when the team is scheduled to report for Spring Training at Schaumburg Boomers Stadium. Both players join infielders Jordan Castaldo, Andrew Cohn, Brandon Hairston, Gerard Hall, Drew Heithoff, Andy Heston, and Ellis Lowe; pitchers Matt Collins, Wally Goodline, Vinny Lally, Patrick Mincey, Joe Parsons, Robbie Penny, Alex Thieroff, Dave Whigham and Andy Weeks; catchers David Fanshawe, Brad Hawn and Mike Valadez; and outfielders Nate Baumann, Cody McMorris and Raphael Turner.

Tickets are on sale now for the Inaugural Season of Schaumburg Boomers Baseball. Season Tickets, Group Packages and Single-Game Tickets are available by calling 847.461.3695, visiting www.boomersbaseball.com or stopping by the Boomers Stadium Box Office during regular business hours, Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.