Crack of the Bat
By David Rawnsley
College Baseball Recruiting
If you're a sports fan, listen to sports radio or live in a state with college football (meaning everyone), it's impossible this time of year not to be swamped with college football recruiting news and gossip. Football recruiting is big, big business, with all the controversy and hype that goes with it. To say that there is some gamesmanship involved, not to mention hard feelings, harsh accusations and more than a little working the system on the side, wouldn't be saying too much.
By comparison, college baseball recruiting, unless it has changed dramatically in the last year or two, is both more relaxed and more civil.
Case in point. Nebraska has a stud quarterback that verbally committed early in the fall. He's caused more than a little controversy since then by visiting, talking about visiting or accepting visits from three other Big 12 schools. You know that he's being hammered every day by other schools to change his mind. That's evidently just part of landscape. It reflects very poorly on the ethics of the "system" and the coaches involved (i.e. all of them) that trying to make a liar out of a 17 year old kid is considered a challenge and fair game.
Over the years I've talked to dozens and dozens of college baseball coaches and college baseball recruits about the recruiting process. On only two occasions can I remember a coach or a player telling me that they thought another school had been unethical or unprofessional regarding a commitment. The coach merely said something to the effect of "we're going to have to watch them a bit in the future," meaning he was going to make sure his buddies in the college coaching fraternity were aware of the potential problem. Self policing is often the best way of controlling a situation. The player shrugged it off, too, just saying he was disappointed in the pressuring school and he thought that the coach in question had more class than that.
I'm not so naïve as to think that some after the fact gentle persuasion doesn't occasionally happen. But in 99% of the cases it seems that the standard response from a school that has been turned down is "That's a fine program you've chosen, I think you'll do really well playing for Coach Smith. We wish you the best of luck."
Admittedly, part of Best Wishes winning out over Disappointment in what is a competitive situation between competitive individuals is based on the fact that transfer rules in baseball are far more lenient than in football. I am definitely not so naïve not to know that there is plenty of chatter that goes on in summer leagues and other places between players. Conversations that sound like "Hey, we're really short on middle infielders at my place. If you don't think you're going to get a lot of playing time where you are, you should consider transferring. I know you liked our place out of high school."
The player you are respectful of today in your disappointment might be your number 3 hole hitter in a couple of years, you never know.
Most everyone in baseball is very thankful for the "Early" signing date and a very significant majority of the players who have the opportunity take advantage of it to formally make a binding college commitment. An early signing date, before the fall season, which certainly make a huge impact on the college football recruiting business.
2006 College Commitments
Many of you have undoubtedly looked at the close to 1,200 names on the Perfect Game 2006 College Commitment List. http://www.perfectgame.org/2006/CollegeCommitments/CollegeCommitments.cfm
I wouldn't want to try to "rank" recruiting classes at this point. We don't include JC players in our commitment list for one, and JC players are integral to some school's programs. Additionally, different schools have different needs. Some are looking for big recruiting classes because they might have lots of scholarship money available, others are just looking for a couple of players to fill specific needs. I thought instead that I would just comment on some schools whose list of commitments stood out for me.
If your favorite school is listed below, it means absolutely nothing, just that I was determined to write at least a dozen words less than Blaine Clemmens does in his Jupiter reports and I had to stop at some point.
Auburn vs. Alabama
Everyone knows that this is one of the most heated intrastate rivalries around. Each school's respective Medical and Law schools probably even find a way to compete. Their approach to baseball recruiting this year was interesting.
The state of Alabama has a banner crop of talent in the 2006 class, perhaps the most premium players ever. Russell County HS (Phenix City, AL) was the mythical national high school champion in 2005 and could be just as good, if not better in 2006. The talent runs deep, too.
Auburn, whether by intent or after the fact analysis, won the in-state battle. They signed Russell County star RHP Cory Rasmus (Rasmus' teammate LHP Kasey Kiker chose neither school, signing with South Alabama instead), along with hard throwing RHP Taylor Thompson, switch-hitting catcher Dustin Spruill and power hitting 3B Joseph Sanders, among others. Their top out of state talent is Georgia infielder David Cunningham.
Alabama signed only one top in-state player, LHP Del Howell. They enjoyed an excellent recruiting class out of state, though, especially on offense. If they don't lose anyone to the June draft, the Crimson Tide's baseball team could be outscoring the football team in a few years. 3B/SS Billy Rowell from New Jersey is a top recruit, followed closely Georgia infielders Mike Meschke (1B) and Brandon May (3B), along with slugging Florida catcher Jared Avchen. Florida RHP Austin Evans is the top out of state pitching recruit and swings the bat a bit, too.
Either way, both schools enjoyed a banner recruiting year.
Baylor
Every year or two a school recruits a class of pitchers who could end up making it an "impact" staff. North Carolina did that with their current juniors, which include LHP Andrew Miller and RHP Daniel Bard. This year that potential staff looks to belong to the Baylor Bears.
Head recruiter Mitch Thompson didn't have to log many miles to get this class, either. RHP's Shawn Tolleson, Ryan Jenkins and Kendal Volz, along with LHP Aaron Miller, all live in Texas. Along with having the talent that puts them all in the PG Top 100 prospects, all four pitchers are polished performers who have competed against the top teams in the country successfully for many years.
Baylor didn't just recruit pitchers, either. 3B/1B Dustin Dickerson is one of the best pure left handed power hitters in the country. Shortstop's Raynor Campbell and Jimmy Bailey give the Bears a wealth of incoming infield talent. Needless to say, all three are from Texas as well.
Texas
If we're going to mention Texas, we have to mention the Longhorns. Interestingly, Texas went out of state to sign three of their top recruits. SS Marcus Lemon (FL) and 2B Mike Demperio (GA) could give the team an incredible top of the order on offense and middle of the infield on defense if both reach the Austin campus instead of pro ball. In addition, LHP Carmine Giardina (FL) is considered one of the top couple of left handed pitching prospects in the 2006 class.
Not that Texas doesn't recruit in-state. They signed the country's #1 rated prospect, RHP Jordan Walden, along with talented southpaw Brandon Belt.
North Carolina
After saying above that I wouldn't attempt to rank recruiting classes, I will say that if I did I would be tempted to put North Carolina right at the top. The Tar Heels picked up quality talent all around the diamond. The players they signed are almost across the board the type of mature, polished player that can step into the college game and be successful quickly. Just as importantly, with a few exceptions the future Tar Heels seem to be the type of player that the professional scouts are content to let go to school for three years rather than tempt with large signing bonuses.
Three pitchers headline the class. RHP Jared Bard (NC) is the younger brother of UNC RHP Daniel Bard, a potential high first round pick in the 2006 draft. LHP's Matt Petiton (NY) and Rob Catapano (TN) are two of the most polished southpaw's in the country and both could end up on campus.
OF Drew Poulk (NC) has emerged as one of the top "tools" outfielders in the 2006 class. OF Tim Fedroff (NJ) is probably more "college ready" than Poulk. IF Kyle Seager (NC) is an excellent left handed hitter who can play in the middle of the field. C Mark Fluery (GA) has advanced catching skills and can hit with power.
Miami
The aura surrounding the Miami Hurricane program in South Florida is as strong as ever. Three top 50 position prospects from the area, 3B Chris Marrero, SS Ryan Jackson and OF David Christensen, have all committed to play baseball in Coral Gables. They will be joined by three talent area pitchers, RHP's Alex Koronis, Kyle Snyder and J.J. Housey.
The key to Miami's recruiting class might lay on the opposite coast of the state, however. Two Sarasota HS stars, SS Mark Sobolewski and LHP Eric Erickson are both top notch talents. Sobolewski gives Miami a 4th position prospect ranked in the top 50 nationally, while Erickson is one of the most dominant high school pitchers in the country and should be an impact pitcher at the college level.
Cal State Fullerton
Fullerton's class definitely stands out among West Coast schools. They signed both the top pitcher in California in RHP Chris Tillman and the top hitter in OF-1B Chris Parmelee. They were also able to ink two of the top middle infielders in Nathan Bridges (CA) and Thomas Pham (NV). Pham also might use his low 90's heat as a pitcher at the college level. RHP/OF Michael Morrison is a definite two-way talent for Fullerton as well.
LSU
After a couple of years of smaller classes laden with many junior college players, veteran recruiter Turtle Thomas took off the gloves this year and signed a large class of predominantly high school talent. The Tigers inked perhaps the top position prospect and top pitching prospect in their home state in SS Ryan Adams and RHP T.J. Forrest. RHP Tony Sedlmeyer (IN) and LHP Blake Dean (FL) give LSU two premium out of state pitching prospects.
Tennessee
This recruiting class looks like the Vols could be known as "Florida North" soon. After Miami's J.P. Arencibia came to Tennessee last year and quickly established himself as one of the top players in the country as a freshman, Tennessee went back and signed LHP Bryan Morgado, RHP's Ryan Butner, RHP Shane Hill and C Yan Gomes from the Miami area for the 2006 class. Sounds like a great strategy with all the talent in South Florida!
Tennessee was also able to sign perhaps the top two-way talent in their home state, LHP-1B Jeff Lockwood. Players like Lockwood, who can also play the outfield, are invaluable to a program because of their versatility.
Arkansas
Coach Dave Van Horn's 2006 class at Arkansas doesn't stand out for immediate name value but it is significant for a couple of reasons. Schools in the Midwest and especially the Upper Midwest need to take note. The former Nebraska head coach signed two top prospects from Wisconsin in C Chad Pierce and LHP Tony Butler and the top Nebraska prep player in RHP Sam Murphy. Arkansas also signed players from Kansas, Illinois, Texas, Oklahoma and Washington in a total class of 19 commitments. Also among those 19 players was one of the top in-state players, RHP-3B Evan Cox.
Florida State
Florida State signed a very small recruiting class. Noteworthy are two players who are thought to be very strong candidates to sign professionally if they have strong springs, OF Cody Johnson and C Max Sapp. If one or both of those players ends up in school, Florida State is in great shape.
Clemson
Head recruiter Kevin O'Sullivan is one of the highest energy coaches around. Clemson has signed a diverse and large group of top talents, going north to North Carolina, Virginia and Pennsylvania for most of premium prospects. SS/RHP Graham Stoneburner and SS/OF Jason Taylor from Virginia are both versatile talents with plus tools. LHP's Ryan Morris (NC) and Matt Zoltak (PA) and RHP Josh Thrailkill (NC), along with Stoneburner if he primarily pitches, give Clemson one of the most talented groups of pitchers in the country. OF Addison Johnson (NC) profiles as a terrific college leadoff hitter and throws in the upper 80's off the mound from the left side as well.