BaseballAmerica.com: College: Recruiting: Gators Thrive In Early Recruiting Page 4 of 5
excellent hammer curveball) and Chicago prepster Justin Ringo (an outfielder with a
promising lefthanded swing).
Arizona signed a pair of top 100 talents in lefty Ian Kroll (27) and outfielder Randal
Grichuk (69). But the class stands out most for its collection of projectable, high-upside
arms like 6-foot-5 righthander Trent Stevenson (who already reaches 90 mph).
• Terry Rooney got a late start on his first class at Central Florida after the Knights hired
him to be their head coach on June 12. But Rooney had made plenty of connections in
the Southeast during his two years as the Louisiana State pitching coach, and he
scoured the Sunshine State to put together a strong 14-man class in short order.
Thirteen of the 14 are in-state recruits.
"One of the things that attracted to me to this job was obviously where we're located,"
Rooney said. "The state of Florida is one of the top two or three every year for amateur
talent. Our No. 1 priority was to land as many of the top players from the state of
Florida as we could, and then No. 2 we'll go out nationally. We really felt like we
achieved that first goal with our signing class, and I couldn't be more ecstatic.
"What I did is the same thing I did at LSU two years ago (in building the nation's No. 2
recruiting class): shore up the middle by signing some catchers and middle infielders.
The formula in the past has been pitchability lefties, projectable righties, and junior
college kids with a little experience. The most important thing was to get as athletic as
we possibly could, and develop some kids with a chance to be dominant power arms
down the road."
The crown jewels of the class are athletic, middle-of-the-diamond talents Ronnie
Richardson and Darnell Sweeney. Richardson, a center fielder from nearby Lake Eagle,
Fla., is a compact switch-hitter with a chance to be a legitimate four- or five-tool player.
Sweeney, a shortstop from Miramar, Fla., has smooth defensive actions, a strong arm
and plus speed. The top arms in the class are projectable, 6-foot-7 righty Greg Cook
from Tampa, and junior college righthanders John Michael Blake (who has reached 94
mph) and Chase Bradford.
• Rooney's former school, LSU, was another of the big winners from the early signing
period. The Tigers landed four top 100 recruits and four impact junior college transfers,
led by hard-throwing, 6-foot-6 righty Mitch Mormann from Des Moines (Iowa) Area CC.
The prep group is led by athletic outfielder Slade Heathcott (No. 26), who had surgery to
repair a torn ACL after suffering a football injury a few weeks ago. Heathcott and Brody
Colvin (33) figure to be explosive two-way players for the Tigers should they reach
campus, while righty Zach Von Rosenberg (36), last year's Louisiana state prep player of
the year, and lefty Forrest Garrett (87) give LSU a pair of high-upside prep arms.
"That's one thing we really wanted to do is build a little bit of depth in our pitching
staff," LSU coach Paul Mainieri said. "And we've got some quality arms, so I'm real
excited about that."
• Oregon, whose resuscitated program takes the field for the first time this spring, has
landed lefthander Tyler Matzek (Capstrano Valley HS, Mission Viejo, Calif.), whom BA
ranks as the No. 1 player in the prep class.
• Of the players who remain uncommitted, No. 2 Donovan Tate and No. 88 Matt
Nadolski are blue-chip football recruits who are weighing their options in both sports.
No. 9 Mychal Givens seems very unlikely to bypass the draft and therefore have yet to
sign with any colleges, and Mississippi looked like the front-runner to land No. 97 Billy
Hamilton.
http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/college/recruiting/2009/267232.html 11/22/2008