Dupont Manual High School

Morehead St. inks six during early signing period

College Baseball

Colleges around the state are beginning to release their 2010 early signing classes with Morehead State University the first Kentucky school to do so. The Eagles signed four Kentucky high school players in the six-man early signing period class. Check Morehead’s early signing list below with a news release quote from coach Jay Sorg:

INF Taylor Sears — Somerset High School

  • 2010 Stats: .411, 32 RBI, 32 SBs
  • Sorg: “There are not enough great things I can say about Taylor. He is a very high character person and a great athlete. Defensively he will specialize in the middle infield but is versatile enough to play all around the diamond.”

RHP Aaron Goe — Grant County High School

  • 2010 Stats: 2.04 ERA, 59 SO, 55 IP
  • Sorg: “He features a fastball that can reach into the low 90s and a big breaking ball. Aaron has an extreme amount of upside and certainly projects as a starter. Aaron is a strong student-athlete who we believe will be recognized both on the field and in the classroom during his time at Morehead State University.”

RHP Craig Pearcy — Dupont Manual High School

  • Career HS Stats: 15-5, 1.96 ERA, 119 SO, 118 IP
  • Sorg: “He fills up the strike-zone with three pitches. Mechanically he is very sound with a loose arm. We project him to be a starter, but he is a versatile pitcher and can fill a lot of roles. Craig is a high makeup guy and a good student. He will be very successful in our program.”

RHP Blake Smith — LaFayette High School

  • 2010 Stats: 3-2, 1.63 ERA, 3 CG
  • Sorg: “We are excited to sign Blake. He has an electric fast arm that allows him to run his fastball into the lower 90s. He fills up the strike zone with all his pitches. His breaking ball is sharp and he can play right now. He is a young senior and we see a tremendous upside as he continues to grow into his body. We know he has been well coached in both high school and summer ball. He should be ready to go for us in the fall.”

RHP Matt Duncan — Southeastern Iowa Junior College

  • Career JC Stats: 3-2, 30 SO, 11 SV, 21.2 IP
  • Sorg: “Matt has a very strong lower half and an explosive delivery which allows him to run his fastball into the low to mid 90s. I really like bullpen roles and as a true closer he gives next year’s club the opportunity to have a different 7th, 8th, and 9th inning pitcher.”

3B Kane Sweeney — Belleville, Ind.

  • 2010 Stats: 16 HR and 64 RBI between HS season and summer ball
  • Sorg: “Kane is a big, strong, physical left-handed hitter with quick hands. We project him to be a middle of the order hitter for our club with high power and RBI production.”

You can read the Morehead St. news releases here, here and here.

Early NCAA Signing Period Rundown

College Baseball, High School Baseball

The early signing period for college baseball opened this week. Teams won’t likely announce their classes until the end of the period, but here’s a quick rundown of the signings we’ve heard so far:

  • DuPont Manual High School prep Craig Pearcy signed with Morehead State University, St. X pitchers Ian Tompkins and Matt Spalding signed with Western Kentucky University,  St. X pitcher Ryan Loehnert signed with the University of Kentucky and Manual prep Dalton Brown signed with Spalding, Jody Demling of the Courier-Journal reports.
  • Bill Harrison of the Chicago Tribune reports Chicago prep Jeff Boehm of Mount Carmel High School signed with the UK.
  • Warren East High School infielder/pitcher Mark Briggs signed with the University of Louisville, the Bowling Green Daily News reports.
  • Erik Hall of the News Tribune reports Illinois preps Mason Snyder and Joey Ceja both signed with UofL.

KHSBCA All-State Teams

Uncategorized

Check out the first and second Kentucky High School Baseball Coaches Association All-State teams:

First Team

  • Brock Downey — Murray High School
  • Justin Hageman — Hopkinsville High School
  • Kyle Gibson — Henderson County High School
  • Cole Isom — Christian County High School
  • Cole Sturgeon — Owensboro Catholic High School
  • Ty Downing – Greenwood High School
  • Shane Waldrop — Warren Central High School
  • Brandon Alphin — Bullitt East High School
  • Corey Littrell – Trinity High School
  • John Fidanza – Ballard High School
  • Kyle Cornett – Eastern High School
  • Brian Doering – Manual High School
  • Jared Martin — Harrison County High School
  • Trevor Gott — Tates Creek High School
  • J.T. Riddle — Western Hills High School
  • Lucas Witt — Lexington Christian Academy
  • Louie Helmburg — West Jessamine High School
  • Duran Elmore — Danville High School

Second Team

  • Tyler Saltsman — Grayson County High School
  • Mikey Scott — Grayson County High School
  • Matt Bowles — Bullitt East High School
  • Taylor Banks — Pleasure Ridge Park
  • Ryan Messex — Louisville Male High School
  • Matt Spalding — St. X
  • Spencer Drake — Eastern High School
  • Corey Bays — Henry Clay High School
  • Eric Standafer — Shelby County High School
  • Austin Pugh — Conner High School
  • Brice Smallwood — Dixie Heights High School
  • Logan Dailey — Harrison County High School
  • Taylor Martin — Lexington Catholic High School
  • Evan Stephens — Lexington Christian Academy
  • Aaron Watts — McCreary Central High School
  • Noah Smallwood — West Jessamine High School
  • Chandler Shepherd — Lawrence County High School
  • Gavin Miller — Pikeville High School

You can see the honorable mention team with player’s from each region here.

Kentucky High School Poll (May 8)

High School Baseball

The Kentucky High School Baseball Coaches Association released its latest top 25 poll on May 6. Lexington Catholic is holding steady in the No. 1 spot as the regular season winds down but several teams can challenge the Nights. Check out the most rankings below with each team’s total points listed and number of first place votes in parentheses:

1.   Lexington Catholic — 218 — (16)
2.   Eastern — 200 — (4)
3.   Lexington Christian — 194
4.   St. Xavier — 159
5.   West Jessamine — 156 — (2)
6.   Apollo — 155
7.   Pleasure Ridge Park — 150
8.   Tates Creek — 144
9.   Harrison County — 122
10.   Male — 114
11.   Trinity — 108
12.   Western Hills — 105
13.   Elizabethtown — 97
14.   DeSales — 96
15.   Henderson County — 93
16.   Lafayette — 88
17.   DuPont Manual — 85
18.   Central Hardin — 73
19.   Franklin County — 70
20.   Madison Central — 64
21.   Russell County — 63
22.   George Rogers Clark — 55
23.   Mercer County — 50 — (1)
24.   Butler — 44
25.   Glasgow — 43

Lexington schools headline latest KHSBCA top 25

High School Baseball

The Kentucky High School Baseball Coaches Association has released its latest top 25, and two Lexington teams headline the rankings. No. 1 Lexington Catholic and No. 2 Lexington Christian will face off Tuesday in one of the biggest games of the high school season. For more information about the showdown check out Adam Revelette’s preview for Examiner.com here.

KHSCBA Top 25

  1. Lexington Catholic (22) — 786 pts.
  2. Lexington Christian (3) — 701 pts.
  3. Eastern (4) — 640 pts.
  4. Pleasure Ridge Park (1) — 619 pts.
  5. West Jessamine (7) — 600 pts.
  6. St. Xavier (4) — 591 pts.
  7. Tates Creek (1) — 518 pts.
  8. Apollo (2) — 453 pts.
  9. Harrison County (1) — 392
  10. Male — 367
  11. Trinity — 263
  12. Henderson County — 252
  13. Franklin County — 248
  14. Lafayette — 244
  15. Elizabethtown (1) — 240
  16. Ballard — 217
  17. Glasgow — 197
  18. Dupont Manual (1) — 190
  19. Central Hardin — 166
  20. Bullit East — 134
  21. Western Hills — 127
  22. Butler — 114
  23. Mercer County — 108
  24. Danville (1) — 99
  25. Bryan Station (1) — 96

Ky seniors named Rawlings All-Americans

High School Baseball

Earlier today we linked Perfect Game USA‘s underclassmen high school All-American teams. Perfect Game partnered with Rawlings Sporting Goods to release the senior All-American team a few weeks ago, but several Kentucky high schoolers and in-state college signees were honored, so the list is still worth passing along. I’ve included those players with school and college commitment below, but you can see the full team here.

3rd Team All-American

  • LHP Corey Littrell — Trinity — University of Kentucky
  • C Jake DePew — Granite City (Ill.) — University of Louisville
  • RHP Kim Dace — Defiance (Ohio) — UofL

High Honorable Mention

  • RHP Patrick Maronde — Lexington Catholic — Coastal Carolina
  • LHP Joel Bender — Oak Hills (Ohio) — UofL
  • INF Alex Chittenden — Lawrence Central (Ind.) — UofL
  • RHP Chad Green — Effingham (Ill.) — UofL
  • P Jeffrey Thompson — Floyd Centrall (Ind.) — UofL
  • RHP Trevor Gott — Tates Creek — UK
  • OF Gavin Patton — IMG Academies (Fla.) — UK
  • RHP Blake Perry — Danville, IMG Academies (Fla.) — UK
  • SS Matt Reida — Russiaville (Ind.) — UK
  • OF G. J. Strauss — Chesterfield (Mo.) — Western Kentucky University

Hit the jump for players honored on regional teams

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Early signing period breakdown: WKU

College Baseball, High School Baseball

In the second of our early signing class breakdowns we’ll look at Western Kentucky University. WKU coach Chris Finwood and the Hilltoppers signed five players in the early period for 2011. Four came from high schools and one from a junior college. I’ve included each player’s 2009 highlights and Finwood’s quote about him below. You can read the full WKU release here.

RHP/INF Brian Doering — Dupont Manual High School

  • All-District, All-Region 2009
  • Finwood: “Brian is a bit of a late bloomer, and we really like his athleticism both on the mound and at the plate. He has an outstanding breaking pitch, and we think he has a bright future in our program. I think he was a bit overlooked on the mound this summer as he played on the same summer team as (fellow incoming Hilltopper Justin) Hageman and probably didn’t get seen as much.”

RHP/OF Justin Hageman — Hopkinsville High School

  • All District, All Region, 2010 Mr. Baseball Nominee
  • Finwood: “Justin is a true two-way player who will have an impact on the mound and at the plate for us. He is an ultra-aggressive and competitive young man who is a fearless competitor. We expect Justin to contribute right away as a pitcher and hitter.”

INF Mike Mosby — Hawesville, Ky. — Wabash Valley Community College

  • .373 BA, 15 home runs, 73 RBI and 11 stolen bases
  • Finwood: “Mike is a big, strong power-hitting third baseman from former Hilltopper All-American Wade Gaynor’s high school (Hancock County High School). Mike is listed as one of the top junior college hitters in this region, and we expect him to compete for a middle-of-the-order spot in the lineup right away.”

RHP/OF G. J. Strauss — St. Louis, Mo.

  • First-team All District, First-team All Conference
  • Finwood: “G.J. is a big, strong pitching and hitting prospect that we think has a great future both on the mound and at the plate. He has a great arm and can really pitch. We expect him to develop into a premium pitching prospect during his career at WKU. He was a teammate of current Hilltoppers Matt Borgschulte and Ryan Huck on the prestigious St. Louis Pirates travel team.”

RHP/INF Bret Sutton — Independence, Mo.

  • First-team All- Conference, First-team All-Area, All-State
  • Finwood: “Bret is another two-way player who we expect to help us on the mound and at the plate. Bret was very highly recruited mostly as a pitcher and he has a chance to be special on the mound, but we really think he will be a good hitter at this level as well. He is a fierce competitor and brings that edge to everything he does.”