Matt Spalding

WKU signs five in early period, including 2010 draftee

College Baseball, High School Baseball

In the latest early signing class breakdown we’ll look at Western Kentucky University. The Hilltoppers signed five players during the early period. Check out some 2010 stats from each player below with a news release quote from WKU coach Chris Finwood.

RHP/INF/OF Matt Spalding — St. Xavier High School

  • 2010 Honors: No. 1 prospect in state according to Perfect Game
  • Finwood: “Matt is a true two-way player.  He can really swing the bat and projects as a very productive hitter in college.  He can play outfield and infield as well.  Matt is also an exceptional talent on the mound and has been clocked as high as 94-95 this fall.  He is an outstanding student as well.”

LHP Ian Tompkins — St. Xavier High School

  • 2010 Honors: All-State in 2010
  • Finwood: “Finding a quality high school lefty was a big priority for us this fall and Ian has been a bit of a late bloomer but by the middle of the summer, everyone was on him.  We got on Ian early and stayed the course and we are excited to add him to our pitching staff.”

OF Ryan Fucci — Tates Creek High School

  • 2010 Honors: All-City in baseball, All-State in basketball
  • Finwood: “Ryan is a tremendous athlete and one of the better basketball players in the state as well as an outstanding baseball player.  Ryan projects as a centerfielder and once he commits himself to playing baseball full time, he will become a pretty good professional prospect as well.”

RHP Jerad Eickhoff — Olney Central CC

  • 2010 Honors: 46th Round pick of Cubs
  • Finwood: “Jerad is a big strong hard throwing righty who is playing for former Hilltopper great Casey Hamilton at Olney.  Jared was drafted by the Chicago Cubs last year in the 46th round.  Jerad is a great student and should vie for a rotation spot right away.”

SS Steve Hodgins — Wabash Valley CC

  • 2010 Honors: JC team finished season ranked No. 5 in country
  • Finwood: “Steve is an energy type player who really can play shortstop and has a quality left-handed bat.  He is the son of a major league scout and has grown up around the game.  Steve handles the bat well, can bunt and run and is very solid on defense.  He was exactly what we were looking for to solidify our middle infield situation for next year.”

You can read the full WKU news release 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.

Kentucky prep pitchers highlight wood-bat tournament; Revere stays hot in AFL; Gibson excels for Morehead

College Baseball, High School Baseball, Minor League Baseball

Jon Rauch; Photo from Wikimedia Commons

Latest links and highlights from around Kentucky baseball:

  • Conor Glassey of Baseball America recaps the action from the World Wood Bat Championship, highlighting performances from Lexington Catholic High School right-handed pitcher Tyler Arthur and St. X right-handed pitcher Matt Spalding.
  • Mark Polishuk of MLBTradeRumors evaluates former Morehead St. right-handed pitcher Jon Rauch‘s free agent stock.
  • On Wednesday former NKU right-handed pitcher Josh Lueke earned his first save for the Peoria Javelinas of the Arizona Fall League. Former Lexington Legend right-handed pitcher Kyle Greenwalt pitched four scoreless innings for the win.
  • On Thursday Lexington Catholic alum Ben Revere was 3-6 with three RBI, two runs scored and a stolen base for the Peoria Saguaros of the AFL.
  • Former UofL right-handed pitcher B. J. Rosenberg took the loss after surrendering four runs in one inning for the Mesa Solar Sox of the AFL.
  • Morehead State University sophomore right-handed pitcher Cody Gibson struck out 10 batters in six innings to lead the Gold team to a 2-0 series lead in the Eagles’ fall scrimmage series.

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.

Ky. high school underclassmen named to All-American list

High School Baseball

Perfect Game USA has released its preseason high school underclassmen All-American lists, and several Kentucky preps were included in the honorable mention category. I’ve listed those below with graduation year, but you can see the full team here. (Hat tip to Adam Revelette of Examiner.com.)

High-Honorable Mention:

Mark Biggs — Warren East (2011)
Zach Clooney — St. Xavier (2011)
Chandler Shepherd — Lawrence County (2011)
Matt Spalding — St. Xavier (2011)

Honorable Mention:

Chase Armstrong- Lexington Catholic (2012)
Zach Arnold- Franklin County (2012)
Michael Bollmer- Bryan Station (2012)
Beau Bouthilette- Elizabethtown (2011)
Clay Cinnamon- Mercer County (2011)
Jeremy Cline- Warren Central (2011)
Spencer Drake- Eastern (2012)
Ryan Fucci- Tates Creek (2012)
Kevin Herren- Lafayette (2012)
Matt Honchel- Harrodsburg (2011)
Will Hurt- Lexington Catholic (2012)
Tyler Jackson- Lexington Catholic (2012)
Jackson Laumann- Boone County (2011)
Matt McGowan- University Heights (2011)
Logan McQuerry- George Rogers Clark (2012)
Dalton Mellott- Ohio County (2011)
Cody Moore- Lawrence County (2011)
Logan Shaftner- Lafayette (2011)
Blake Smith- Lafayette (2011)
Andrew Willinger- St. Xavier (2012)