Warren East High School

Madison Central is No. 1 in latest KHSBCA poll

High School Baseball

The Kentucky High School Baseball Coaches Association has released its weekly top 25 poll. Check out the rankings below:

  1. Madison Central
  2. St. Xavier
  3. Eastern
  4. Central Hardin
  5. Lafayette
  6. Lexington Catholic
  7. Paul Laurence Dunbar
  8. Male
  9. Apollo
  10. Pleasure Ridge Park
  11. Covington Catholic
  12. Tates Creek
  13. Hopkinsville
  14. Ballard
  15. Bryan Station
  16. Harrison County
  17. Allen County Scottsville
  18. Woodford County
  19. Lawrence County
  20. Danville
  21. Ryle
  22. Pikeville
  23. Trinity
  24. Henderson County
  25. Warren East
You can see the other schools receiving votes 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.

Hart wants extension with Brewers; UofL picks up commit from Warren East star; Legends make roster moves

College Baseball, High School Baseball, Major League Baseball, Minor League Baseball

Corey Hart; Photo by Steve Paluch via Flickr

The trade deadline for Kentucky baseball players ended up being a lot of smoke with the biggest names among rumored trade candidates (Corey Hart and Scott Downs) staying put. Neither player figures to clear waivers in August, so unless a deal is worked out with whatever team claims them both could spend the rest of the season with their current teams. Check out some links from around Kentucky baseball about stories that did happen over the weekend:

  • If Bowling Green native Corey Hart has his way he won’t be staying with the Brewers only through the end of the season. Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports Hart wants a contract extension since Milwaukee decided not to trade him before the deadline.
  • Chad Bishop of the Bowling Green Daily News reports Warren East High School rising senior pitcher/third baseman Mark Biggs has committed to play collegiate baseball at the University of Louisville.
  • The Lexington Legends made several important roster moves over the weekend, headlined by the promotion of South Atlantic League all-star infielder Jose Altuve to high A Lancaster. Infielder Barry Butera switched places with Altuve, moving from Lancaster to Lexington, and infielder Jimmy Paredes, acquired by the Astros in the Lance Berkman trade with the Yankees, was added to the Legends’ roster.
  • John Manuel of Baseball America profiles Paredes in his breakdown of the Berkman trade.
  • Western Kentucky University has announced a showcase for high school players for September 5 at Nick Denes Field.
  • In case you are still a little fuzzy about how major league players can still be traded after the July 31 “trade deadline” check out this very useful explanation of the process from the always great MLBTradeRumors.
  • Josh Cook, writing for the Courier-Journal, recaps the Louisville Bats Saturday win over Louisville natives Marty Popham and Jeremy Sowers of the Columbus Clippers.

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)