USF releases 2008 Schedule

FROM PRESS RELEASE
TAMPA, Fla. – On Tuesday, University of South Florida head coach Lelo Prado announced the release of the 2008 Bulls baseball schedule, a listing that includes six teams (17 games) that competed in the 2007 NCAA Tournament and recorded 40-plus wins last season.

USF’s 56-game schedule spans 21 teams from nine conferences, with 44 games played in the state of Florida and 35 at USF’s Red McEwen Field in Tampa.

“It’s going to be a challenging schedule, with a lot of new faces,” said Prado. “We want to play great teams here at USF. With this schedule, if we do our part, our power rating is going to be there, and if we play the way we are capable of playing, it can get us ready for the conference championship and regional tournament. We want to be one of those teams in the NCAA tournament.”

The Bulls begin the season with 18 of their first 19 contests at home, and the first 26 of 28 games played in the Sunshine State.

“We have got a great home schedule that should be fun for the community to come out and support us,” said Prado. “We want to play the best people in America and we want to bring them to our hometown.”

Opening day for the Bulls is slated for Feb. 22, which begins a three-game home series with Indiana State (Missouri Valley Conference) at Red McEwen Field. After the Friday-Sunday set with the Sycamores, USF hosts a four-day weekend with Oklahoma State and Northwestern Feb. 28-March 2. USF will play OSU Feb. 28 and March 1, split up by the Northwestern games Feb. 29 and March 2.

After earning an NCAA at-large berth, OSU won the Fayetteville Regional, defeating Arkansas twice on the Razorbacks’ home field to advance to the Super Regional. The Cowboys were downed by Louisville in two of three games at the Super Regional, halting the Big XII team’s run to the College World Series.

On March 4 USF will play Florida Gulf Coast, a school that is joining the Atlantic Sun Conference after making a trip to the 2007 NCAA Division II South Regional with a 40-17 record as an independent. The second meeting between the two teams will be in Ft. Myers, Fla., on March 25.

USF will play the 2007 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Champion, Bethune-Cookman University, in Daytona Beach, Fla., for the Bulls’ first road game of the season. USF and the Wildcats, who posted a 16-1 conference record last season, will meet four times throughout the season, playing on the East coast March 5 and April 2 and in Tampa April 16 and April 30.

To end the third week of the season, the Bulls play Savannah State, an independent school that registered a 31-23 record last season, in a three-game series in Tampa.

Midweek games with FAU and UNF will be the first of the home-and-away matchups with the in-state opponents. The Bulls play FAU March 11, then again April 22 and host UNF March 12, then travel to Jacksonville March 26.

USF ends their stretch of 14 games in 18 days (Feb. 28-March 16) by opening BIG EAST action with Seton Hall March 14-16 in Tampa. The Bulls beat Seton Hall, who was 25-25 in 2007, in two of three games last season in South Orange, N.J.

Splitting the first two conference weekends will be a two-game set with Oklahoma, March 18-19. The Sooners were 34-24 last season, finishing seventh in the Big XII conference.

USF leaves the state of Florida for the first time in mid-March, traveling to Ohio for a three-game, two-day BIG EAST matchup with Cincinnati. The Bulls and Bearcats, who did not meet during the 2007 season, will play an evening game March 21, then bear down for a double-header Saturday afternoon.

Another first-time meeting between Prado and a BIG EAST school will occur March 28-30 when Georgetown comes to Red McEwen Field. The Bulls’ last meeting with the Hoyas was in 2006, when USF beat the team from Washington, D.C., one out of three games.

On April 1 the Bulls begin a four-game week on the road, beginning at UCF in Orlando, then to Bethune-Cookman in Daytona Beach on April 2 and off to Morgantown, W.V., April 4-6 for BIG EAST play. USF and UCF will play four times this season, in the Bay Area April 8 and May 6, and in Orlando April 1 and 29.

The second half of USF’s season includes four teams that participated in 2007 NCAA regionals, and one that played in the College World Series.

Prado will face the Louisville Cardinals, the team he coached to a 320-301-1 record in 11 years, in Tampa April 11-13. Last season Louisville beat Oklahoma State, 20-2, in game three of the Super Regional to advance to the 2007 College World series for the first time in school history.

USF and Stetson, who played in the 2007 Tallahassee Regional, will meet twice this season, the first time being in DeLand April 15 and the second a week later at Red McEwen Field April 23. The Bulls topped the Hatters twice last season, by scores of 6-5 and 5-0.

In mid-April the Bulls head to New Jersey to face Rutgers in Piscataway April 18-20 at Bainton Field. Rutgers, the BIG EAST Championship winner, as well as the regular-season BIG EAST co-champion, was eliminated by Oregon State, 5-2, in the Charlottesville Regional to end their quest to Omaha.

USF hosts Villanova April 25-27 before heading back to the Northeast for a three-game series with St. John’s May 9-11. The Bulls lost two regular-season matchups with the Red Storm, but beat the team from Queens, N.Y., 2-0, in the second round of the BIG EAST Championship to knock the conference co-champion out of the tournament. St. John’s did earn an at-large berth to the NCAA regional, but ended its season with a 6-5 loss to Coastal Carolina.

In the final Tuesday-night game of the year, the Bulls look to avenge last season’s ninth-inning 10-5 loss to in-state rival Florida. In 2007 USF gave up seven runs in the ninth inning to drop the game to the SEC opponent.

USF wraps up the season May 15-17 in Tampa against Notre Dame. The Bulls took two from the Fighting Irish in Indiana in 2007. After losing the first game 1-0, USF outscored ND 22-11 in the final two games to win the series.

The 2007 BIG EAST Championship will be held May 21-25 at a location yet to be announced. NCAA championships begin with Regionals (May 30-June 2) and Super Regionals (June 6-8) at campus sites, which lead to the College World Series held at Omaha’s Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium June 14-25 in Nebraska.

Full Schedule available here.

Baseball America ranks Top 25 Recruiting Classes

Baseball America has released their annual rankings of the Top 25 Recruiting Classes. Click on the respective schools for a press release about the incoming class. Thanks to UCLA for posting the entire Top 25 in a press release.

Baseball America's Recruiting Class Rankings

Rank School
1 San Diego
2 Louisiana State
3 Oregon State
4 North Carolina
5 Auburn
6 Notre Dame
7 UCLA
8 Cal State Fullerton
9 Texas
10 Arkansas
11 Missouri
12 Vanderbilt
13 Pepperdine
14 Mississippi
15 Clemson
16 Arizona State
17 Virginia
18 Texas A&M
19 Rice
20 Miami
21 Tennessee
22 Georgia Tech
23 Tulane
24 Georgia
25 UC Riverside

Ohio State Fall World Series Game 1 Recap

FROM PRESS RELEASE
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State Scarlet team defeated the Gray, 3-2, to claim Game 1 in the best-of-five Scarlet and Gray World Series Monday at Bill Davis Stadium. Game 2 is set for 3 p.m. Tuesday with Game 3 scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. start Wednesday under the lights.

Junior Ben Toussant, who started at second base for the Scarlet, lined a single to left centerfield to score freshman Ryan Meade from second base with the winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning to give the Scarlet the extra-innings win. Meade had singled with one out and moved to second on junior catcher Justin Miller’s two-out single.

Ohio State head coach Bob Todd, in his 21st season as coach, was pleased with the effort of the two teams.

“There were a lot of situations created out on the field today, defensively as well as offensively, and the players came through those situations with a lot of positives,” Todd said. “I am very pleased with how our players responded defensively. They made some good decisions.”

Some terrific defensive plays were turned in by:

• The Gray’s Brian DeLucia, at third, who dove to his right and snared a low liner by Dan Burkhart that would have gone for extra bases;
• Scarlet center fielder Ryan Dew, who made a long run and diving catch off a Brad Brookbank drive; and
• Right fielder Brookbank, who made a similar long run and diving catch to rob Ben Toussant of a hit.

Additionally, Scarlet pitcher Eric Best, a sophomore, caught Gray senior Cory Kovanda trying to steal and one inning later picked off Tyler Engle from first base. And in the seventh inning, Scarlet catcher Justin Miller started a 2-5-2-6-5 pickoff to get Brookbank, who was anticipating a squeeze bunt, out at third.

This game was not just about defense, though. The Gray team, coached by Buckeye assistant Peter Jenkins, scored in the top half of the third to take a 1-0 lead. Freshman first baseman David Corna singled to center and with one out stole second. Two batters later Kovanda stroked a single to center to score Corna. It was the first of three hits on the day for Kovanda, whose day included a triple, run scored and an RBI.

Coach Eric Parker’s Scarlet team scored twice in the fourth to take a 2-1 lead. Junior third-baseman Justin Miller walked and advanced to second on a single by sophomore center fielder Chris Griffin. Freshman Matt Streng doubled to left to score Miller with Griffin moving to third. Senior Tony Kennedy than hit a sac fly to right to score Griffin.

The Gray came back to tie the score in the top of the sixth. Kovanda led off with a triple to right center and then scored on J.B. Shuck’s single through the left side.

Each team used three pitchers. Best went 5.0 innings for the Scarlet and allowed one earned run off four hits with two strikeouts and a walk. Freshman RHP Tom Popadok pitched a clean 1.2 innings in relief to pick up the win.

Shuck started for the Gray and allowed two runs off six hits. Senior Rory Meister came on in the eighth inning and took the loss.

HTML Box Score

S&G World Series Game 1 Game Notes:

• Gray Starting pitcher J.B. Shuck also hit in the DH role and collected a pair of hits.
• Each of the top seven batters in the Gray’s lineup had at least one hit.
• Ryan Dew, Ryan Meade and Matt Streng each had two hits for the Scarlet.
• The game lasted 2:09 and approximately 200 fans were in attendance.

NAIA announces new playoff format

By Special Contributor
Bob Broughton, http://tbirdbaseball.net/

Last week, the NAIA Council of Presidents unanimously approved a new qualification scheme for baseball and ten other sports. The change will take effect for the 2009 season.

The term the NAIA uses for this is “direct qualification”. It means that the qualifiers for the NAIA national championship tournament in Lewiston, ID are the winners of nine opening-round tournaments, plus the host school, Lewis-Clark State. More specifically,

• Each opening-round tournament consists of five teams. 45 teams will be involved in direct qualification.
• 22 of these teams are determined by conference tournaments. The champion of a conference with at least six baseball-playing members becomes an automatic qualifier.
• 22 more teams are at-large selections.
• One spot is reserved for “true independents”.
• Competition in the opening-round tournament is double-elimination.

There are some important details missing from this announcement, which will be discussed further down. However, this new arrangement is already an improvement over the status quo, which is 14 regional tournaments, followed by seven super-regional tournaments. The problem is that most of the good NAIA teams are in Tennessee, Oklahoma, and the sun belt. The result has been that some very good teams have stayed home while some not-very-good teams have qualified for the national tournament.

The missing details are, who hosts the opening-round tournaments, and how the tournaments are seeded. It doesn't look like the top nine teams are going to be the hosts. It's possible that the top nine could include a couple of schools within a few miles of each other, and it's also possible that the top nine could include schools that don't have adequate facilities for hosting a tournament of this nature. (Wireless access for live bloggers, for example.) The NAIA would like to play these tournaments in locations where there's a chance of drawing good crowds, in order to make some money to contribute to travel expenses.

Once the sites are determined, who goes to which tournaments? The fairest way to do it would be the way the NCAA sets up the basketball regional tournaments, but the NAIA simply can't afford this amount of travel. The “Final Recommendations” document implies that 15 teams would be flying to the opening-round tournaments, but there's no information about what this is based on. It certainly suggests that most teams would be playing within a bus ride from home. Is there going to be a rule that qualifying teams from the same conference would be sent to different opening-round locations?

The main criticism I have of the new arrangement is, 45 teams is overkill. In the NAIA's final poll last season, only 37 teams received votes. It would make more sense to limit it to 36 teams, an even four teams per location.

The automatic bid for Lewis-Clark State is also a contentious issue, but not for the reason you might think. I haven't bothered to check when the last time was that the Warriors were not ranked among the top ten teams; let's just say that it was quite a while ago. What puts Lewis-Clark State in a privileged class is the fact that their entire regular season, in effect, consists of exhibition games. In 2006, 40 of the 49 games that they played were at home (one road game was rained out), and two of the road games were at nearby Washington State and Gonzaga. They only played three double-headers (one scheduled double-header was rained out.) Can you say, “recruiting advantage”?

It isn't difficult to understand why the NAIA has passed on another opportunity to correct this inequity. The national championship tournament is an important source of revenue for the NAIA. The tournament would still turn a profit without Lewis-Clark State's participation, but it would be a smaller profit. The national championship tournament will continue as the “Lewis-Clark State Invitational” because of financial reality.

NAIA press release: NAIA Presidents Approve Direct Qualification

Task Force Final Recommendations (MS Word document)

Field Set for 2008 Pepsi Johnny Quik Tournament

According to a press release from Fresno State, the field for the 2008 Pepsi Johnny Quik Tournament has been set. The Fresno State Bulldogs will act as host of the tournament with Utah, New Mexico State, Portland, Gonzaga, and Indiana all taking part in the week long tournament from March 10th-15th. The full press release from Fresno State is available here.

More 2008 Schedules

The College Baseball Blog has come across some more 2008 Baseball Schedules. The schedules are linked below.

Dayton
East Carolina
Ohio
Columbia
Miami (OH)
Hawaii-Hilo

Checking in with Jacob Thompson

Eric Strow, a senior writer of The Cavalier Daily, recently checked in with Jacob Thompson. He spent the summer of 2007 pitching for Team USA in the Pan-American games and several international exhibitions. He was shut down before the end of the summer to save his arm for the 2008 season. The full article from The Cavalier Daily is available here. The College Baseball Blog had a chance to see Thompson in 2007 when his Cavaliers visited Boston College. The full report is available here.

JMU releases 2008 Schedule

FROM PRESS RELEASE
HARRISONBURG, Va., Oct. 3, 2007 – Seven home dates to open the season and the usual 30-game Colonial Athletic Association slate highlight the 2008 James Madison University baseball schedule announced Wednesday by 11th-year head coach Spanky McFarland.

“It’s not one of our strongest schedules, but there were a lot of factors that went into that,” McFarland commented. “With starting conference play against William & Mary on the second weekend, we lost a big travel weekend opportunity. Then there are some schools we’ve played regularly that weren’t able to fit us in their schedule this year. We also have a young team that didn’t make the conference tournament last year, so we wanted to focus on building confidence and making the tournament this year.”

The 2008 season is the first for the new uniform start date for baseball in NCAA Division I. Beginning this season, no team can begin play prior to Friday, February 22. The Dukes open the season that weekend, February 23 and 24, with a doubleheader against Binghamton on Saturday and a single game on Sunday.

“The new rule doesn’t affect us too much because of where we’re located. This was a compromise between some of the northern conferences that wanted to start in March and the southern schools that used to start in January. Our schedule is really about the same. It will be interesting to see how it affects the southern schools that can’t spread their games out like they used to and will need more pitching. I expect that we won’t see as many 40-win teams in the nation. It also gives more validity to the national polls with everyone starting on the same date.”

With 10 weekends necessary to play 30 conference games, JMU will begin CAA play in the second weekend with a three-game home series against William & Mary. Other home CAA series include Towson, Delaware, VCU, and UNC Wilmington.

The Dukes will have three of their longest CAA road trips all in one season with series at Georgia State, Hofstra, and Northeastern. JMU will also have series at Old Dominion on Easter weekend and at George Mason. The Atlanta and Boston trips will be extended with each opened by single games at Tennessee and Marist respectively. UT is entering its first season with former JMU assistant Todd Raleigh as head coach.

JMU’s schedule will also feature traditional home and away dates against Virginia Tech and George Washington. The Dukes will face in-state opponents Longwood and Radford four times each, splitting time home and away, while facing Liberty three times, including twice on the road. One-time opponents include a home date with Stony Brook and a road game at East Tennessee State that follows a weekend at Radford.

JMU is currently planning a new baseball facility to be located at Memorial Hall on South High Street (route 42). While the exact completion date has not been determined, the 2008 campaign could be the final season of JMU baseball at Long Field/Mauck Stadium. The Dukes are 658-218-4 all-time in the facility that opened in 1980.

Commodores open with Beavers, ASU in 2008

NASHVILLE, Tenn. --Vanderbilt opens the 2008 baseball season against two-time defending champion Oregon State as head coach Tim Corbin released the schedule today. The Commodores will take on four teams that played in the College World Series a year ago and 11 teams that made it into the NCAA tournament.

"I think this is a challenging schedule right off the bat with two teams that made it to Omaha last season including the national champion, " said Corbin. "The SEC schedule is always tough and we have several midweek games against teams that made it to the NCAA tournament as well. We have an experienced team returning and look forward to the challenge."

The season opener against the Beavers will be played on Feb. 22 at Arizona State's tournament in Tempe, Ariz. VU will also take on 2007 CWS participant Arizona State (Feb. 23) and Miami of Ohio (Feb. 24) in the tourney. Vanderbilt starts a 15-game homestand against Evansville on Feb. 27 at 4 p.m. VU hosts Kansas, Iowa and Xavier in the Music City Classic Feb. 29-March 2. The Commodores will play a four-game series with Illinois-Chicago starting on Thursday, March 6 and ending on March 9. The Flames won the Horizon League last spring and participated in the NCAA tournament.

VU hosts another NCAA tourney team in Western Carolina (March 11-12) before opening Southeastern Conference play against South Carolina (March 14-16) at Hawkins Field. Louisville, a team that advanced to its first ever College World Series last June, comes to Nashville for a single game on March 18. Vanderbilt will close out the homestand against Lipscomb on March 19.

VU will make five SEC road trips in 2008, starting with Alabama on March 21-23. The Commodores will then return home for midweek games against Belmont (March 25) and Middle Tennessee (March 26), before hosting Arkansas (March 28-30). Saturday's game against the Razorbacks will be televised on Fox Sports Net at 3 p.m. CT.

Eleven road games are on the docket in April starting with a contest at Middle Tennessee (April 2). Vanderbilt will then take the first of back-to-back trips to Mississippi against Ole Miss (April 4-6). The Commodores will host Western Kentucky (April 8) and Austin Peay (April 9) in midweek action before traveling to Starkville, Miss., to take on 2007 CWS participant Mississippi State (April 11-13). Two road contests against Lipscomb (April 15) and Western Kentucky (April 16) precede a three-game series against Auburn (April 18-20) at Hawkins Field. The Commodores close out April with games at Austin Peay (April 22) and Belmont (April 23), and at home against Kentucky (April 25-27).

VU will open May with a three-game set at rival Tennessee (May 2-4), with the Saturday game set for television on Fox Sports Net. The Commodores will then take on Memphis at Pringles Park in Jackson, Tenn., on May 6. The Tigers were one of two area teams to play at the NCAA Nashville Regional along with Austin Peay last June. Tennessee Tech (May 7) and a series against Georgia (May 9-11) closes out the regular season home campaign. Vanderbilt will take on Florida (May 15-17) in Gainesville in a Thursday-Friday-Saturday series as eligible teams will have an extra day to prepare for the Southeastern Conference tournament (May 21-25) in Birmingham, Ala.

NCAA Regionals (May 30-June 2) and Super Regionals (June 6-9) will be played at school host sites, while the College World Series (June 14-25) is set for Omaha, Neb.

The full Commodores schedule is available here.

Texas Tech Baseball Announces 2008 Schedule

FROM PRESS RELEASE
A total of 34 home games and eight NCAA Tournament teams highlight the 2008 Texas Tech Baseball schedule that was announced today by Head Coach Larry Hays.

The 2008 season marks the first under the new NCAA guidelines that mandate a universal start date for all of college baseball and that date will be Feb. 22. The Red Raiders will kick of the 2008 season at home with a four-game series against Northern Illinois Feb. 22-24 with a doubleheader set for Saturday, Feb. 23.

Following a midweek trip to New Mexico on Tuesday, Feb. 26, Texas Tech will take part in the Eighth-Annual Minute Maid College Classic where the Red Raiders will face Houston, Tennessee and Rice. The game against Tennessee will mark the first-ever meeting between the two schools while the game against Rice will mark the first of eight opponents that the Red Raiders will face who advanced to last year's NCAA Tournament. The Minute Maid College Classic is set for Feb. 29-March 2 at Minute Maid Park in Houston.

Texas Tech will return home for a six-game homestand beginning on March 4 as the Red Raiders will play their first Tuesday-Wednesday series of the year against Central Arkansas. Due to the reduction in the number of days allowed for competition in 2008, Texas Tech will play a total six, two-game midweek series. Other midweek series for the Red Raiders will be at home against UC-Riverside (March 25-26), Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (April 1-2), New Mexico (April 8-9), and Dallas Baptist (May 13-14) while on the road at UNLV (April 15-16).

Texas Tech will kickoff the Big 12 Conference season on the road at Texas A&M as the Red Raiders and Aggies open league play against each other for the third time since 2002. The Texas Tech-Texas A&M series is scheduled for March 14-16 at Olsen Field in College Station.

The home portion of the 2008 Big 12 season will begin with a three-game series against the Texas Longhorns, March 20-22. The series against Texas is being played Thursday through Saturday due to the Easter Holiday falling on Sunday, March 23.

The Red Raiders will take on Missouri (March 28-30), Kansas State (April 18-20), Oklahoma (April 25-27) and Baylor (May 16-18) all at Dan Law Field while facing Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma State on the road.

Texas Tech will wrap up the regular-season schedule at home for the first time in four years as the Red Raiders will face the Baylor Bears, May 16-18. The Big 12 Championship at Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City is set for May 21-25 while the NCAA Regionals are set for May 30-June. The Road To Omaha continues with the NCAA Super Regionals June 6-9 and the 2008 NCAA Champion will be decided at the College World Series at Rosenblatt Stadium June 13-23.

Texas Tech

Copy of the schedule

Illinois State puts out 2008 schedule

FROM PRESS RELEASE
NORMAL, Ill. - With the 2007 Major League Baseball regular season over and the playoffs just a day away, the Illinois State baseball team has also caught the fever and has already begun preparing for the 2008 season. With a solid mix of returning veterans and young, raw talent, the Redbird baseball team will be put to the test in its 2008 schedule. Five NCAA qualifiers highlight the 54-game schedule for the Redbirds, which kicks off Feb. 22, 2008, at Tennessee Tech in Cooksville, Tenn.

After the `Birds begin the season with a three-game set against Tennessee Tech, the team will head to Clarksville, Tenn., to play in the Austin Peay Tournament Feb. 29-March 2. Illinois State will play Big Ten Conference member Indiana, as well as Valparaiso, during the tournament, and will play one more game in Clarksville before beginning its spring trip in Florida.

The Redbirds will spend eight days in the Sunshine State, playing a series at NCAA Regional qualifier Bethune-Cookman March 7-9. The rest of the trip will be spent at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. The IMG Academy, which specializes in professional instruction to amateur and professional players, will allow the Redbirds to fine-tune their skills before beginning the demanding Missouri Valley Conference slate.

"I think that at the beginning of the year, when you are coming from indoors to outdoors, we try to play a competitive schedule that will help our RPI," said head baseball coach Jim Brownlee. "I think this schedule does that. We have a lot of good teams on our schedule, including five regional teams.
"When you make the schedule three years ahead of time, you can't always project how teams will be. But you like to have a nice balance, and with this schedule, we hope to get ourselves into the top-40 in order to be an at-large team. That's our goal every year, and we like to also give our kids a chance to go to a different part of the country every year."

After returning from its spring trip, ISU will play in-state rival Illinois-Chicago before diving into Valley play at home versus 2007 NCAA Super Regional qualifier Wichita State March 21-23. The Redbirds will also host Northern Iowa (April 11-13) as well as in-state rivals Bradley (May 2-4) and Southern Illinois (May 9-11).

"I think the league is going to be very interesting from the standpoint that there were a lot of good players that were lost," said Brownlee. "Wichita State is good every year and they have their top-three starting pitchers back, and that will be a good challenge for our hitters. There are no easy games in our league, and its something that I'm proud of; its one of the best in the country. Creighton and Evansville have also had some good teams recently and should be tough again this year.

"I think it's our goal to move into that top-three of the Valley standings. I can see us being able to do that, and based on the performances I have seen this fall, we have a good chance of doing that."

The Redbirds will travel to 2007 MVC Tournament champion Creighton March 28-30 before playing Evansville (April 4-6) and Missouri State (April 25-27) on the road. ISU concludes its season with a three-game series at Indiana State (May 15-17).

Illinois State will also see its share of schools from the Midwest, as the `Birds will play six other non-conference games against schools from Illinois, including Eastern Illinois (March 26) and Illinois April 22. The Redbirds will also travel to Iowa City, Iowa, April 2 for a game against Iowa and will face fellow Big Ten member Purdue April 9.

"We're very fortunate to be located in a state that has nine division one schools that we can play, so it helps with the short amount of time that the guys will miss from class," said Brownlee. "It also allows us to play some competitive teams. The Big Ten got the best of us last year, so it will be a good test. We want to take care of business within the state, and that's always a goal. It's very easy to schedule our non-conference games, and we like to schedule games close to where our guys are from."

2008 Schedule

Pacific releases 2008 Schedule

The Pacific Tigers have released the 2008 schedule. They will open the season in Houston taking on the Cougars in a three game set from February 22nd-24th. They will then return home for a three game set the next weekend with PAC-10 member Washington which is proceeded by a mid-week game against Santa Clara. They will also play Gonzaga, Minnesota, and Stanford in OOC weekend home series. They will play a full Big West schedule in which they host UC-Santa Barbara, Cal-St. Fullerton, UC-Riverside, and Cal-State Northridge. They will head to conference opponents UC-Davis, Cal Poly, Long Beach State, and UC-Irvine. They will end the season on May 23rd-25th at Oregon State in their final three games of the season. The full schedule is available here.

Corbin Lands Another Top Rated '09 Recruit

The College Baseball Blog has been closely following the monster class that Coach Tim Corbin and Recruiting Coordinator Erik Bakich have been assembling. The class includes an incredible amount of talent and will continue in the tradition of Bakich reeling in top talent. In six years on West End, Bakich has landed a top 25 rated class in each year, including the #1 rated class of 2006 that included current All-Americans Pedro Alvarez and Ryan Flaherty.

The latest HS Senior to commit to Coach Corbin is Joseph Loftus of Academy of Holy Angels (Savage, MN). As a junior, Loftus hit .531 with 9 homers and 34 RBI in 64 ABs. He earned a trip to the Area Code Games and was rated a 10 of 10 by Perfect Game USA. Mike Rapp identified Loftus as one of Vanderbilt's three remaining targets in a VandySports.com article last month. Mike noted that Loftus was considering offers from Arizona State and Notre Dame.

Loftus and Jason Esposito are expected to battle it out to replace Pedro Alvarez at third in 2009. Alvarez is expected by many to be a candidate for the first overall pick in the 2008 MLB Draft. Alvarez' former teammate, David Price, took that honor in 2007.

Loftus joins the following players in the Commodores class of 2009:
RHP Jack Armstrong (Jupiter, FL)
RHP Will Clinard (Clarksville, TN)
3B/SS Jason Esposito (Bethany, CT)
LHP Grayson Garvin (Atlanta, GA)
RHP Sonny Gray (Smyrna, TN)
OF Matt Marquis (Annandale, NJ)
OF Adam Milligan (Walters State)
RHP Navery Moore (Nashville, TN)
1B/C Dylan Pratt (Walter State)
RHP/OF Ryan Westmoreland (Portsmouth, NH)
LHP Corey Williams (Huntsville, AL)

Of the 10 high school recruits, Perfect Game gave its perfect 10 rating to all but Moore (did not attend showcase), Westmoreland (did not attend showcase, 9 in 2006) and Williams (9.5).

Augie always going with the flow!!!!!!!

Augie Garrido has been in the college baseball business for 39 years, so there is nothing that ever throws him or surprises him.

"It's always day to day," said the UT boss, who has guided the Longhorns to the College World Series five times in the last eight years and captured the National Championship twice (2002 and 2005).

"This, however, will be the most different fall than we ever have had," said Garrido, who gathered his team together in the final days of September.

"The NCAA decided that we have 132 days to play and practice," he continued. "So, we will have 33 days of fall practice. You will be able to get a better read on your team with so much more time in the fall. In the past, you were having to make decisions without too much information. That will no longer be the case.

"There will be time to compete for positions. We used to start the games in January and this year it will be into February."

Garrido said fall practice won't end until Nov. 2, with completion of the Orange and White Fall World Series games.

When the 2008 season begins, the Horns will play their initial home games at the Dell Diamond in Round Rock.

"Because," the skipper begins, with a smile crossing his face, "Disch-Falk looks like a Baptist church in Beirut."

While Garrido certainly sounds as though he likes the changes the NCAA has made, especially with regard to having more time in the fall, don't be too sure.

"What else can I do, but go with the flow?" he asks. "I want us to take advantage of this new schedule. We're going to play intrasquad scrimmage with Baylor (Oct. 14), for example. They feel as we do."

But on the NCAA, Garrido says, "They have these ideas from time to time and I just adjust to them because I don't have the time to be on the Policy Committee. The NCAA always is going to do what it wants to do. It's up to me to make the best of it.

"You can't play four games in five days (during the season). I think we have some of the best pitching around and we don't have five starters."

The UT coach welcomes back several regulars from last year's positional starters, including outfielders Kyle Russell and Jordan Danks, catcher Preston Clark, infielders Pat McCrory and Travis Tucker and DH Russell Moldenhauer. Infielders David Hernandez and Michael Torres just arrived, transferring from Fresno State and Southern Cal, respectively.

Pitchers Kenn Kasparek and Riley Boening return after missing last year due to injury, joining veterans Austin Wood, Kyle Walker, Hunter Harris and Keith Shinaberry, transfers Casey Whitmer (from Florida State) and Marcus Thackett (Oral Roberts) and others.

"The longer fall will give the players more time to master skills," Garrido said. "The key is to focus on what you are doing on that day at that moment. You can't live in the past. You have to live in the moment.

"I want our guys to come out and embrace every day. I want them to be excited about the chance to play baseball. I want them to learn that a mistake is not a failure, but an opportunity to learn. Failure belongs to our opponents not to us."

This story is from TexasSports.com

For the 2008 Roster go here

Mississippi State releases 2008 schedule

STARKVILLE, Miss. - Twenty-two games against 2007 NCAA Tournament participants and a 31-game slate of contests at Dudy Noble Field highlight Mississippi State University’s 56-game baseball schedule for 2008.

Mississippi State opens its 118th season of baseball and veteran skipper Ron Polk’s 29th coaching campaign with the Bulldogs Feb. 22-24 in Jacksonville, Fla., with a three-game road series against first-time foe North Florida.

State ushers in its 31-game 2008 home schedule February 26 against UAB, the first game of a season-longest 14-game homestand for the Diamond Dogs. During that stretch State hosts another first-time foe, Air Force, in a three-game series and meets Big 12 Conference power Baylor in the three-game Cadence Bank Challenge. MSU wraps up the early-season run of home games and launches SEC competition Mar. 14-16 with a three-game series against instate league rival Ole Miss.

Baylor is the first of eight teams on MSU’s 2008 schedule that advanced to the 2007 NCAA Tournament. Austin Peay State University, Memphis and Southern Miss along with SEC foes Arkansas, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt and South Carolina also reached the 64-team field of the NCAA Tournament last season. Three of those opponents (Arkansas, Ole Miss and South Carolina) advanced to NCAA Super Regional competition.

Other opponents scheduled to visit Dudy Noble Field in the coming season are Arkansas-Little Rock, Memphis and South Alabama along with SEC rivals Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee and Vanderbilt. The MSU-Georgia baseball series March 28-30 anchors MSU’s annual spring homecoming celebration, Super Bulldog Weekend.

The Bulldogs are scheduled to make one appearance in 2008 at Trustmark Park in Pearl, Miss., taking on Ole Miss Apr. 15 in the second annual Governor’s Cup game.

Two Mississippi State baseball games have been selected for live broadcast by the SEC’s Regional Sports Network (RSN) as part of the SEC game of the week television series shown on FOX Sports Net South. MSU’s May 10 game at LSU and a regular season-ending May 17 home matchup with Arkansas are part of the league’s eight-game TV package.

MSU returns 20 letter-winners and 14 players who drew starts on the 2007 State team that finished with a 38-22 record and advanced to the NCAA College World Series in Omaha, Neb.

2008 MSU schedule

Highly touted recruits have Fla. State baseball ready to reload

The Florida State baseball team has always been one of the best teams in the nation under Mike Martin in regards to recruiting. To the surprise of nobody, Martin's 2008 class is no different.

The Seminoles have the second-best recruiting class in the nation according to Collegiate Baseball and will welcome in 20 newcomers to the team that includes 11 pitchers, of which four are left-handed, four infielders, three outfielders and three catchers.

While 15 of the 'Noles' 20 recruits were playing high school ball last season, five players make their way over to Tallahassee by way of transfer. Headlining the transfer class are infielders Tony Delmonico and Stephen Halford. Expect both Delmonico and Halford to contribute immediately to the team with last season's infielders Tony Thomas, Jr. and Mark Hallberg opting out of school early for the Major League Draft.

Delmonico comes to FSU from the University of Tennessee, where he was arguably the Volunteers' best player last season. As a sophomore, Delmonico led the team in home runs (9), RBIs (49), walks (35) and runs scored (53). Adding a productive player like Delmonico should make the losses of Thomas and Hallberg much more bearable.

Halford, meanwhile, transfers in from UNC-Wilmington. Halford played every game for UNCW at the shortstop position last season as a freshman and was outstanding at the plate, hitting .352 and scoring 52 runs while setting a freshman school record with a 12-game hitting streak

For the full story go Here.


For the FSU Release go HERE

College of Charleston Fall World Series Update

FROM PRESS RELEASE
Mike Hentz led the White offensive attack with three hits and five of his teammates had two-hit games to propel the White squad to a 13-6 win on Sunday at Patriots Point. The White take a commanding 3-1 lead in the eighth annual Fall World Series. Austin Morgan led off the top of the second with a double to right field and eventually scored on a Matt Leeds ground out to open the scoring. Morgan finished with two hits on the afternoon. The White would then go on to score multiple runs in every remaining inning but the sixth to close out the game. Joash Brodin, Gabe Marchant, Click here for rest of article.

Fall Practice Underway at UCF

FROM PRESS RELEASE
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - Just over four months after UCF's 2007 season came to a close, the Knights officially began preparing for 2008 when fall camp opened at Jay Bergman Field Monday. The Black and Gold was greeted with windy conditions and a little bit of rain, as the Knights are hoping to have a few questions answered in the upcoming weeks.

"The weather was a little cooler than it was in the month of September, and the players were anxious to get on the field and start playing baseball," said head coach Jay Bergman, who is starting his 26th season at the helm of the program. "They've been spending a lot of time lifting weights and doing some four-on-one stuff, but now we can get on the field as a team.

"The general attitude of the players has been very good all fall, and it was good the second half of last season. Our players have matured and are understanding the level of competition we are playing in. They are working hard to improve their skills so they will be able to compete at the Conference USA level.

"By the end of the month, I hope that we will have established ourselves defensively, and at least have found out that we have five, maybe six starting pitchers. Offensively we want to be able to move the runners and find out who is going to hit with runners in scoring position. So I think that is what we are looking for at the end of fall practice. If we can accomplish those things, then this fall will be very beneficial."

Bergman's squad went 27-32 in 2007 and 7-17 in its second season in C-USA. The Knights went 1-2 in the C-USA Championship, eliminating Houston May 24 in what was the first 1-0 win in league tournament history. For 2008, UCF returns all eight of its defensive starters, its top three starting pitchers and its closer. However, the Black and Gold lost its designated hitter (senior Matt Horwath - .336 BA) and two key setup men (senior Brian Brooks - UCF's career record-holder in relief appearances with 82, senior Derek Abriola - ranks fifth in relief appearances with 62).

On Monday, UCF was working hard at moving runners from second base with less than two outs and did not seem to be having difficulties sending the ball to right field. Sophomore third baseman Chris Duffy, meanwhile, discovered a groove in batting practice, placing numerous line drives into the outfield grass.

In a short live-game session, the coaching staff got a look at LSU transfer Robert Lara behind the plate, and he immediately showed off his defensive tactics by backing up a wild throw to first base to keep the runner from going to second. The staff also got its first glimpse of junior-college transfer Colin Arnold, as the 47th-round MLB draft pick saw time in left field.

Team two completed their inning at the dish when senior catcher/first baseman Tim Russell drove in junior outfielder Chadd Hartman from second base on a single down the right-field line. With team one at the plate, junior first baseman Kiko Vazquez, senior second baseman Dwayne Bailey and junior shortstop Eric Kallstrom all ripped line drives to lead-off the inning. And Duffy sent a hard shot to the gap in right-center that would have been a double if the wind did not hold it up long enough for the outfield to get to it. On the bases, senior right fielder Ryan Richardson received a lot of praise for his work in breaking up a double play with a hard slide into second base. UCF coaches Craig Cozart and Bryan Peters did the pitching for the Knights.

UCF's fall camp is scheduled to come to a close in early November.

For the latest news and information on the Knights, tickets or apparel log on to www.ucfathletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. Also check out UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.

Jett Ruiz turns up at San Diego

Jett Ruiz formerly a catcher with the Boston College Eagles has turned up with the San Diego Toreros. He left the Boston College program last season late in the year over the emergence of freshman catcher Tony Sanchez Jr. Ruiz will enter San Diego as a junior but will likely not see much time behind the plate with Logan Gelbrich expected to handle the pitching staff in 2008. Ruiz struggled mightily in the ACC the last two seasons. He showed a few glimpses of talent but could not become a consistent hitter.

San Diego releases Fall Schedule

The San Diego baseball program has released their fall schedule for 2007. They will play 13 intrasquad scrimmages with three games against Long Beach State scheduled from October 26th-28th with the first two games at Long Beach State and the final game hosted by the Toreros. They will finish the fall with a Fall World Series on November 16th and 17th. The full schedule is available here.

Tulane finishes Week 1 of Fall Ball

The Tulane baseball program finished their first week of practice with an intrasquad scrimmage. The team played a seven inning game which ended 1-1. Head Coach Rick Jones called for one more at bat with Marc Robert stepping to the plate. He promptly put the first pitch over the wall in left for Team Green. A full recap of the scrimmage is available here.

Yale 2008 schedule is out

The Yale Bulldogs have released their 2008 schedule. They will open the season on March 1st when they start a three game set against George Washington. They will then head out on a 15 day road trip where they will play 15 games against seven different opponents including perennial national power South Carolina on March 11th and 12th. The Bulldogs will play conference opponents Princeton, Cornell, Harvard, and Brown at Yale Field. The Bulldogs have conference road games against Penn, Columbia, Brown, and Dartmouth. Yale will play interstate rival UConn in Storrs on March 26th and Quinnipiac in Hamden on April 2nd. The full schedule for the Bulldogs is available here.

Quinnipiac knocks off Yale to take City Series

The Quinnipiac Bobcats knocked off the Yale Bulldogs over the weekend by a score of 5-2. The Bobcats took advantage of a key Bulldog error in the bottom of the third which gave the Bobcats an early 2-0 lead. The Bobcats would extend the lead to get the 5-2 victory. In the consolation game, Southern Connecticut State knocked off New Haven 8-2. A full recap is available here.

Princeton releases 2008 schedule

The Princeton Tigers have released their 2008 schedule. It begins on March 1st and 2nd when the Tigers head down to Delaware for a pair of doubleheaders. They will also play weekend OOC road series against Richmond, UNC-Greensboro, and Navy before opening up Ivy League play. The Tigers will open Ivy League play on March 29th when they host Dartmouth and March 30th when they host the Crimson of Harvard. The Tigers will also host Ivy League opponents Penn and Cornell. They will head on the road to take on Yale, Brown, and Columbia. The full schedule is available here.

Columbia installing Fieldturf for 2008 season

FROM PRESS RELEASE
NEW YORK – The series of recent upgrades to Columbia’s baseball facilities continues this fall, when Columbia Athletics will install a state-of-the-art artificial surface at Andy Coakley Field. The surface will allow the team to practice at its home venue earlier in the year.

On September 4, installation of the FieldTurf™ infill system will begin. It is the same surface used at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., and Columbia Soccer Stadium. Renovation of the field will be completed in November, allowing the field to set during the winter months.

“We are delighted to embark on this project to support our varsity baseball program,” says Dr. M. Dianne Murphy, Director of Intercollegiate Athletics and Physical Education. “This will be an outstanding field that illustrates our commitment to Columbia Baseball, as we continue to strive for quality and excellence in all that we do. We are dedicated to providing the best experience for our student-athletes, and that commitment includes providing the best possible facilities.”

The surface will be a hybrid fiber, rubber and sand infill blend designed to have a more consistent feel. It will cover both the infield and outfield, with the only dirt covering the mound and home plate. The surface will be more resilient than the current grass field, and will allow the team more practice opportunities.

The resurfacing of the playing surface at Andy Coakley Field has been made possible through a combination of charitable gifts from interested donors, friends and alumni.

"The ‘new’ Andy Coakley Field is going to help take Columbia Baseball to a new level,” says Brett Boretti, head coach of baseball. “It will allow us to practice and play outdoors in February, earlier than ever before.”

These improvements come just months after Andy Coakley Field received major upgrades that included the installation of 250 chairback seats, a press box, an extended major league-style backdrop behind home plate and an improved sound system.

A modern batting cage was installed in left field, bullpens were reconfigured, and a strengthened retaining wall was put in place along the right field line.

"With the installation of the FieldTurf, Andy Coakley Field will also be one of the best baseball facilities in the league,” Boretti states. “We are excited and looking forward to showing our recruits and our team our new facility."

“By installing a state-of-the-art surface at Andy Coakley Field, we are continuing consistent and significant improvement of this facility, which ranks it among the best baseball venues in the Ivy League,” adds Dr. Murphy.

The three FieldTurf facilities at Baker Field Athletics Complex – Columbia Soccer Stadium and Lawrence A. Wien Stadium are the other two – plus the Desso Sportilux SV 37 “water-based” polypropylene turf for field hockey, makes the entire complex versatile and durable for year-round and multiple-team use.

While the FieldTurf is being installed at Andy Coakley Field, the baseball team will use an alternate site for fall practices in preparation for the 2008 season.

The installation follows a season in which Columbia Baseball posted its most wins since 2003.

Newcomer previews

Teams have started fall practices over the last few weeks. We have put together a list of schools that have previewed their incoming classes.

UCLA
Notre Dame
FSU
Southeast Missouri State

Stanford Releases 2008 schedule!

Mark Marquess has put together a very impressive schedule for the 2008 season. It includes home games against big 12 foe Nebraska at the Sunken Diamond as well as CS Fullerton visiting a week later. Then they go on the road to Austin Texas to play against a very talented ball club in University of Texas. Coach Mark Marquess has been at the helm of Stanford Baseball for 32 years. Coach Marquess has always put together a very High Quality product at Stanford and this year will be no different. Look for Stanford to make some noise this year in Pac 10 play as they get closer to Regional tournament time. For the full article click here.

UNC releases 2008 Schedule

The North Carolina Tar Heels have released their 2008 schedule. They will be playing all home games in Cary NC as Boshamer Stadium is being renovated for the 2009 season. The Tar Heels open the season at Florida Atlantic for a three game set from February 22nd-24th. The next weekend they head to Rock Hill SC to take part in the Winthrop Tournament where they will face the hosts, Kent State, and a team to be determined. North Carolina will play a full 30 game ACC schedule which has Virginia Tech, NC State, Georgia Tech, Boston College, and Florida State all heading to Cary in conference series. UNC will visit Virginia, Clemson, Maryland, Duke, and Miami. The full schedule is available here.

Texas Fall Practice Update!

Texas expects nothing but the best.

So, when the Longhorns failed to reach the College World Series for a second consecutive year in 2007, coaches, players, and supporters alike were severely disappointed.

As the program with six national titles and 32 CWS appearances continues fall workouts, history is on its side.

Even with the psychological edge, they have extra motivation.

"Right now, we're trying to get our feet on the ground. The players are starting to get familiar with their surroundings and the way we practice," Texas coach Augie Garrido said. "I definitely think this team has extra motivation and more focus this fall."

Rivals

Horns baseball slated to play two fall Exhibition games!!

University of Texas baseball head coach Augie Garrido announced the Longhorns will play two fall exhibition games in addition to their annual Fall World Series. The exhibition games and Fall World Series will be played at The Dell Diamond in Round Rock.

The Longhorns are slated to play Big 12 Conference foe Baylor on Sunday, Oct. 14 and Texas State on Sunday Oct. 21. Texas will play the annual best-of-three Orange-White Fall World Series from Oct. 31-Nov. 2.

All game times have yet to be determined.

Texas Sports Release

I will have a complete update of each games as they happen.

North Florida releases 2008 schedule

The North Florida Ospreys have put out a tentative 2008 schedule. They will host SEC power Mississippi State on opening night February 22nd which starts a three game set. They will open up Atlantic Sun play the next weekend when they head down to Florida Gulf Coast College for a three game set. The rest of the schedule is available here.

Navy releases 2008 Schedule

The Naval Academy and Head Coach Paul Kostacopoulos have released their 2008 schedule. They will open in the Service Academy Spring Classic where they will face Air Force twice and Arkansas State in a single game. They will open the Patriot League portion of the schedule when they head to Lafayette on March 29th and 30th. The Midshipmen will also visit Bucknell and Lehigh (two games) in Patriot League action. They will host Holy Cross, Army, and Lehigh (two games) in Patriot League showdowns. The league has changed the playoff system for 2008 in which four teams will make the postseason. The top seed will host a best of three series against the fourth seed and the second seed will host the third seed in the best of three series. The two winners will match up in the next weekend with the winning deciding the Patriot League championship. The press release is available here and the full schedule is available here.

FSU releases 2008 Schedule

The Florida State Seminoles have released their 2008 schedule. They will play a 56 game schedule in 2008 which opens up on February 22nd when Duquesne University visits for a four game series over three days. They will follow that up with an exhibition game against the Philadelphia Phillies. They will then travel to Auburn to take on the Tigers for two games before coming back to Tallahassee to host the Tigers for two games. The Seminoles will open ACC play on March 7th when Maryland visits Tallahassee. The Seminoles will also host ACC series against Georgia Tech, Virginia, Miami, and NC State. They will head on the road this season to face Virginia Tech, Boston College, Wake Forest, North Carolina, and Clemson. They will not play Duke in 2008 or 2009 due to the rotating ACC schedule. The 2008 ACC Baseball Championship will take place in Jacksonville Florida again. The full schedule is available in HTML and PDF formats.

JMU listed among top classes

FROM PRESS RELEASE
HARRISONBURG, Va., Sept. 25, 2007 – For the second straight season, James Madison University was included in Collegiate Baseball newspaper’s list of the top baseball recruiting classes in the nation for the 2008 season.

The newspaper ranked the top 40 classes and then listed 60 other top programs in the nation. It was the second straight season that the Dukes were the only Colonial Athletic Association team to appear in the listing.

With JMU in the midst of fall workouts, head coach Joe “Spanky” McFarland commented, “We feel really good about this class. There are some quality arms out there and we feel good about what this class will bring to the table. We had three hitters win freshman All-American awards last year. This year’s class was a little pitching heavy to try to match up some good arms with the good hitters we added last year.”

Altogether nine freshmen will join the mix in 2008, including six pitchers. The new arms include three right-handed pitchers and three lefties, which should add versatility to both the rotation and the bullpen. Several have displayed the arm strength in workouts to compete on the collegiate level with a few already displaying the power to top 90 miles per hour.

The right-handed pitchers include J.C. Menna (Tinton Falls, N.J./Red Bank Catholic), Kevin Munson (Roanoke, Va./Cave Spring), and Turner Phelps (Roanoke, Va./Lord Botetourt). The southpaws consist of John Mincone (Dix Hills, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills East), Alex Valadja (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Catholic), and James Weiner (Charlottesville, Va./St. Anne’s-Belfield). A seventh pitcher, redshirt freshman Trevor Knight (Charlottesville, Va./St. Anne’s-Belfield) was expected to be JMU’s closer a year ago before missing the season with an injury.

The Dukes have also added three infielders in David Herbek (Haymarket, Va./Battlefield), McKinnon Langston (Tallahassee, Fla./North Florida Christian), and Alex Oliver (Lebanon, N.J./North Hunterdon). In addition, Menna could also factor into the mix in the infield and Munson could see time behind the plate at catcher.

McFarland added, “Last year ended with Kurt Houck, Justin Wood, and Kyle Hoffman in the rotation. Those three have weekend experience, but several of these young guys will compete for those spots. All of the pitchers are pushing each other right now, which makes it fun. This group of freshmen is probably the best stable of arms as far as pure arm strength that we’ve had since the early 2000s when we had guys like Jared Doyle, Dan Meyer, Chris Cochran, Mike Trussell, and Adam Wynegar.”

The 2008 JMU squad will be young with 10 freshmen and 10 sophomores, including players who have redshirted. They will be joined by six juniors and just three seniors. The Dukes went 22-31 last year and finished in ninth place among 11 teams in the CAA with an 11-17 record.

As far as having the top class in the CAA for the second straight season, McFarland said, “Baseball goes in cycles at this level. I think that we’re reaping some benefits of winning the CAA regular season two years ago. I also think the idea that we’re getting a new stadium has added to the interest in our program as well. Coach [Jay] Sullenger heads up our recruiting and he has done a nice job.”

USF Baseball class ranked 43rd

FROM PRESS RELEASE
TAMPA, Fla. – Head Coach Lelo Prado and the University of South Florida baseball coaching staff were honored by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper on Tuesday with the 43rd-best baseball recruiting class in the country.

“This rank is a good start,” said Prado. “I think this recruiting class will lay the foundation for great teams in the future and I think it is going to be one of many great recruiting classes. We have picked up some great freshman and some good junior college kids. I am very pleased with the players we have brought in, and I feel very good about where the program is headed.”

Prado, along with assistants Lazer Collazo and Bryant Ward, added 28 newcomers to the 2008 USF squad, including 17 freshmen and 11 transfers.

“Lazer and Bryant did a great job with this recruiting class - they both worked their tails off,” said Prado. “They wanted their first spring recruiting class to be pretty high in the rankings. I thought we’d be ranked a little higher than that, but it is what happens during the season that really counts. We are working toward our ultimate goal, and that is to win conference championships, get to regionals and be a program that is there every year.”

The staff has recruited what looks to be one of the best-ever for USF, a lineup that includes four players selected in the Major League Baseball Draft, two NJCAA National Champions, a pair of players from the California State Championship Final Four team, an FCCAA State Champion, prospects ranked by Baseball America and a high school all-American.

“The key to us is making sure the young guys get the system fast and play at a high level early. If they do, then we are going to be fine,” said Prado. “I think these new guys are going to have great careers.”

The MLB draft included four incoming Bulls in left handed pitcher Stephen Hunt (Tampa, Fla./Jesuit HS), LHP Junior Carlin (Riverview, Fla./Riverview HS), right hander Derrick Stultz (Tampa, Fla./Wharton) and outfielder Brian Hobbs (Marietta, Fla./Chipola JC). Hunt was USF’s highest selection when he was taken by Oakland in the 17th round. The Red Sox picked Carlin in the 29th round, then selected Stultz in the 38th round. In 2006 Hobbs was selected by the Angels in the 41st round.

Hunt, who pitched in the Area Code Games in Long Beach, Calif., is an honorable mention all-county player for JHS. The LHP and first baseman was the defensive player of the year for JHS and an all-county selection by the St. Pete Times.

Carlin was a 2007 Hillsborough County All-Star game participant and in 2006 led the Riverview team to the 6A District 8 championship game.

At 6-3, 220-pounds, Stultz was an honorable mention all-county player for Wharton High after transferring from Gaither High the previous season. He went 1-0 with a 5.25 ERA for the Cowboys last season, striking out 19 batters in 12 innings. Stultz also pitched in the Area Code Games in Long Beach, Calif.

Although Hobbs was selected in the 41st round of the 2006 MLB Draft, he opted to return to Chipola Junior College in 2007 for his second season with the Indians. The squad won the NJCAA National Championship, with Hobbs batting .320 with four home runs and 21 RBIs. Hobbs had eight home runs the prior season. At 6-2, 230 pounds, he stole 10 bases with his 6.8 speed. Prior to Chipola, Hobbs was a two-time all-state player for Arundel High in Preston, Md.

Transfers

Catcher Trey Manz joined Brian Hobbs on the 2007 Chipola College NJCAA National Championship team. During the title season, Manz batted .315 with nine home runs and 50 RBI in 55 games. For his performance, he was named to the First Team Panhandle Conference Squad. The left handed hitter was an All-Bi-City player for Shaw High School in Columbus, Ga.

Junior middle infielder Jeremy Malmendier and junior first baseman Brandon Smith helped Sacramento City College to the Final Four of the California State Championships in 2007.

Batting .351, Malamendier earned second team all-conference honors while leading his team to a 19-5 record and a first-place finish in the BIG 7 Conference. Malmendier produced 52 hits, including 10 doubles and one triple while driving in 25 RBI. He posted a .432 slugging percentage and scored 36 runs as a sophomore at Sac City.

Smith helped Sac City to a 35-15 record by batting .299, driving in 25 RBI and collecting 70 total bases in 45 games. Smith had 53 hits, including nine doubles and four triples, while scoring 35 runs in his second season with the Final Four team.

Outfielder Chris Rey batted .403 with two home runs and 36 RBI last season, leading Miami Dade College to the FCCAA State Baseball Championships. A former Gulliver Prep standout, Rey earned first team all-state and all-conference honors while at Miami Dade. As a high school junior, he hit .349 and drove in 18 runs, earning second team All-Dade honors. He also played quarterback on the Gulliver football squad.

Outfielder Ryan Lockwood transferred to USF after taking a red shirt year while at the University of Florida last season. He earned second-team all-state honors as a senior at Jesuit, hitting seven home runs and 30 RBI. He has played in both the Cape Cod and Coastal Plain summer baseball leagues in the past. A four-year letterwinner at Jesuit, Lockwood helped the Tigers to the final four of the state tournament all four years of his prep career. The three-time all-county selection appeared on the Watch List for the Rawlings Defensive Player of the Year. In 2005 he represented the East team at the prestigious Baseball Express Cape Cod High School Classic in Wareham, Mass. While competing for the All-American Prospects, his squad claimed the 17-and-Under World Wood Bat Association (WWBA) Championships at East Cobb in Marietta, Ga. He also participated in the East Coast Professional Showcase.

Eric Baumann was a catcher and designated hitter for Duke during the 2004 and 2005 seasons. Baumann, from Armwood High in Seffner, Fla., played in nearly 60 games with the Blue Devils in two seasons. As a freshman he saw action in 28 games, starting nine. He recorded a .510 slugging percentage overall and 1.154 percent in ACC games. He was a designated hitter his sophomore season, making 23 starts. Prior to Duke, Baumann was the runner-up in the Perfect Game World Wood Bat Championship in 2001 with Team Florida USA and won the USA Baseball Junior National Olympic National Championship the same year. In the summer of 2002, he led Team Florida USA in home runs.

Catcher Cory Johnson played in seven games for Liberty University (Va.) last season, recording a .375 batting average. A graduate of The King’s Academy, Johnson was a second-team all-area player twice and honorable mention as a sophomore.

Teddy Kaufman is a walk-on who was used as a situational reliever at Miami last season as he continued his recovery from Tommy John surgery on his pitching elbow in fall 2004. Kaufman was a standout pitcher at Miami Killian, with a 1.25 ERA and 73 strikeouts in 73 innings as a junior before his injury. He missed his senior year at Killian and redshirted the 2006 season at Miami as he recovered from his injury. Kaufman helped lead Killian to the state championship game in 2004.

Right handed pitcher Andrew Salgueiro, a transfer from Louisville, made 16 appearances for the Cardinals last season, posting a 4.50 ERA with two wins. Salgueiro struck out 20 opponents in 18 innings for UofL, who played in the 2007 College World Series. In 2006 he made 14 appearances as a true freshman, seven of which were in conference play. While at Gulliver Prep in Miami, Salgueiro was honored as an all-Dade County and all-conference player. He played in the 2004 North/South all-star game and the Perfect Game National Tournament.

Catcher Ryan Garcia batted .349 at Brevard Community College in 2007, collecting 21 RBI from nine doubles and one home run his freshman season. In high school, Garcia batted .360 with six home runs his junior season and tallied 20 RBI while batting .357 as a senior. Garcia, who only played one season at Brevard, will have three years of eligibility with the Bulls.

Freshmen

A top 300 player from Chamberlain High School, Todd Brazeal is a third baseman and outfielder that should make an immediate impact for the Bulls. Ranked 112 by Baseball America, Brazeal was a three-time all-county selection and was selected to the All-Saladino tournament team as an infielder. As a freshman in 2004, Brazeal was selected to the “Tampa Tribune” All-Hillsborough County (second team) baseball squad.

Right handed pitcher Kevin Quackenbusch, who Baseball America touted as a nationally ranked prospect, was a 2006 Baseball Express Cape Cod All-American. A member of the All-American Prospects, Quackenbusch has attended the PG National Showcase, the Florida Diamond Club Showcase and the Tournament of Stars in Joplin, Mo., where USA Junior National Baseball Team tryouts were held. Quackenbusch, who was a 2007 all-state player for Jesuit HS, posted a 9-4 record and a 1.40 ERA with 1-2 strikeouts in 70 innings his senior season. The Hillsborough County All-Star pitched a no-hitter in both his junior and senior years.

Pitcher Zach Pietrzyk, FACA District 13 Class 5A Player of the Year, comes to USF from Bloomingdale High School in Valrico, Fla. Pietrzyk is an honorable mention Louisville Slugger High School All-American, as well as a first team All-Hillsborough County and first team All-Western Conference player. Pietrzyk was selected to the 2005 PG National Underclass Prospect team in 2005 and was on the top 10 prospect list for the 2005 PG Sunshine East Showcase. A member of the 2005 19-and-under national AAU championship team (Brandon Blaze), Pietrzyk pitched for the Central Florida Renegades during the summer of 2006.

Infielder John Koscso batted .525 with five home runs and 41 RBI his senior year for Jesuit High School in Tampa. The Class 4A, District 13 player of the year, Koscso was a first team honoree for the all-state, All-Sun Coast and All-Hillsborough County teams. He played for the 17U All-American Prospects, who won the Perfect Game World Wood Bat Association National Championship in East Cobb, Ga.

Kyle Eastham, a freshman pitcher/outfielder from Riverview High in Florida, posted a 7-4 record for the Sharks in 2007, earning all-conference accolades. He held a 2.15 ERA in 52 innings while striking out 75 opponents. At the plate, Eastham batted .441 with 30 hits and 20 RBI, including nine doubles, one triple and three home runs, for a .735 slugging percentage. He attempted and stole three bases his senior season.

Michael Anzivino is a right handed pitcher from Gulliver Prep in Miami, Fla. Anzivino played for the Florida Legends Baseball Club in 2007, where he was 1-1 with two saves and one complete game.

Freshman Randy Fontanez joins the Bulls from Oviedo High School, where he was a second team all-conference pitcher and a first team all-county shortstop. Fontanez recorded a 1.11 ERA with 81 strikeouts in 75.2 innings his senior season. Fontanez also played for the Florida Legends Baseball Club in 2007, making five appearances and picked up one victory in 8.2 innings.

Middle infielder Tommy Bates joins the Bulls from Westminster Academy in Ft. Lauderdale. A varsity team captain, Bates batted .350 with one home run, stole 25 bases and posted a .989 fielding percentage his senior season.

Ian MacGeorge and Doug Wagner are fresh off their 2007 FHSAA 4A State Championship season with Bishop Moore High School. MacGeorge is a 6-foot 4-inch outfielder from Altamonte Springs, Fla., and Wagner is a 6-foot 1-inch right handed pitcher from Maitland, Fla.

Michael Franzese pitched for Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, Calif., before heading to Tampa for his freshman season with the Bulls. The right hander was 9-1 with three saves his senior season and as a junior recorded five saves and an 8-2 record.

Prior to USF, freshman Josh Slawson was a left handed pitcher for Miami Killian High School.

A local product from Sickles High School in Tampa, freshman Andrew Longley will add depth to the Bulls’ catchers. Longley, his team’s captain, earned the SHS Golden Glove award in 2007 by fielding .992. He also recorded a .320 batting average as a senior.

Jordan McGillis is one of six newcomers not from the state of Florida. The infielder from Evansville, Ind., batted .393 and posted an on base percentage of .609 his senior season at Memorial High School.

The Bulls officially start the fall season at Red McEwen Field on Monday, Oct. 8.

Yankees to visit Virginia Tech

The New York Yankees will be visiting Virginia Tech next spring on March 18th. The game will probably be a fundraiser for the Virginia Tech shootings that took place this past spring. We don't have many details about this event at this time but will keep the loyal readers aware of any more news coming out of the Yankees or Virginia Tech Media Relations departments.

2007 HS All-American Team

The College Baseball Blog recently came across the 2007 National High School Baseball Coaches Association All-American teams. The two teams are filled by tons of 2007 draft picks but two names stick out in Ben Klafczynski and Matt Harvey. Ben Klafczynski did not sign a pro contract out of high school and opted to attend Kent State University to play under Scott Stricklin. He is expected to make an immediate impact with the Flashers and should compete for Conference Rookie of the Year. Harvey will be attend the University of North Carolina in the fall after being drafted in the third round but could not come to terms with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He is expected to compete for a starting spot in the weekend rotation in 2008. The full list of All-Americans is available here.

LSU Takes 2008 CB Recruiting Title

Coach Paul Mainieri and Recruiting Coordinator Terry Rooney took home the title of #1 Recruiting Class of 2008. The Collegiate Baseball title was unsurprising as Coach M (in his first year at Baton Rouge after a successful stint in South Bend) and Coach Rooney had assembled a massive class including 12 Freshman and 7 JuCos, including several All-Americans.

The future is certainly looking bright for LSU, which is seeking to restore its position as one of the top programs in the country.

This was the 25th ranking of recruiting classes by Collegiate Baseball. The full release can be found here.

The list of top classes goes as follows:

Rank Team Recruits

1. Louisiana St. 19

2. Florida St. 20

3. Oregon St. 16

4. Notre Dame 14

5. UCLA 11

6. Cal. St. Fullerton 16

7. North Carolina 12

8. Arizona St. 17

9. San Diego 18

10. Texas 17

11. Washington 16

12. Auburn 14

13. Virginia 16

14. Oklahoma St. 18

15. Vanderbilt 13

16. Georgia 14

17. Rice 12

18. South Carolina 13

19. Missouri 16

20. Miami, Fla. 8

21. Clemson 10

22. Stanford 13

23. Georgia Tech. 11

24. Arizona 9

25. Mississippi 17

2008 Air Force Schedule Released

The Air Force Academy has posted the 2008 schedule on their website. The Academy will open the season in the Service Academies Spring Classic with Navy and Memphis joining them from February 22nd-24th. They will be making a trip to Mississippi State for a three game set at the end of February. The Falcons will also take part in the Palm Beach Papa John's Challenge in Palm Beach, FL but the participants are not listed yet. The most interesting thing on the schedule is on April 18th-20th when they have games listed against UNC or UVSC in Colorado Springs. I wonder if this means that North Carolina is planning on heading to Air Force this year or is this a different UNC as in Northern Colorado. I suspect that it is Northern Colorado but the Falcons fans can hope that it is the two time CWS finalist North Carolina. The full schedule is available here.

Air Force to play Navy this weekend

The Air Force Academy will visit the Naval Academy on September 28th and 29th in part with the Navy-Air Force football game on Saturday. The game on September 28th will start at 3 pm and Saturday's game will begin at 9 am. The teams will open each other's season in Millington TN on February 22nd.The full release is available here.

Inside look at Kansas Baseball (Part 2)

Shawn Shroyer of The University Daily Kansan (student paper) completed his second week of walk-on tryouts with the Kansas baseball program. We are sad to report that Shroyer was cut but had a great time getting back on the playing field. The full article is available here.

Cavs hammer Blue Jays 9-1

The Virginia Cavaliers played the Ontario Blue Jays in an exhibition game on Friday which the Cavaliers won 9-1 in a sixteen inning contest. The Cavaliers got a home run from Jeremy Farrell and solid pitching. The pitching staff only gave up three hits in the game with Jacob Thompson not pitching any innings. The Cavaliers are expected to be at the top of the ACC conference again with a strong lineup but need to find a replacement on the mound and in the field for Sean Doolittle who left for professional baseball after being drafted in June.

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Rivals mailbag

Our favorite Rivals writer Kendall Rogers checks in with a mailbag column talking about some of the challenges Vanderbilt is facing with the loss of David Price, a preview of Arizona State, the future of Memphis baseball, and finally Texas AM utility player Blake Stouffer chances of winning National Player of the Year. The article is available here.