Velcro Posted September 25, 2008 Group: Member Topic Count: 0 Content Count: 19,229 Reputation: 7 Days Won: 1 Joined: 01/14/2002 Share Posted September 25, 2008 http://www.gousfbulls.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=7700&ATCLID=1590015TAMPA, Fla. - Head Coach Lelo Prado and the University of South Florida baseball coaching staff were honored by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper on Tuesday with the 40th-best baseball recruiting class in the country. "To me, rankings don't mean a whole lot, because Fresno State never had a recruiting class ranked, but they won the national championship last year," said Prado. "The only thing I care about is winning the BIG EAST Championship and winning the National Championship."Prado, along with assistants Lazer Collazo and Bryant Ward, added 12 newcomers to the 2008 USF squad, including 10 freshmen and two transfers. "This Top 40 ranking is a credit to Bryant and Lazer, and how hard they worked," said Prado. "They have done a great job recruiting."USF has the third-best class in the BIG EAST Conference and fourth in the state of Florida. In the league, Louisville (No. 36) and Notre Dame (38), edged out the Bulls, while Miami (7), Florida State (8) and Florida (18) are ranked higher in the state. "When this will pay off for us is in the future, when these players are sophomores and juniors," Prado added. "Along with the class we brought in last year, I feel real good about where USF is going."The staff has recruited what looks to be one of the best-ever for USF, a lineup that includes five players selected in the Major League Baseball Draft, a Florida Junior College All-Star, the Pasco County Pitcher of the Year, prospects ranked by Baseball America and 11 all-county players. The MLB draft included five incoming Bulls in Andrew Robinson, Sean Buckley, Alex Mendez, Sam Mende and Matt Reed. USF's top pick of the 2008 draft, Robinson was selected by Seattle in the 25th round, while the Chicago Cubs drafted Buckley just four rounds later. Minnesota picked Mendez in the 38th round, followed by Mende in the 40th by the Yankees and Reed in the 44th by the Dodgers. "Every kid we bring in here is a good baseball player, it's a matter of if they are going to do the right things in the classroom and the right things on the field, and get better by working hard and becoming a team," Prado said. "If we do that, we have a chance to meet all of our goals."A complete list of USF's newcomers is listed below. Brotons, Peter IF 5-9 165 Jr. Miami, FL (Daytona State College) Buckley, Sean IF 6-3 210 Fr. Tampa, FL (King HS) Bunting, Zach LHP 5-10 180 Fr. Cooper City, FL (Cooper City HS) Dahl, Trey LHP 6-0 165 Fr. Land O Lakes, FL (Land O'Lakes HS) Mende, Sam SS 6-2 165 Fr. Clearwater, FL (Clearwater Catholic) Mendez, Alex LHP/OF 5-7 180 Fr. Longwood, FL (Bishop Moore HS) Parker, Kyle LHP 6-2 189 Fr. Valrico, FL (Newsome HS) Puig, Adrian RHP 6-0 205 Fr. Miami, FL (Gulliver Prep) Reed, Matt LHP 6-2 204 Fr. Albemarle, NC (West Stanley HS) Rios, Zach IF 6-1 175 Fr. Jacksonville, FL (Arlington Country Day) Robinson, Andrew IF 5-11 180 So. Fort Worth, TX (Paris JC) Rockhold, Daniel C 6-3 195 Fr. Lakeland, FL (Lakeland HS) The Bulls officially start the fall season at Red McEwen Field on Sunday, Sept. 28. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeB Posted September 25, 2008 Group: Member Topic Count: 0 Content Count: 9,759 Reputation: 592 Days Won: 9 Joined: 08/05/2005 Share Posted September 25, 2008 Looking forward to seeing the '09 baseball team. Expecting a big year with the crop of youngsters from last year and this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 26, 2008 Share Posted September 26, 2008 I may be getting season tickets... the family four pack for $100 is a great deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.