FROM PRESS RELEASE
Lynchburg, Va. – The Liberty University baseball program and head coach Jim Toman announce the signing of twelve student-athletes to national letters of intent for the 2008-09 academic year, during the early NCAA Nov. 14-20 signing period. Highlighting the class is Tyler Bream, son of former Liberty All-American and Major League Player Sid Bream.

“We are extremely excited to be adding these twelve student-athletes to our Liberty family,” commented Toman. “Tyler Bream is a very good player. His commitment is special to us because he obviously has Liberty roots and he was the first commitment of the new staff.

“The signees are a good start to our first recruiting class. We expect to sign a few more players in the spring, and feel all of them are capable of helping us reach our goals of winning the Big South Conference, as well as competing nationally.”

Liberty opens the 2008 season against Notre Dame, February 22 in Clearwater, Fla. The Flames home opener is February 29 against Rider. Game time at Worthington Stadium is scheduled for 3 p.m.

Tyler Bream 3B/1B/RHP 6-3 185 R/R Seneca Valley HS Zelienople, Pa.

Bream helped lead his Seneca Valley High School team to the 2007 Pennsylvania State Championship. The son of former Liberty All-American and Major Leaguer Sid Bream, the corner infielder hit .397 with eight doubles and two home runs last season, earning selection to the West Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) Class AAAA All-Sectional team. Bream has played in the prestigious East Coast Professional Showcase in Lakeland, Fla., and has also been a member of the Allegheny Pirates travel team.

Tim Dudley LHP/1B 6-1 200 S/L Appomattox HS Appomattax, Va.

As a junior in 2007, Dudley went 6-4 with a 1.19 ERA. The left-hander was named 2007 Seminole District Player of the Year, and was selected to 2007 first team all-regional and all-district squads, as a pitcher. He also hit .333. Dudley played in the 2007 Virginia Commonwealth Games.

P.J. Jimenez INF 5-11 165 R/R Arizona Western College Yucaipa, Calif.

Jimenez hit .359, with a wood bat, with 61 hits, 10 doubles and 31 RBIs this past year at Arizona Western College. The infielder was named a 2007 second-team Arizona Community College Athletic Conference member.

Steven Keener 1B 5-11 185 L/R Allenghany HS Clifton Forge, Va.

Keener garnered Virginia Reviews Player of the Year in 2007. The first baseman was also an All-Timesland, All-Region III and All-Blue Ridge District first-team selection. Keener captured his area’s Triple Crown, hitting .441 with eight home runs and 34 RBIs in 2007. He also played with the Hitting Zone, a United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA) travel team based in Roanoke, Va.

John Long 3B/OF/RHP 6-0 180 R/R T.L. Hanna HS Anderson, S.C.

Long is ranked by The Diamond Prospects as the top third baseman in South Carolina. He hit .456 with 10 home runs last season. The third baseman was honored with selections to the Region 1 AAAA All-Region and Anderson Independent All-Area teams in 2007. Long was the High School Sports Reports All-State and South Carolina 4A home run leader, and represented the state in the National Home Run hitting contest. He is also a member of powerhouse Diamond Devils travel team.

Chris McDougal C/P/UTL 6-2 185 R/R Denbigh HS Poquoson, Va.

McDougal hit .470 with 29 RBIs and a .592 on base percentage in 2007. On the mound, he was a perfect 5-0 with a 0.75 ERA. He garnered 2007 All-District third base, All-Region and honorable mention All-State honors. A member of the Carolina Hurricanes travel team, Long played in the 2007 Virginia Commonwealth Games.

J.J. McLeod RHP 6-1 175 R/R Skagit Valley College Burlington, Wash.

In 2007, McLeod posted a 5-2 record and a 2.08 ERA in the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges (MWAACC). In 43 innings, the right-hander gave up 24 hits, while striking out 42 batters and walking 23.

David Mitroff C 6-2 180 R/R Praire Ridge HS Crystal Lake, Ill.

A two-year varsity starter at Praire Ridge High School, Mitroff is considered one of the top defensive catchers in the Midwest. The catcher has played on the powerhouse McHenry County Hurricanes Showcase team. His father and sister both attended Liberty.

Justin Richardson OF/LHP 5-10 190 L/L Riverdale HS Lehigh Acres, Fla.

Richardson is a three-year varsity stater at Riverdale High School. Last season, he hit .354 and went 3-0 with a 0.77 ERA as a pitcher.

Kizuku Scott INF/OF 5-11 190 R/R Bethel HS Hampton, Va.

Scott earn selections to the Daily Press All-Star and all-district first teams in 2007. He hit .464 with 18 doubles, 25 RBI’s and 19 stolen bases this past season. Scott played in the 2007 Virginia Commonwealth Games and is a member of the Carolina Hurricanes travel team.

Mark Swanson RHP 6-2 210 R/R Young Harris College Buford, Ga

Swanson posted a 7-2 mark with a 2.65 ERA in 2007. In 63 1/3 innings, the right-hander struck out 59. He pitched in the 2007 Juco World Series in Grand Junction, Colo.

Matt Williams SS 5-10 155 R/R Centennial HS Franklin, Tenn.

An all-district and All-Mid State performer, Williams hit .424 with seven triples and 24 stolen bases in 2007. The shortstop also played for the Brentwood A’s travel team.

FROM PRESS RELEASE
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Tough early season tournaments and a trip to Ann Arbor to play Michigan highlight a challenging 2008 schedule for the Ohio State baseball team. This year, across the collegiate baseball landscape, there is a universal starting date for all teams of Feb. 22.

The season begins with three out-of-town tournaments. The Buckeyes first travel to Millington, Tenn. to play three games Feb. 22-24 (vs. Arkansas State, Memphis and Seton Hall) before heading to College Station, Tex. for a set of three games. The first game in Texas is against the Texas A&M Aggies, who eliminated Ohio State from last year’s NCAA Tournament. Louisiana Tech and Arkansas, which finished second in last year’s SEC tournament before winning two games in the NCAA Tournament, are the Buckeyes’ other opponents in College Station.

Coach Bob Todd’s 21st Ohio State baseball team then travels to West Palm Beach, Fla. for a tournament against Air Force, Maine and Connecticut and then will spring break in Bradenton, Fla. for a series of games that are still being confirmed.

Ohio State opens the home portion of its schedule March 26 against Pittsburgh. In addition to the Panthers, the Buckeyes will host Toledo, Central Michigan, Akron, Eastern Michigan, Marshall and Buffalo in non-conference action at Bill Davis Stadium.

Ohio State’s first Big Ten match-up is a weekend series at Bill Davis Stadium against Penn State March 28-30. The Buckeyes also host perennial Big Ten power Minnesota the weekend of Apr. 4-6, Purdue April 18-20 and Illinois April 9-11. Big Ten road series will take the team to Ann Arbor to face defending regular season conference champ Michigan for a series starting May 2. The Buckeyes also travel to Michigan State, Northwestern and Iowa this season.

Full Schedule

We are continuing our coverage of the Recruiting classes for the 2008-2009 season. You can read about each school below.

Memphis
Maine
UAB
East Carolina
Santa Clara
Illinois State
Xavier
Miami (OH)

Doug Kroll of CSTV checks in with an article about the top catchers in the nation. He talks about Buster Posey of FSU being the top backstop in the nation. Posey is entering his junior season but only his second season behind the plate. The CBB will be checking out Posey this season when the Seminoles visit BC on April 11th-13th. Petey Paramore of Arizona State is listed in the second spot and should put up huge numbers in 2008 on one of the top offensive teams. Rounding out the top five is Tim Federowicz of UNC, Phil Disher of South Carolina, and Doug Hogan of Clemson. I am surprised that Ryan Lavarnway of Yale was not anywhere in his top five or on the players to watch list. The full article is available here.

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In the upcoming months, We are planning on having interviews with coaches, a pre-season podcast show in mid-February, and going to add a message board feature on the site. We would like to know if any of our great readers have any ideas for the growth of the site. Feel free to leave some comments.

The Longhorns’ 2008 baseball schedule was approved by the UT Men’s Athletics Council for release on Friday. The 52-game schedule features 30 home games.

“Our fans will be treated to 30 home games against good competition,” Garrido said. “We are thankful the fans stood by us through a lot of inconveniences during the renovations last year and this year they will be rewarded with a first-class facility.”

The season begins on Feb. 22 as the Longhorns host NCAA tournament participant Virginia Commonwealth in a three-game series to open the newly renovated stadium.

The Longhorns will play College World Series participant Rice three times. They take on the Owls as part of the Houston College Classic at Minute Maid Park on March 1, at Rice’s Reckling Park on March 11 and at UFCU Disch-Falk Field on Apr. 1.

The Houston College Classic also has UT slated to play Tennessee (Feb. 29) and Houston (March 2).

In addition to their three games at Minute Maid Park, the Horns will play two games at minor league stadiums in 2008, including a game vs. UT San Antonio at Wolff Stadium on Feb. 17 and vs. Texas State at The Dell Diamond in Round Rock on Apr. 8.

The highlight of the non-conference home slate is a three-game series against Stanford (March 7-9).

Texas also hosts UT Pan American (Feb. 26-27) and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (March 4-5) in two-game series as well as hosting Dallas Baptist (March 10), Texas State (March 18 & Apr. 29), Oral Roberts (March 24), UT Arlington (Apr. 16) and UT San Antonio (Apr. 23).

The State Farm Lone Star Showdown is slated for May 16-18, with the first game at UFCU Disch-Falk Field and the next two at College Station.

The Longhorns also have a split series scheduled against Baylor on May 2-4 with the first game scheduled for Waco and the final two games in Austin. Texas will also play a rare non-conference game against Baylor (Apr. 22) in Waco.

In other Big 12 action, Texas hosts Kansas (March 14-16), Nebraska (March 28-30) and Oklahoma State (Apr. 18-20). Conference road action takes the Longhorns to Texas Tech (March 20-22), Oklahoma (Apr. 4-6), Missouri (Apr. 11-13) and Kansas State (Apr. 25-27).

Press Release

University of Texas baseball coach Augie Garrido announced the addition of a 10th player to the 2008-09 signing class as Robbie Grossman’s National Letter of Intent was certified on Thursday morning.”Robbie is considered one of the top outfielders in the nation,” associate head coach and recruiting coordinator Tommy Harmon said. “He’s a switch-hitter, has good speed and good power, and is someone that should be able to contribute early.”

Grossman was a member of the USA Baseball Junior National Team in 2007. He hit .450 with a team-high eight RBI in six games for Team USA at the COPABE “AAA” Pan American Junior Championships, helping the team earn a bronze medal and earn a berth in the 2008 International Baseball Federation “AAA” World Championships.

The Cypress, Texas, product is ranked as the No. 3 recruit in the state of Texas by Inside Prep Baseball. Grossman’s signing gives Texas eight of the top 25 recruits from the state according to Inside Prep Baseball, including the top three overall and five of the top 10.

Grossman is enjoying a stellar prep career, including an outstanding defensive performance and a single in the Aflac All-American High School Baseball Classic in San Diego last August. Grossman earned his second straight all-district honor and was the MVP of the Region 3 Championship series for Cypress Fairbanks High School, winners of the 2007 Class 5A Texas State Baseball Championship. He batted .415 with four home runs, 19 RBI and 16 stolen bases for the Bobcats as a junior to earn Texas High School Coaches Association third-team all-state recognition. Other honors from his junior season include UIL All-Tournament Team 5A and second-team All-Houston.

In terms of positions included in the signing class for the 2008-09 season, there are five pitchers, four position players and one two-way performer.

The Miami Hurricanes have announced their 2008 schedule. The Canes will open the season on February 22nd against Big East member Cincinnati for the first game of a three game set. They will then head over to Jupiter FL on February 26th to take on the Florida Marlins in an exhibition game. On February 29th, the Florida Gators will head down to Mark Light Field for a battle of intrastate rival schools. Miami opens the ACC schedule at home against the Boston College Eagles which will be the first matchup of the schools since both schools joined the ACC. The Hurricanes will also host ACC opponents Wake Forest, Clemson, Virginia, and North Carolina. The Canes will head on the road to play conference members NC State, Duke, Georgia Tech, Florida State, and Virginia Tech. The 2008 ACC tournament will take place in Jacksonville from May 21st-25th.

Full Press Release
Full Schedule

UT-Arlington head coach Jeff Curtis has unexpectedly resigned on November 15th. Curtis took over the program in 2001 after former head coach Clay Gould passed away from cancer. Curtis led the Mavericks to the NCAA Tournament in 2001 and 2006. He spent six seasons with the program accumulating an overall record of 166-188 after a disappointing 2007 season in which the team went 13-40. Associate head coach Darin Thomas has been named the replacement effective immediately. The full release is available here. This seems to be a very weird time to resign from a head coaching position as many schools are wrapping up fall practice. This current week is the beginning of the signing period.

The Florida State Seminoles have picked up 11 commitments for the 2009 baseball season. The biggest recruit in name and physically is left-handed pitcher Kyle Long. He is listed as a 6-7 280 pound left handed pitcher/hitter who is the son of NFL Hall of Fame member Howie Long and brother of UVA linemen Chris Long. Kyle suffered a neck injury this football season which he was taken off on a stretcher and is one of the top offensive linemen in the country. He is expected to spurn Bobby Bowden and focus on playing baseball as he is projected as a high draft pick in 2008.

• Kris Castellanos, LHP, Brandon (Newsome)
• Spencer Dickinson, Util, Tequesta (Benjamin)
• Brian Ellington, RHP, Gainesville (Buchholz)
• Ben Francis, RHP, Gulf Coast Community College
• Sean Gilmartin, OF/LHP, Moor Park, Calif. (Crespi)
• Tyler Hibbs, RHP/IF, Odenton, Md. (Arundel)
• Kyle Long, 1B/LHP, Charlottesville, Va. (St. Anne’s-Belfield)
• Tyler Pastornicky, IF, Bradenton (Pendleton)
• James Ramsey, 2B/3B, Alpharetta, Ga. (Wesleyan)
• Hunter Scantling, RHP, Jacksonville (Episcopal)
• Austin Wood, RHP, Niceville (Niceville)

Thanks to Chris Nee of Warchant.com for the information on the athletes and Perfect Game for the image of Kyle Long.

We are continuing our coverage of National Signing day with a few more releases from schools. The full list is below.

UAB
Washington State
Texas State
Dayton
Lamar
Southern Miss
Southeast Missouri State
Butler

Mike Rapp of VandySports.com broke the media silence out of Vanderbilt regarding their highly regarded recruiting class. Vanderbilt has received 11 of the 15 anticipated Letters of Intent, none more impressive that Smyrna TN righty Sonny Gray.

In a class highlighted by pitching, Gray leads the way. The flame throwing All-State QB and TN Prep Athlete of the Year is rated by Baseball America as the 6th best HS Prospect in America at all positions. Joining Gray in the fold are a series of standouts including Aflac All-American righty Jack Armstrong, standout third sacker Jason Esposito of CT and NJ outfielder Matt Marquis.

Vanderbilt will likely issue a press release when their four final signatures come in.

David Murphy, a freshman infielder for the Houston Cougars has been diagnosed with acute lymphoid leukemia in September. He has been undergoing treatments since that day including chemotherapy at Texas Children’s Hospital. Murphy though participated in many of the Fall practices including hitting a home run in an intrasquad scrimmage.

The Houston Cougars and David Murphy will be hosting a benefit this weekend which includes a clinic, silent auction, and All Star/Participant Exhibition Game. The event will take place in Beaumont TX at the SETX Baseball Academy at the Ford Park Baseball Fields.

Full Press Release
The Daily Cougar Article

November 14th was the first day that recruits for the 2008-2009 school year could sign their letter of intent. We have found many schools have put out a listing of the recruits who have signed already. A couple of highlights are that UCLA has signed three AFLAC All-Americans, Illinois picked up four in-state recruits, and finally Southern Miss picked up three players from Mississippi. The full list is below.

UAB
Illinois
UCLA
Texas State
Nicholls State
Southern Miss
Southeast Missouri State
Auburn
Baylor
TCU

FROM PRESS RELEASE
AUSTIN, Texas-University of Texas Baseball received National Letters of Intent from nine of the top high school student-athletes in the nation on the first day of the early signing period head coach Augie Garrido announced on Wednesday.

“Coach (Tommy) Harmon year in and year out proves he can bring in the top recruits in the country,” Garrido said. “This class falls in line with that history. He has brought in players that will make us a national contender in 2009. Coach Harmon does a good job of anticipating where we will need talent in the future and filling in that talent.”

The group, which was secured by Harmon, UT’s associate head coach and recruiting co