By Willie Nicklaus

With the NCAA regionals finished, I thought it was a good time to post my All-Freshman team for 2008. The high school Class of 2007 was a highly touted one, and they did not disappoint as contributors to their respective teams. Here they are with a little information about each.

POSITIONS			BA	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	SLG%	OB%	OPS%
WVU	IF	Jedd Gyorko	0.409	232	62	95	8	63	0.612	0.450	1.062
Alabama	IF	Josh Rutledge	0.375	256	60	96	0	29	0.426	0.432	0.858
Coastal Carolina	IF	Scott Woodward	0.357	210	71	75	7	42	0.533	0.524	1.057
Auburn	1B	Hunter Morris	0.351	211	42	74	11	49	0.597	0.433	1.030
Rice	IF	Rick Hague	0.343	204	35	70	8	47	0.554	0.406	0.960
Kent State	OF	Ben Klafczynski	0.339	165	37	56	11	35	0.630	0.385	1.015
Florida	UT	Josh Adams	0.337	205	39	69	8	51	0.546	0.432	0.978
Georgia Tech	IF	Derek Dietrich	0.333	222	50	74	14	66	0.608	0.413	1.021
Tenn	OF	Kentrail Davis	0.330	206	45	68	13	44	0.583	0.435	1.018
Midd Tenn	OF	Bryce Brentz	0.329	210	49	69	18	68	0.671	0.404	1.075
CS Fullerton	IF	Christian Colon	0.324	216	55	70	3	31	0.435	0.400	0.835
Texas	C	Cameron Rupp	0.322	177	33	57	4	32	0.508	0.398	0.906
PITCHERS			ERA	W	L	K
Texas		Chance Ruffin	2.04	7	3	72
Miami		Chris Hernandez	2.44	11	0	97
UNC		Matt Harvey	2.50	7	2	71
Cal		Kevin Miller	2.56	6	1	67
UNC		Nate Striz	2.03	1	0	30
Tenn		Bryan Morgado	4.59	5	5	104
Georgia Tech		Deck Mcguire	3.41	8	1	64
SD		Kyle Blair	4.12	7	4	90
OLE MISS		Drew Pomeranz	4.30	4	3	74
Santa Clara		Thain Simon	2.59	9	2	71
HONORABLE
USF		Ryan Lockwood
Texas A&M		Brooks Raley
Arkansas		Brett Eibner
Oklahoma St.		Tom Belza
Oregon St.		Kevin Rhoderick
LSU		DJ LeMahieu
Vanderbilt		Curt Casali
EMU		Zack Leonard

Let’s start with Jedd Gyorko from West Virginia. He chose to stay put in Morgantown, and you can bet Coach Van Zandt couldn’t be happier. His brother Scott was a Mountaineer linebacker so WVU runs in the blood. Jedd has plus bat speed and a great approach that has benefitted him handling the off-speed pitches.

Josh Rutledge from Alabama has classic leadoff hitter qualities and has good speed on both sides of the ball. He has stolen 14 bases so far, and provides the Tide a spark by leading his team with 96 hits. Scott Woodward from Coastal Carolina is an on-base machine for the Chanticleers. When you add up his 71 hits and combined walks and getting plunked, it all added up to an outrageous .524 OBP. Described as a “throwback” type player, the Indiana native also excelled in football as a defensive back and was honored by Rawlings on their All-Regional Senior team.

Hunter Morris from Auburn is no stranger to success and accolades. Why? Because he is solid and keeps performing at a very high level. Already selected to the USA National Team trials next month, Morris came to college baseball with honors from the USA Junior team formed from the 2006 USA Tournament of Stars in Joplin, Missouri. Was an AFLAC participant and received multiple All-American awards in high school. One of the many on this list with the classic lefty bat and righty arm, Morris uses a balanced attack combining power and average as plus tools, and is a defensive rock at first base. Did I mention he was the 2008 Freshman of the year in the SEC.

Rick Hague from Rice can best be described as a complete player. Solid defensively, Rick has a solid bat with some pop in it, and received honorable mention from Louisville Slugger in high school and was recently named to the CUSA All-Freshman squad. Rice head coach Wayne Graham says “Rick is rated as the best incoming shortstop that did not sign a pro contract, in other words, the best incoming shortstop of all freshmen. He’s a great talent.”

Ben Klafczynski from Kent State is another player who chose to stay home. You have heard the term “freak athlete”, well that comes from a 44” running vertical leap and some crazy twitch muscles. Another veteran from the 2006 USA tournament in Joplin, Ben came to college baseball with many honors and set some Ohio records. The only undrafted 2007 player from the 1st team NHSBCA, Ben has tremendous power from the left side, another one of those players who hits lefty and throws righty. The former 1st Team Louisville Slugger outfielder hit many no-doubters in 2008 while maintaining a solid batting average for the Golden Flashes. Ben was in the Top 10 in HR’s and 4th in MAC slugging percentage.

Josh Adams from Florida combines speed, a solid bat with pop and solid defense. This toolsy player received recent Wallace Award Top 100 recognition and earned a spot on both the 1st Team SEC and All-Freshman squads this season. Those are great accomplishments for a freshman.

Another Ohioan, an AFLAC participant and 2nd team All-ACC honoree is Derek Dietrich. Drafted in the 3rd round by the Houston Astros, Derek chose to bring his game to Georgia Tech, and he made a huge splash. Another of the classic lefty hitters and righty throwers, he did a good job at SS, but his bat is his calling card. A former teammate of Klafczynski in both Joplin and a Cardinals Scout Team, Derek came to GT with several honors and All-American accolades. With a plus bat and a tremendous arm, the Jackets have benefitted greatly in 2008 as Derek was amongst the team leaders in all offensive categories leading GT with 66 RBI’s. Another recent invitee to the National team trials, Derek is rostered with Wareham in the CCBL.

Kentrail Davis of Tennessee is a player. Another Joplin veteran and invitee to the National Team trials, Kentrail has lots of tools and an aggressive left-handed bat. A Golden Spikes Award semi-finalist and 2nd team SEC player, Davis led Tennessee in just about every offensive category in 2008 including all 3 Triple Crown categories. The 14th round pick of the Rockies in 2007 also was an AFLAC participant and received honors from Louisville Slugger as the Alabama POY in 2007. He is a force to be reckoned with on the diamond and tough as nails.

Bryce Brentz can bomb a baseball. A 2007 TEAMONE and Baseball Factory pre-season All-American, Bryce kept his power in his home state. The 30th round selection of the Cleveland Indians hit 18 bombs in 2008 and has the highest slugging percentage of this group as well as the HR leader. The Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year also hits for average and stole 13 bases for the Blue Raiders. Power, speed, and average, and a solid outfielder too.

Christian Colon from CSF is yet another Joplin veteran and invitee to the National Team trials. This slick fielding SS handled both sides of the ball like a veteran this season. Colon was a 10th round pick of the SD Padres in 2007 and received honorable mention this year from the Big West Conference. Cameron Rupp from Texas entered college baseball as a highly touted backstop. This 43rd round selection of the Pittsburgh Pirates was an AFLAC participant as well as a Rawlings and Louisville Slugger All-American.

Thain Simon from Santa Clara took the Broncos to new heights as the WCC Freshman of the Year, and is the 1st such honoree since the 2000 season. With more K’s than innings pitched and a good power arm and command, Thain led the team in wins with 9. Drew Pomeranz from Ole Miss comes from Tennessee and earned an invite for the USA National Team with a solid 2008 performance. A 2006 Louisville Slugger All-American, he also received 2007 pre-season accolades from them and did a solid job for Rebels.

Kyle Blair came to San Diego with accolades from AFLAC, Joplin, and was drafted in the 5th round by the LA Dodgers in 2007. Blair used his plus-plus abilities helping the Toreros to the Long Beach regional. A member of the WCC All-Freshman team, Blair recorded 90 K’s in only 67.2 innings pitched. Deck Mcguire from Georgia Tech came into Hotlanta as touted as any, and he held up his part of the bargain for the Jackets. The 2007 Virginia POY won 8 games in 2008 and ironically was a teammate of current GT Derek Dietrich as well as Klafczynski in 2006 in Joplin.
McGuire has the lowest ERA amongst all Tech starters.

Bryan Morgado of Tennessee redshirted in 2007 due to injury, and has healed quite well. A recent invitee to the USA National Team trials, this 2006 34th round pick of the Boston Red Sox struck out 104 hitters in 2008. On the Clemens Watch list, Bryan is on a fast track to success. Nate Striz has closer written all over him. This 5th round pick of the Twins in 2007 has plus power stuff and fits in well with the UNC staff. Teammate Matt Harvey came to UNC from Mystic, Conn. with a resume as long as anyone on this list. A 3rd round pick by the LA Angels, honors from AFLAC, Baseball America, and UnderAmour as well as the 2007 Connecticut POY, this Joplin veteran has made his mark so far by being a key factor in the #1 ranking of UNC. The former #1 prospect by Baseball America has laid a great foundation for the 2010 MLB draft.

Kevin Miller from Cal came in with fewer accolades but has done nothing but win and earned a spot on the Wallace list while helping Cal into a regional in Long Beach. Chance Ruffin from Texas earned a tryout with the National Team by sporting a 2.04 ERA and 7 Longhorn wins. This leads to a pitcher who had a dream season, Chris Hernandez from Miami. Forget pitchers winning with run support and high ERA’s. Chris was, and is dominant, and is the favorite for the 2008 Freshman POY. A 14th round pick of the Detroit Tigers in 2007, Hernandez averages a little over a strike out per inning, and averages almost 7 innings per outing holding hitters to a .211 batting average. As with any list, players are overlooked. Feel free to mention them in the comments section so they can be tracked for future publications.

Tags: 2010 Top Players, ACC, Alabama, Auburn, Big East, Big South, Big West, Cal, Cal State Fullerton, CBB Column, Coastal Carolina, Conference USA, Florida, GT, Kent State, MAC, Miami (FL), Middle Tennessee, Ole Miss, Rice, Santa Clara, SEC, Tennessee, Texas, UNC, University of San Diego, West Coast Conference, West Virginia

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