Ryan Davis of Vanderbilt is set to transfer to San Diego according to a few sources including Kendall Rogers of Rivals.com. Davis had become a role player in the 2007 season, splitting time with Parker Hanks and Matt Meingasner in left and at DH, after nearly capturing a batting crown by hitting .340 in SEC play in 2006. Due to the Senior year return of All-American RF Dom De la Osa, Vandy has four capable bodies competing for time in left field (Hanks, Jonathan White, red-shirt freshman Steven Liddle and highly touted freshman Joey Manning). With the opportunity to prove himself ahead of the 2008 draft, Davis stands to be a potential middle of the order bat for the Torreros and will have the opportunity to help contribute to the Toreros run to Omaha in 2008, while playing closer to his Arizona home. Thanks to NY Dore for providing the information used in this report.

Rivals.com is reporting that NC State first baseman/designated hitter Mike Roskopf is transferring to Southern California to play under Chad Kreuter. Roskopf hit .316 with 13 homers with 42 RBI. He will be an instant addition to the Trojans squad hopefully leading them to the Pac-10 Championship in 2008.

According to multiple sources, The University of Maine has picked up four transfers for the 2008 season. Joe Mercurio is coming from Illinois where he was the backup to All-American catcher Lars Davis. Mercurio was only able to get into eleven games while only starting three games. (The Baseball Zealot has more on Mercurio.) The Black Bears also picked up High Point University right-hander Joe Miller. he pitched in only six games in 2007 while making one start with no record and a 8.31 ERA. The other two players are Greg Doogan and Tony Patane who played with UConn-Avery Point in 2007. Doogan is a 6′5 230 pound right-hander while Patane is a 6′0 shortstop from New Milford CT. It should be interesting to see how this Maine program does under second year head coach Steve Trimper who led the program to a disappointing 22-31 record in his first year.

The Samford Bulldogs have picked up a transfer from Mississippi State in Michael Rutledge. He played in 69 games last season for the Bulldogs while advancing to the College World Series. Rutledge should provide leadership for the Samford program hopefully leading them to a Ohio Valley Conference Championship in 2008.

Southern Miss Head Baseball Coach Corky Palmer has announced the signing of Josh Fields, a 5-11, 185-pound third baseman/right-hand pitcher from Arkansas - Ft. Smith Junior College in Ft. Smith, Ark., , to a letter of intent and grant in aid for the 2007-08 academic year.

“I’m glad that Josh has signed with Southern Miss and will be joining our program,” Palmer said. “He is an excellent hitter, who can hit for average and for power from the right side. He covers a lot of territory at third base, has a good arm and doesn’t make mistakes. He comes from a good program, and has a chance to see playing time right away.”

This marks the seventh signee of the spring signing period and 11th signee overall for the program.

Complete story

According to multiple reports around the Internet including the Knoxville News, the University of Tennessee will name Todd Raleigh their next head coach. Raleigh is the current head coach of Western Carolina where he took the team to the NCAA Tournament on two separate occasions including the 2007 season. He compiled a record of 257-209 in eight seasons with the Catamounts.

Also, Tony Delmonico has decided to transfer to Florida State next season. This was expected as Delmonico’s father Rod was an assistant under Mark Martin Sr. before heading to Tennessee.

Knoxville News
Western Carolina Release
Tennessee Release

Kyle Maxie, formerly of Florida State, is officially transferring to Southern Mississippi next season where he is expected to compete for the starting catcher’s job with the Golden Eagles. The full story is available here.

CSTV has posted two articles on College Baseball. The first article deals with how Paul Mainieri (LSU) and Chad Kreuter (USC) are dealing with the intense pressure put on them at their respective schools. I believe both guys will be winners at each school since Mainieri had some major success at Notre Dame. The full article is available here.

The other article deals with how the transfer rules in college baseball are different then some other collegiate sports. The article really deals with Paul Mainieri in both occasions since he released Jarred Bogany from his scholarship and scooped up Charlie Furbush from St. Joseph’s of Maine. The full article is available here.

Jarred Bogany was released from his scholarship at LSU by new head coach Paul Mainieri. He played in 49 out of 59 games last season and was expected to contribute this year but something changed along the way.

Official Release from LSU
The Daily Reveille
Baseball America

UAB has picked up a very late transfer for the upcoming season in Dustin Colburn who will be playing for the school during the 2007 season. He attended Central Alabama originally but transferred to Shelton Community College for a couple of seasons before deciding to head back up to Division 1 in Alabama-Birmingham. The full press release on Mr. Colburn is available here.

UAB’s full schedule is available here if you are interested in the Blazers this upcoming season.

Jason Ogata is planning on transferring from LSU to Oregon State. Ogata is going to be a sophomore next spring and is expected to compete for the second baseman job at Oregon State replacing Chris Kunda who had a wonderful career. Ogata was rated as the Best College Prospect from Oregon in 2005 and this move means he is going back to his home state.

Corvallis Gazette-Times Article

The Advocate Article

The new LSU ace was spotted starting for the Hyannis Mets this past weekend by the staff of the College Baseball Blog. He is a big kid who can throw in the low 90’s with a A- curveball. He is a huge pickup for Paul Mainieri and should be a very important part of the LSU pitching staff this season.

Maine Today’s article can be read here.

Article from the Cape Cod Times about his no-hitter from earlier this summer.