Texas adds 2014 Commit

Corpus Christi Moody Catcher Michael Cantu has committed to Texas.

Listed at 6-4, 215 Cantu is ranked among the top ten high school juniors in Texas.

He also plays for the Moody football team (his father is the head coach) and is an excellent student.

Cantu is the 5th commitment so far in the 2014 recruiting class.

The other four are:

RHP Jake Jarvis (Spring TX; Klein Collins HS)

SS Travis Jones (Humble TX; Atascocita HS)

MIF Joe Baker (McKinney TX, McKinney HS)

SS Kaleb Denny (Baytown TX, Barbers Hill HS)

Transfer Pitcher Added

RHP Cameron Cox, orginally from Round Rock, TX (Stony Point HS) has transferred to Texas from Weatherford College.

Cameron was drafted in the 25th round of the MLB First Year Player Draft by the Cleveland Indians this past June after compiling a 4-3 record with a 3.15 ERA while striking out 61 batters in 62.1 innings of work, with 11 appearances in his first collegiate season.

The addition of Cameron Cox brings a total of 5 new pitchers into the fold for Texas entering the 2013 season to go along with freshmen Holden Helmink, Chad Hollingsworth, Travis Duke, and Ty Culbreth.

Cameron will have three years of eligibility left, but will be draft eligible again in 2014.

- fjla

Elite 2013 Prospect Commits

2013 RHP Kacy Clemens (Houston Memorial HS) has verbally committed to the University of Texas. He did so shortly after taking his official visit to the school on Friday.

Clemens was recently named a Perfect Game All-American and therefore will participate in the Rawlings Perfect Game All-American Classic On August 12th, he stands 6 foot 2 inches tall, is in the 200 pound range, touches the low 90′s with his fastball and scouts say he already has plus command of 3 pitches.

Also an accomplished high school hitter (bats Left) who some scouts believe could thrive as a two-way college player, if that is the route he eventually decides, but his long term professional future projects as a pitcher.

He plays summer ball in the Houston Banditos organization.

Kacy (of course) is the son of former Longhorn pitcher and Major Leaguer Roger Clemens.

Clemens is now the 9th verbal commit of the 2013 Texas Recruiting Class.

- fjla

 

Blake Goins

Blake Goins is a 6’0″ right-handed pitcher who is about to embark on his senior year at Pearland High School. Goins has garnered his fair share of attention over his first three seasons, sharing the spotlight with fellow pitcher Otis Latin while leading the Oilers to become District 24-5A Champions in 2012. Latin graduated in May, leaving Goins, and his 90 mph fastball, to lead the Oilers to victory this coming year. He certainly has the chops, telling Ted Dunham of The Pearland Journal, “My fastball and curveball are my two best pitches. I like throwing the two-seamer, but I think I’m effective with both.” Goins has spent his summer break working hard with the Columbia Angels, a highly-touted select team that counts Brandon Belt as an alum. Blake took some time from his busy summer to answer a few questions for us.

TBB: When did you know you wanted to be a Longhorn? Which Texas coach contacted you first and did they need to do much convincing?
BG: Ever since I was a little kid I was a big UT fan and that’s the school I wanted to go to. Coach Skip contacted me. Not at all, it’s the University of Texas! My dream school!
TBB: In an interview earlier this year you mentioned wanting to work on your mechanics; are you looking forward to working with Skip Johnson?
BG: Coach Skip sealed the deal! When I heard how good of a pitching coach he was, it was a no brainer. I’ve thrown one bullpen with him and he makes pitching and how to pitch so easy! I can’t wait to work with Coach Skip!
TBB: Can you talk a little bit about your time with the Columbia Angels this summer?
BG: This summer has been awesome with the Columbia Angels. We have an awesome team. We recently got back from the Perfect game in Georgia. We ended up getting 3rd out of 260 teams! The players on this team are so fun to be around and watch them play baseball! I know at least a couple of the younger kids on our team will be Longhorns!
TBB: What is your favorite accomplishment so far?
BG: Being able play baseball for UT in the future is one of my biggest accomplishments.
TBB: Who is your favorite former Longhorn?
BG: By far it would have to be Roger Clemens! I got to talk to him a little bit about pitching when I was in Georgia! It’s was AWESOME!

You can find Blake on Twitter @Blake_Goins, and stay tuned to Texas Baseball Blog for updates on Blake and the rest of the 2013 recruiting class over the high school season.

Photo Courtesy of Blake Goins

Longhorns add 2013 Commitment

Morgan Cooper has verbally committed to the Unversity of Texas.

Cooper is a RHP from Jarrell High School in Jarrell, TX; he stands 6 foot 6′ 185 pounds and already sports a 90 plus MPH fastball. He helped Jarrell win the 2A State Championship this past season finishing with a perfect 13-0 record on the mound while being named the Class 2A Player of the Year by the Texas Sports Writers Association. Morgan also plays Summer Ball with the Austin Wings organization. 

Cooper is already the 8th commitment for the 2013 Texas recruiting class. 

The others include:

Trey Ball LHP – New Castle, IN (New Castle HS)
Andy McGuire INF – Oakton, VA (James Madison HS)
Tres Barrera C – McAllen, TX (Sharyland HS)
Blake Goins RHP – Pearland, TX (Pearland HS)
Bret Boswell SS – Rockwall, TX (Heath HS)
Zane Gurwitz 2B – San Antonio, TX (Churchill HS) 
Jon Malmin LHP – Troy, TX (Troy HS) 

- fjla

A Glance at Texas/Big 12 Recruiting

A look at the some of the newcomers who will be playing in the Big 12 next season as well as other Texas High School athletes who will be playing around the Country….

 

Top Rated Big 12 Incoming Prospects (Texas HS Signees – State Ranking in parenthesis)

 

(4) Christopher (CJ) Hinojosa SS – Spring, TX (Klein Collins HS) – TEXAS

(7) Mitchell Traver RHP – Navasota, TX (Houston Christian) – TCU

(14) Ben Johnson OF – Austin, TX (Westwood HS) – TEXAS

(21) Holden Helmick RHP – Conroe, TX (Willis HS) – TEXAS

(22) Riley Farrell RHP – College Station, TX (A&M Consolidated HS) – TCU

(23) Brian Trieglaff C/RHP – Houston, TX (Houston Christian) – TCU

(26) Chad Hollngsworth RHP – Waco, TX (Robinson HS) – TEXAS

(28) Boomer White OF/C – Houston, TX (Memorial HS) – TCU

(35) Ralph Garza RHP – New Braunfels, TX (New Braunfels HS) – OKLAHOMA

(36) Tejay Antone RHP – Mansfield, TX (Legacy HS) – TCU

(41) Mark Gottsacker OF – Dallas, TX (Highland Park HS) – TEXAS

(42) Kolbey Carpenter MIF – West, TX (West HS) – OKLAHOMA

(45) Matthew Menard OF/C – Bridge City, TX (Bridge City HS) – BAYLOR

(48) Travis Duke LHP – Pearland, TX (Dawson HS) – TEXAS

(51) Hunter Haley OF – Nacogdoches, TX (Central Heights HS) – OKLAHOMA

(60) Luke Downs RHP – Amarillo, TX (Amarillo HS) – TEXAS TECH

(62) Ty Culbreth OF/LHP – Bryan, TX (Bryan HS) – TEXAS

 

Top Rated Big 12 Incoming National Prospects (Texas HS Signees excluded – National Ranking in parenthesis)

 

(181) Alex Young LHP – Hawthorn Woods, IL (Carmel Catholic HS) – TCU

(238) Michael Klement C – Cooper City, FL (Am. Heritage HS) – OKLAHOMA STATE

(249) Matt Fultz C – Lee’s Summit, MO (Lee’s Summit West HS) – KANSAS STATE

(263) West Tunnell MIF – Anthem, AZ (Boulder Creek HS) – BAYLOR

(493) Hayden Edwards RHP – Overland Park, KS (Blue Valley HS) – KANSAS

(500) Daniel Young 3B/RHP – Fort Smith, AR (Southside HS) – OKLAHOMA STATE

(500) Blake McFadden RHP -  St. Joseph, MO (Savannah HS) – KANSAS STATE

(500) Brent Williams C – Colorado Springs, CO (Liberty HS) – OKLAHOMA STATE

(500) Henry Weiler RHP – Leawood, KS (Rockhurst HS) – OKLAHOMA

(500) Tommy Mirabelli MIF – Rocky River, OH (St. Edwards HS) – KANSAS

(500) Carson McPherson LHP – Ardmore, OK (Ardmore HS) – OKLAHOMA

(500) Justin Burba OF – Haysville, KS (Campus HS) – OKLAHOMA

(500) Nate Griep RHP/OF – Omaha, NE (Millard West HS) – KANSAS STATE

(500) JJ Bissell 1B/OF – Windsor, CO (Fossil Ridge HS) – TEXAS TECH

 

Top Rated Texas Prospects (Non-Big 12 Signees – State Ranking in parenthesis)

 

(16) Joseph Shaw RHP – Ennis, TX (Ennis HS) – DALLAS BAPTIST

(17) Kenneth Dalton Brown RHP – Ponder, TX (Ponder HS) – ARIZONA

(20) Kevin McCanna RHP – The Woodlands, TX (The Woodlands HS) – RICE

(24) Grayson Long RHP – Baytown, TX (Barbers Hill HS) – TEXAS A&M

(29) Jake Cosart RHP – League City, TX (Clear Creek HS) – DUKE

(30) Leon Byrd SS – Cypress, TX (Cy Ranch HS) – RICE

(31) Rex Hill LHP – Magnolia, TX (Tomball HS) – TEXAS A&M

(32) Cory Geisler LHP/OF – Spring, TX (Klein Collins HS) – TEXAS STATE

(34) Corey Raley SS – Uvalde, TX (Uvalde HS) – TEXAS A&M

(39) Cameron Dishon OF – Beaumont, TX (Bridge City HS) – MISSISSIPPI

(43) Jarred Greene RHP – Magnolia, TX (Magnolia HS) – ARKANSAS

(44) Hunter Melton RHP – Corsicana, TX (Dawson HS) – TEXAS A&M

(47) AJ Minter LHP – Whitehouse, TX (Brookhill) – TEXAS A&M

(49) Hunter Kopycinski RHP – Houston, TX (St. Thomas) – RICE

(50) Dustin Cook RHP – Huffman, TX (Hargrave HS) – HOUSTON

(59) Colin Poche LHP – Flower Mound, TX (Flower Mound HS) – ARKANSAS

 

*all rankings according to Perfect Game USA – National Prospects ranked 1-500

-fjla

2012 WWBA 2013 Grads or 17u National Championship

If you are not familiar with Select Baseball, then this is probably one of -if not the- biggest tournaments that will take place this summer, not only for these high school kids, but also for the scouts and college coaches. You can bet that Skip and Tommy Nicholson will be in attendance at this tournament.

This tournament is held every year at Marietta, Georgia where over 240 select teams from across the country gather in Georgia to see who is the top Select Team.

Most of the Current Longhorn recruiting class of 2013 will be in attendance with their select team. Players like LHP Trey Ball, playing for the Indiana Prospects. The Prospects have 7 current Division 1 players committed to a college, Trey Ball being one of them.

SS/RHP Andy McGuire from Virginia, will be playing for the Evoshield Canes. The Canes have over 17 players that are committed to a Division 1 School.

RHP Blake Goins will be joining the Columbia Angels. There is one Angels player that I am keeping a close tab on, and that is Dominic Taccolini. He is currently uncommitted.

One of the more interesting match ups will be the Evoshielf Canes (Andy McGuire) vs. Columbia Angels (Blake Goins). This game will take place on Saturday Evening.

Then, from the 2014 class you have Jake Jarvis, a 2B/RHP that plays for the Houston Banditos during the summer and plays for Klein Collins High School.

This is a week long event that kicked off last Friday and runs through July 13th.

You can get more information on Perfect Game, but I have also added links up above and those will take you to the rosters.

-Donald Boyles