SEC Has Five In Top 10…
Columbia, S.C. – South Carolina baseball has landed the top recruiting class in the country as announced by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper on Tuesday afternoon. The Gamecock newcomers include seven players that have been drafted as well as several standouts from both the high school and junior college ranks.
“We are ecstatic with this group of newcomers that have entered our program,” said South Carolina recruiting coordinator Chad Holbrook. “This is a class we are excited about because of its depth, athleticism and versatility. We have a talented group of young, athletic infielders with the addition of Joey Pankake, T.J. Costen, Connor Bright, as well as outfielders Tanner English and Shon Carson. English and Carson were labeled as two of the best available athletes in the 2011 MLB draft.
“We also feel Grayson Greiner was one of the best high school catchers in the country and only because of signability issues was he not drafted in the first 10 rounds,” added Holbrook. ” We think that our pitching signees (RHP Evan Beal, LHP Jordan Montgomery, RHP Joel Seddon) will contribute immediately.”
It is also a class with experience and maturity with the addition of our JC signees,” noted Holbrook. “Our JC signees have had great success at the college level, and they add maturity and experience to our 2012 team. We felt it was important to have some balance with high school and junior college recruits to help replace some of the experience we lost in 2011. Collectively, we believe it’s a talented class that will hopefully continue to put us in a position to compete for SEC championships and trips to the College World Series.”
SOUTH CAROLINA RECRUITING CLASS
Player Pos. Hometown (Previous School)
Evan Beal RHP Fairfax Station, Va. (South County HS)
Connor Bright INF Mt. Pleasant, S.C. (Wando HS)
Shon Carson OF Lake City, S.C. (Lake City HS)
Ahmad Christian INF Jacksonville, Fla. (Trinity Christian HS)
Seth Constable OF Lewisville, N.C. (Forsyth Country Day HS)
T.J. Costen INF Virginia Beach, Va. (First Colonial HS)
LB Dantzler INF Winter Haven, Fla. (State College of Florida (Manatee-Sarasota)
Robert DeCosmo RHP Agawam, Mass. (Cathedral HS)
Tanner English OF Murrels Inlet, S.C. (St. James HS)
Vince Fiori LHP Ramsey, N.J. (Ramsey HS)
Grayson Greiner C Columbia, S.C. (Blythewood HS)
Mikal Hill INF Charlotte, N.C. (Mallard Creek HS)
Tanner Lovick INF Winterville, N.C. (Pitt CC)
Kyle Martin 1B Simpsonville, S.C. (Wade Hampton HS)
Reid Moman OF Greenville, S.C. (JL Mann HS)
Jordan Montgomery LHP Sumter, S.C. (Sumter HS)
Joey Pankake INF Easley, S.C. (Easley HS)
Hunter Privette RHP Hartsville, S.C. (Florence Darlington Tech)
Joel Seddon RHP/INF St. Clair, Mich. (St. Clair HS)
Sean Sullivan OF Columbia, S.C. (Winthrop)
Chase Vergason INF Orlando, Fla. (Brevard CC)
Top 40 Recruiting Classes by Collegiate Baseball
1. South Carolina
2. Vanderbilt
3. Mississippi
4. Oklahoma
5. Southern California
6. Miami, Fla.
7. Louisiana St.
8. Florida
9. Oregon St.
10. Stanford
11. Louisville
12. Texas
13. Southern Miss.
14. N.C. State
15. Cal. St. Fullerton
16. Florida State
17. Virginia
18. Arizona
19. Arkansas
20. Mississippi State
21. Georgia
22. Arizona State
23. Auburn
24. Central Florida
25. Kentucky
26. North Carolina
27. Oklahoma State
28. Rice
29. TCU
30. Oregon
31. Clemson
32. UNLV
33. Washington
34. Wichita State
35. College of Charleston
36. Alabama
37. Georgia Tech
38. Texas A&M
39. UCLA
t40. East Carolina
t40. Kansas