College Baseball 360 contributor Stephen Francis checks-in with his weekly look at some of the top college baseball comings and goings from the state of Texas…

By Stephen Francis

There were three big series going on this weekend involving Texas teams, and one of them (Texas vs. Stanford) was already covered by fellow College Baseball 360 contributor Jack Blanchat so the focus this week is on the Houston College Classic and the TCU-Texas Tech series.

TCU @ Texas Tech

What looked like a competitive series on paper (TCU entered the game at 4-4 in the midst of a three game losing streak and Texas Tech came in at 8-2 with a team batting average of .366) turned out to be the shot in the arm that the Horned Frogs needed.

TCU dominated in 25 of the 27 innings played, as those were the only two where Texas Tech put anything on the scoreboard.  The Frogs also received a huge offensive boost for the weekend from a bat that had remained relatively dormant through the first eight games of the season.

Jason Coats

Left fielder Jason Coats entered the weekend with a meager .125 batting average with just four hits and seven strikeouts in 32 at bats.  That made it no further than the first at bat of the second inning when he drove a single up the middle.  That little hit ignited a spark that reminded Frog fans of 2010 again.  He then added another single, a triple, and then a mammoth home run that’s rumored to still be in the air before finally being retired for the first time of the game in the ninth inning.  On the night, he finished 4-for-5, a double short of the cycle with three runs scored, three runs batted in and two stolen bases.  But Coats’ big night almost over-shadowed the other big story of the game.

Junior right-hander Kyle Winkler continued his run of dominance with another eight shutout innings of four-hit pitching.  Winkler struck out nine Red Raider hitters and walked none, although he did bean two.  Now let’s play a game of “Which stat is more impressive?”

1)  For the season, Winkler has now fired off 22 1/3 innings without surrendering an earned run.  He has a good chance to build on that streak against Houston Baptist this coming weekend.

2)  For the season, Winkler has allowed just eleven hits.  Would anyone like to take a guess as to how many have gone for extra bases? ________________________  *Hint, I gave you the answer.  Look at the blank.*

The Frogs went on to win handily by the score of 7-0.

Coats had a milder game two as TCU won a blowout that turned into a close game, 8-6.  He only hit two for four with a double and an RBI.  All six of those Tech runs came in the fifth.

Matt Purke

Game three saw the return of sophomore left-hander Matt Purke.  That pesky blister was definitely a thing of the past as Purke flat-out dominated Red Raider hitters for six innings of shutout one-hit baseball.  He tallied six strikeouts in his second victory of the season and like Winkler, he also has a 0.00 ERA.

As for Coats, he only had one hit in three at bats.  But, it was another “big ‘un.”  Coats drove a solo home run to left field to lead off the eighth.  He also opened the scoring in the first with a sacrifice fly, giving him two RBI and a run in the final game of the series.

The Red Raiders squeaked a run across in the ninth, but the damage had already been done and the Frogs took the game and the sweep with an 8-1 win.

Coats finished the series going 7-for-12 with a double, a triple, two home runs, six RBIs, four runs and two stolen bases.  That’s why he’s the Lone Star State Player of the Week for week three.  Now to travel south to check out what happened in Houston . . .

Houston College Classic

Game One — Baylor 5, Houston 2

Four Texas teams participated in the round robin-style Houston College Classic this weekend at Minute Maid Park.  Baylor and Houston kicked off the festivities with a fairly entertaining contest.

Logan Verrett

Baylor junior RHP Logan Verrett took the mound for the Bears and tossed 6 2/3 innings to earn the win.  He struck out seven Cougar hitters in the outing while they scattered just seven hits off of him.  The win makes Verrett 2-1 on the season with a respectable 4.02 ERA.  Reliever Brooks Pinckard notched his second save of the year to close it out.

Baylor third baseman Jake Miller put together three base hits with a run in the winning effort for the Bears.

Houston left fielder Jake Runte scored both of the Cougars’ runs in the losing effort and ended the day batting 3/4.

Game Three — Rice 8, Kentucky 7

After two relatively low-scoring games, all the opening day of baseball at the Houston College Classic needed was an offensive outburst.  Game three provided that as the second of two “local” teams pounded out a victory to close the day.

Jeremy Rathjen

Neither starting pitcher fared very well but several Rice hitters strung together a few hits for a solid evening at the plate.

First baseman/pitcher J. T. Chargois, designated hitter/first baseman Anthony Rendon and center fielder Jeremy Rathjen each finished with three hits.  Rathjen also drove in two runs while Chargois and Rendon each scored two.

In the end though, the difference in the score came off the bat of second baseman Michael Ratterree; who led off the seventh inning with a solo home run, his second of the season.

To close things out, Chargois took the mound for the final inning and two thirds to notch his second save of the season.

Game Five — Houston 8, Kentucky 5

Caleb Ramsey

The Houston bats came alive to the tune of 12 hits against Kentucky as the Cougars bounced back from their loss in the series opener.  The hometown team broke the game wide open in the seventh inning with six runs on seven hits to erase a 2-1 deficit.  Senior left fielder Caleb Ramsey drove in the third and fourth runs of the breakout frame with a single to the first base side and led all Houston hitters with three hits, including a ninth inning triple.  In addition, he drove in three runs and scored twice.  Sophomore Dakota Dill sealed the win with two innings of scoreless relief to notch his first save of the year.

Game Six — Rice 1, Texas A&M 0

For their second game in a row, Texas A&M found themselves on the short end of another outstanding pitchers’ duel in a match-up where the teams combined to scatter just 12 total hits in the Saturday night finale.

Rice scored the game-winning run in the third inning on a sacrifice fly by catcher Craig Manuel after Chargois led off the frame with a double and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt.

Owls starter Austin Kubitza went the distance, allowing six hits for the complete game shutout and his first collegiate victory.  The freshman baffled the Aggie batsmen all evening with seven strikeouts and no bases on balls to earn College Baseball 360’s Prime Time Pitcher of the Week Award.

Game Seven –

Game Eight — Baylor 12, Rice 8

Max Muncy

Baylor and Rice collided in an offensive explosion to combine for 27 hits as the Bears earned a much-needed second win of the series to leave Houston with an overall winning record at 6-5.

Sophomore Max Muncy turned in what was almost the best single-game offensive performance of the Classic by accounting for half of the Baylor offense.  The first baseman batted 3-for-6 and drove in amazing six runs on the ballgame with the last four coming in dramatic fashion.

In the bottom of the 10th with the score knotted at eight, shortstop Landis Ware led off with a double to left and moved over on a sacrifice bunt to put the winning run at third.  In an interesting decision to set up forces at every base, the Rice coaching staff called for back-to-back intentional walks to Brooks Pinckard and Logan Vick.  Two pitches later, Muncy stroked a game-winning walk-off grand slam to right field for an abrupt but authoritative end to the game.

Rice’s Shane Hoelscher collected two hits, two RBI and a run in the losing effort.  The Owls fell to 8-5 with the defeat.

Game Nine — Texas A&M 11, Houston 4

The finale of the Houston College Classic saw the Aggies come alive and deliver the second half of a “double-whammy” to the city of Houston after Rice’s earlier defeat.  Texas A&M hitters knocked around 15 hits in the outburst, led by sophomore Tyler Naquin.  In a performance equal to that of Muncy in the previous game, Naquin accomplished a rare feat of his own.

He began the game by doubling down the right field line for an RBI in the first and then later scored.  He drove in two more runs in the second inning with a triple to right center for his second hit of the day.  After a ground out to short in the fourth, Naquin cranked a two run home run to right field in the sixth inning for hit number three as well as his fourth and fifth runs batted in.  This left him a single away from the cycle.  He completed the task an inning later with an RBI base hit to plate the 11th and final run of the game for the Aggies.

For the Cougars, John Cannon and Landon Appling each drove in two runs.

Texas A&M senior Nick Fleece earned his second victory of the year with 2 2/3 innings of shutout pitching.  The victory pushed the Aggies to a 9-3 record while Houston fell to 6-5 on the season.

In all, it was three days of great baseball with a solid mix of masterful pitching and powerful hitting.  Of the Texas teams involved, Baylor and Rice finished the Classic 2-1 while Houston and Texas A&M each went 1-2.

The key games to watch in the Lone Star State this week are:

Baylor vs. Louisiana Tech — 4 games, Thursday — Sunday

Texas A&M vs. Florida International — 3 games, Friday — Sunday

Rice vs. Florida International — Wednesday

Rice — AT&T Tournament, San Francisco, CA — 3 games:  Long Beach State Friday, California Saturday, UC-Santa Barbara Sunday

Houston @ Texas St. — 3 games, Friday — Saturday

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Stephen Francis checks-in again with some top week 2 performances from the Lone Star State…

David Paiz, RF — Texas Tech Red Raiders

Paiz put together a very nice four game stretch as the Red Raiders competed in their second consecutive tournament weekend in Lubbock with a pair of games against BYU and two against Northern Illinois.  He played his part well in Tech’s three wins by batting .444 for the weekend with eight hits in 18 at bats with five RBI and three runs scored.  Six of his hits and four of his RBI came against the Huskies as he seemed to feast off of the NIU pitching staff.

Texas Freshman Pitcher of the Week:

Andrew Mitchell, RHP — TCU Horned Frogs

Mitchell began the season for the Horned Frogs with the understanding that he would fill the role of weekday starter and would pitch out of the bullpen on weekends, barring any injuries to starters.  He took the mound against Baylor to pitch 6 2/3 innings of two-hit shutout baseball with four strikeouts and three walks to earn his first career victory.  As it would turn out, an opening weekend blister to TCU’s Friday starter, Matt Purke,  would thrust him into a Sunday start a mere five days after his first one; this time against college baseball powerhouse Cal State Fullerton.  The freshman responded by tossing five shutout innings and yielding just one hit with three walks and two strikeouts.  Although the bullpen couldn’t hold onto his lead, he still ended the week with 11 2/3 innings pitched with a 0.00 earned run average, three hits allowed, six walks, six strikeouts and his first career win.

Jamodrick McGruder, LF — Texas Tech Red Raiders

It was a good four days for Texas Tech outfielders.  Actually, it was a good four days for Texas Tech hitters in general, but McGruder did almost everything offensively possible to earn his keep this weekend.  Aside from getting plunked four times in four games, which should earn him at least something more than a bandage, the former Freshman All-American also stole two bases, batted .583, smacked three triples and drove in two runs while scoring five of his own.  He also walked four times and finished the weekend with an on-base percentage of .750 and a slugging percentage of 1.167 for a nasty 1.917 OPS.  McGruber has nothing on this guy as McGruder “took it like a man” this weekend and almost seemed to feed off of getting beaned.

Texas Sophomore Pitcher of the Week:

Michael Wacha, RHP — Texas A&M Aggies

If the name Wacha sounds familiar, don’t thank Fozzy Bear.  His name should actually sound familiar because he’s being featured for the second week in a row.  After six shutout innings in week one, he added to it by going seven shutout innings this past weekend against Gonzaga.  The Hoyas managed only five hits and struck out six times without a walk against the right-hander.  On the season now, he has tossed 13 innings with two wins in two starts without surrendering a run.  In fact, one more scoreless start just might have College Station shouting Wacha, Wacha, Wacha — which would be an appropriate chant when Baylor comes to town.

Anthony Rendon, 3B — Rice Owls

Rendon had a week reminiscent of Barry Bonds this past weekend.  Strike that, maybe that’s not a good comparison for an amateur athlete.  Perhaps Mark McGwire . . . never mind that comparison, either.  Let’s just put it this way.  Rendon took a lot of walks this week — seven to be exact.  Maybe there’s a reason for that.  He only batted .273 but hit two home runs, knocked in five runs and scored six runs of his own.  His .556 on base percentage dwarfed the batting average and more than made up for it.  Of course, that .818 slugging percentage didn’t look too bad, either.

Texas Junior Pitcher of the Week:

Taylor Jungmann, RHP — Texas Longhorns

Jungmann appears to be doing his best to remain a main-stay on this list.  After his first career shutout last weekend, the Longhorn ace went out and did it again against Hawaii.  The fact that he took the mound four hours after his normal start time didn’t seem to faze him at all as he pitched his second consecutive complete game shutout and allowed only four hits with nine strikeouts.

Chris Andreas, 1B — Sam Houston State Bearkats

Andreas put on a show in week two, simple as that.  He amassed a slugging percentage of 1.111 by going 9/18 at the plate with three home runs and two doubles.  He was also involved in a majority of the Bearkats’ runs by driving in ten and scoring seven.  He was named the “Hitter of the Year” by the SHSU baseball team in 2010.  Now we know why.

Texas Senior Pitcher of the Week:

Taylor Walton, RHP — UT-San Antonio

To be honest, it was a tough week for senior pitchers in Texas this week.  That’s probably because there aren’t very many of them, though.  Whatever the case, Walton went out and pitched a gem regardless of his classification.  The Midland native is playing his only season of Division I baseball, but didn’t look like it against St. Joseph’s with six scoreless innings on four hits with five strikeouts.  He earned his second win of the year and has now pitched 11 innings without allowing a run.

Texas Longhorns — vs. Stanford Friday, Saturday and Sunday

TCU Horned Frogs — @ Texas Tech Red Raiders Friday, Saturday and Sunday

Houston College Classic

Baylor Bears — vs. Houston Friday, Utah Saturday and Rice Sunday
Texas A&M Aggies — vs. Utah Friday, Rice Saturday and Houston Sunday
Houston Cougars — vs. Baylor Friday, Kentucky Saturday and Texas A&M Sunday
Rice Owls — vs. Kentucky Friday, Texas A&M Saturday and Baylor Sunday

We have looked at the up the middle guys (catchers, shortstops and second basemen) in our first looks at some of the top players in college baseball. Now we’ll look at some of the top corner men, starting with the hot corner.

1. Anthony Rendon – Rice

Rendon’s first two college seasons have looked like this: 2009 – .388 Avg., 20 HR, 14 doubles, 72 RBIs, .702 slugging percentage, 1.163 OPS, named National Freshman of the Year and Conference USA Freshman and Player of the Year. 2010 – .394 Avg., 26 HR, 12 doubles, 85 RBIs, .801 slg. %, 1.331 OPS, 14 SB, named C-USA Player of the Year and C-USA Male Athlete of the Year for all C-USA sports, and National College Baseball Player of the Year. Rendon has also walked 96 times with just 45 strikeouts in his first two years. He’s a player you just know a guy like Theo Epstein (and obviously others) would love to get his hands on. Did I mention the fact that the City of Houston proclaimed June 29, 2010 as “Anthony Rendon Day“? The only thing Rendon is yet to accomplish in his already legendary college career is a trip to the College World Series.

2. Matt Skole – Georgia Tech

After two seasons, Skole is already one of the top power hitters in Georgia Tech history. He enters the upcoming campaign with 37 long balls, which ranks 11th in the Yellow Jacket record books. He also placed third at the inaugural TD Ameritrade Home Run Derby last summer. Skole earned first team All-ACC honors last year when he batted .335 with 20 HR, 15 doubles, 63 RBIs, and a 1.119 OPS. Like Rendon, he is disciplined at the plate. Skole had 45 walks with just 34 strikeouts last year, which was a drastic turn from his freshman season when he fanned 69 times with just 27 BB. Skole still hit .302 with 17 HR and 58 RBIs that year to earn Freshman All-American status. He will be called upon to produce early this season as one of two returning position playing starters in the GT line-up.

3. Austin Maddox – Florida

Maddox was a do-it-all guy who started all over the place in his freshman season last year. He made 29 starts at third base, 19 as Florida’s DH, 14 at first base, and even one start at catcher. The SEC Freshman of the Year typifies the wealth of young talent back from the Gator’s 2010 College World Series team. Maddox led Florida with 17 home runs , 72 RBIs and .587 slugging percentage, while his .333 batting average was second to Matt den Dekker’s .352. He also drove-in fellow freshman Nolan Fontana with the winning run in the 10th inning of game two of the Super Regional win over Miami. In addition to consensus Freshman All-American honors, Maddox also received third team NCBWA All-American status. That made him the first Florida freshman since 1996 to be so honored.

4. Jacob Tanis – Mercer

The school may be small, but Tanis has played big in his first two seasons at Mercer. He earned Freshman All-American honors by hitting 11 home runs with 35 RBIs and a 1.090 OPS in 2009. The 6’1 Tanis stepped his game up last year when he batted .388 with 22 HR, 25 doubles and 88 RBIs, while setting new school records with 102 hits and 197 total bases. His 88 RBIS tied for second in the nation, while his OPS hit a whopping 1.183. Tanis’ efforts helped Mercer to the Atlantic Sun Championship and a berth in the NCAA Atlanta Regional. He also earned third team All-American honors.

5. Harold Martinez – Miami

Martinez had a breakout sophomore season last year when he belted 21 home runs (up from nine in 2009). He batted .295 with a team-best 69 RBIs for a Hurricane team that fell to Florida in the Super Regionals. He missed the last game of that Super Regional in Gainesville due to injury and spent the summer rehabbing after surgery on his leg. Martinez had fouled several balls off the leg over the course of the season and had to have a lump removed as a result. With the loss of first round MLB Draft pick Yasmani Grandal, Martinez will have even more responsibilities in the line-up in 2011.

6. John Hinson – Clemson

Hinson is a guy who had question marks coming into the 2010 season. He played a little as a freshman in 2008, batting .264 with one home run and 11 RBIs. He missed all of 2009 with a back injury, so just what he would bring to the table in ’10 was a great unknown. Hinson played in all but two of Clemson’s 69 games last year though, batting .351 with 17 HR and 75 RBIs. All of those numbers were the second-best on his team for the College World Series participants. He also led Clemson with 25 stolen bases, while sporting a 1.008 OPS.

7. Matt Leeds – College of Charleston

Like Clemson’s Hinson, Leeds missed what would have been his sophomore season in 2009. Like Hinson, Leeds came back with a vengeance in 2010. He was named the Southern Conference Player of the Year after batting .326 with 21 home runs, 23 doubles and 88 RBIs. His RBI total tied with Mercer’s Tanis for second nationally. Leeds had an 1.123 OPS, and was hit by pitch 22 times. His efforts earned third team All-American status and helped the Cougars reach the Myrtle Beach NCAA Regional. Leeds was named to the All-Regional Team and then went on to participate in the TD Ameritrade Home Run Derby at Rosenblatt Stadium last summer.

8. Garrett Buechele – Oklahoma

Now a junior, Buechele was OU’s triple crown winner as a redshirt sophomore in 2010. The 6’0 slugger batted .359 with 17 home runs and 65 RBIs for the College World Series bound Sooners. He was named Big 12 Freshman of the Year in 2009 after sitting out the 2008 season. The son of former Major Leaguer Steve Buechele slugged a team-best .630 with a .438 OBP. He walked just 20 times, but was hit by pitch 19 times. Buechele has been good in the field as well. In his 128 starts at OU he has committed just 12 errors.

9. Jason Esposito – Vanderbilt

Esposito broke through as a sophomore last year, raising his batting average from .287 to .359. He also belted 12 home runs with team-highs 64 RBIs and 31 stolen bases, while leading the SEC with 25 doubles. Esposito batted .476 (10-for-21) with five RBIs at the Louisville Regional to help Vandy reach the Tallahassee Super Regional, where he batted .364 with two home runs and five more RBIs. The 6’2 sensation had big moments during the regular season as well. He had a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 17th inning to beat Louisville and also set a school record by reaching base safely 15 straight times in an SEC series against Mississippi State.

10. Scott Woodward – Coastal Carolina

There are infielders who play outfield, but Woodward is the rare combination of a corner infielder who also plays centerfield. He enters his senior season at CC with a school record .502 on-base percentage and ranks second in the record books in three other offensive categories. Woodward hit .324 with five home runs, four triples, seven doubles, 35 RBIs, and 75 runs scored. He also stole 55 bases to finish behind only teammate Rico Noel’s 56 for the DI national lead. The 6’2 Markle, IN native swiped 32 of those bags and hit .457 in Big South Conference games. Woodward was drafted last year in the 15th round by the Oakland A’s, but opted to return for his senior campaign.

11. Tony Renda – Cal

Renda earned Freshman All-American honors last year after batting a team-best .373 with three home runs and 37 RBIs. At 5’9, Renda started all 54 Cal games and also led his team with 81 hits, 55 runs, 21 doubles, and four triples, to help Dave Esquer’s Golden Bears to the NCAA Tournament. The Cal lead-off man batted .555 (5-for-9) with three runs and two RBIs in Cal’s two games at the Norman NCAA Regional. Renda was drafted in the 42nd round by the Los Angeles Dodgers coming out of high school.

Others To Watch…

Joe Corfman – Toledo

Brian Hernandez – UC Irvine

Micah Johnson – Indiana

Sherman Johnson – Florida State

Richie Pedroza – Cal State Fullerton

Rob Segedin – Tulane

Chris Taladay – Central Florida

Joe Terdoslavich – Long Beach State

Corey Thompson – East Carolina

Jantzen Witte – TCU

* Note: There are several corner men who played both first and third base in 2010. If you don’t see one of them on this list you may still see them on our list of top first basemen.

Related

Top 11 Non-Conference Schedules In 2011

Top 11 Catchers To Watch In 2011

Top 11 Shortstops To Watch In 2011

Top 11 Second basemen To Watch In 2011

Dugouthats.com has officially licensed 2010 College World Series memorabilia year round!

From t-shirts and caps to limited edition prints commemorating the last CWS ever played at historic Rosenblatt Stadium. Dugouthats.com also always  hats of your favorite college teams like LSU, Texas, Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State, UCLA, South Carolina, Miami and more.

Just click on any of the red links above or the image on the left to find the best selection of college baseball apparel.

Rice, Rendon, McInnis Picked For Top Honors…

1.	Rice (6)
2.	Southern Miss (2)
3.	East Carolina
4.	UCF (1)
5.	Tulane
6.	Memphis
7.	Houston
8.	Marshall
9.	UAB
(first place votes in parentheses)

P	Seth Maness	Sr.	East Carolina
P	Todd McInnis	Sr.	Southern Miss
P	Taylor Wall	Jr.	Rice
RP	Collin Cargill	Sr..	Southern Miss
C	Victor Gomez	Sr.	Marshall
IF	Garrett Cannizaro	So.	Tulane
IF	Anthony Rendon	Jr.	Rice
IF	Corey Thompson	Jr.	East Carolina
IF	B.A. Vollmuth	Jr.	Southern Miss
IF	Chad Zurcher	Jr.	Memphis
OF	Jamal Austin	Jr.	UAB
OF	Drew Martinez	Jr.	Memphis
OF	Trent Whitehead	Sr.	East Carolina
DH/UT	Jeremy Rathjen	Jr.	Rice

We started our position-by-position look at some of the top players with catchers earlier this week. Now we’re going to the middle of the infield with the shortstops. Here’s our look at some of the top men up the middle to watch heading into the 2011 college baseball season…

1. Garrett Wittels – Florida International

Heading into the new season it will be hard not to watch Wittels as he pursues college baseball immortality. The FIU junior slowly gained attention last year as he collected hit after hit in game after game, taking his hitting streak to 56 games to end the 2010 season. He hit .413 over the course of that streak and needs hits in his team’s first three games of the season against Southeastern Louisiana to break former Oklahoma State 3B Robin Ventura’s 1987 record 58-game streak. The junior’s other numbers last year looked like this: 100 hits, 60 RBIs, 21 doubles, and just 19 strikeouts compared to 22 walks.

2. B.A. Vollmuth – Southern Mississippi

As a freshman in 2009, Vollmuth’s offensive numbers (.237, 8 HR, 28 RBIs) were far from eye-popping. Vollmuth started just 25 games during that freshman season, but 23 of those starts came during USM’s Cinderella run to the College World Series. Vollmuth used that run and a trip to Cape Cod that summer to springboard to a monster 2010 sophomore campaign, when he batted .386 with 20 home runs, 17 doubles, 72 runs, and 76 RBIs – all team-highs. He also sported a 1.219 OPS. If not for Rice’s Anthony Rendon (whom we’ll talk about when we get to our 3B list), Vollmuth likely would have been the C-USA Player of the Year. He’ll look for a third straight NCAA berth and even bigger things in 2011.

3. Deven Marrero – Arizona State

Not too many players can walk-in the door as a freshman and have the kind of season Marrero did in 2010. Marrero set a Sun Devil freshman record by hitting a team-best .397 with 11 stolen bases while making most of his 37 starts at shortstop. He earned All-American status for his efforts in the spotlight at ASU while helping the Sun Devils reach the College World Series. The 6’1 shortstop didn’t just survive, but thrived in that spotlight en-route to Omaha. He had game-winning hit in the bottom of the 12th inning to beat Arkansas in game one of their Super Regional and then scored the winning run the next day to send ASU to the CWS.

4. Kenny Diekroger – Stanford

Diekroger is another freshman who thrived as a true freshman in 2010 for one of the perennial top teams in the country. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in the second round out of high school, but instead of signing the Woodside, CA native stayed close to home to play for Mark Marquess. The decision has, so far, paid-off. Diekroger jumped into the line-up, leading Stanford with a .356 averaged and 41 RBIs. He started 54 of his team’s 55 games to help the Cardinal get back to the NCAA Tournament after a 2009 absence. Diekroger was named a New England Collegiate Baseball Summer League All-Star last summer. His younger brother, Danny Diekroger, joins him this year as a freshman on the Cardinal baseball team. He played third base last year, but moves to shortstop in 2011.

5. Brad Miller – Clemson

Miller led his team with a .357 batting average to help the Tigers reach the College World Series. Now a junior, the 6’0, 185 lb. Miller scored 71 runs with 49 RBIs, 8 home runs and a team-best four triples while starting all but one of Clemson’s 70 games in 2010. His 1.018 OPS was also the second best on the Tiger roster. After the run to Omaha, Miller played the rest of the summer with the USA Collegiate National Team. He was one of just three on the roster who played for Team USA in both 2009 and 2010, becoming the first Clemson player since 2000 and 2001 to have that distinction.

6. Levi Michael – North Carolina

It’s hard to believe, but Michael is already a junior. The early high school graduate batted .290 with 13 home runs and 57 RBIs while helping UNC to Omaha in 2009 in what should have been his senior season in high school. He moved from second base to shortstop last year and his overall production moved-up as well. The 5’10 sophomore led the Tar Heels with his .346 average, and while his home run total dipped to nine, his slugging percentage still went up from .527 to .575. His OBP also went from .377 to .480 thanks to 44 BB and 17 HBP, compared to just 26 strikeouts. He also led his team with 20 stolen bases.

7. Adam Bryant – Troy

While fellow Sun Belt star Garrett Wittels garnered all the national acclaim for his hitting streak last season, Bryant had a monster “below the radar” campaign of his own. Of course, Bryant wasn’t below the radar as far as Sun Belt Conference pitchers were concerned. The 5’10 junior batted .356 with 65 RBIs, while leading the Sun Belt with 23 HR, 70 runs and a .744 slugging percentage. He struck out just 38 times in 250 at-bats and amassed an OPS of 1.175. Bryant smashed four of his home runs en-route to Troy’s run to the Sun Belt Tournament title game, which they lost 14-10 to Wittels and FIU to fall one win short of an NCAA bid. He committed just three errors in 295 chances for a spectacular .990 fielding percentage.

8. K.C. Serna – Oregon

The junior has been in the line-up at shortstop for all but a handful of games in the two years since George Horton and Oregon brought baseball back to Eugene. From the lead-off spot in the order, Serna hit a team-high .348 last year. He also led the Ducks with 14 stolen bases and a .419 OBP, while helping the program to an NCAA Regional bid in just its second year of existence. He also belted five home runs with 13 doubles. The Ventura, CA native was the starting shortstop for the Western Division at the Cape Cod League All-Star Game as a member of the Falmouth Commordores last summer.

9. Nolan Fontana – Florida

Fontana was a vital cog in the Gators’ run to the College World Series as a freshman in 2010. He started all but one of Florida’s 64 game and sparkled at shortstop, committing just four errors in 279 chances. That alone made him the first player in program history to earn a Rawlings Gold Glove Award. His overall offensive numbers (.283, 3 HR, 23 RBIs) aren’t eye-popping, but his move to the top of the order in early April helped solidify the Gator line-up and the drive to Omaha. Fontana’s .437 OBP with 53 walks were team-highs, while his 29 strikeouts tied Preston Tucker for the fewest of any batter with at least 200 at-bats. He also played for the USA Collegiate National Team over the summer.

10. Steve Nyisztor – Rutgers

Nyisztor is one in a long line of players from Toms River, NJ to wear the Scarlet Knight’s uniform for head coach Fred Hill. He batted .410 as a freshman at second base, but that wasn’t even good enough to earn first-team All-Big East honors. That went to Louisville star Ryan Wright. Nyisztor makes the move from 2B to SS this year after committing just three errors last season. His other offensive numbers included 17 doubles, 52 runs, 51 RBIs, four HR, three triples, 11 stolen bases, and a 1.013 OPS.

11. Eric Stamets – Evansville

Stamets earned consensus Freshman All-American honors and was named the Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Year after starting all 59 of Evansville’s games last year. He batted .321 with four home runs, 15 doubles and 27 RBIs, while leading the Purple Aces with 57 runs and 43 stolen bases. His school record stolen base total ranked fifth in the nation and were the most by any DI freshman. Stamets walked 33 times with 12 HBP and just 33 strikeouts in 234 at-bats.  He had 75 hits and did not go back-to-back games without a hit all season.

Others To Watch…

Caleb Busheyhead – Oklahoma

Taylor Featherston – TCU

Ryan Lashley – Stetson

Taylor Motter – Coastal Carolina

Austin Nola – LSU

Joe Panik – St. John’s

Justin Roland – Charlotte

Tim Smalling – Virginia Tech

Darnell Sweeney – Central Florida

Chad Zurcher – Memphis

Related

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Dugouthats.com has officially licensed 2010 College World Series memorabilia year round!

From t-shirts and caps to limited edition prints commemorating the last CWS ever played at historic Rosenblatt Stadium. Dugouthats.com also always  hats of your favorite college teams like LSU, Texas, Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State, UCLA, South Carolina, Miami and more.

Just click on any of the red links above or the image on the left to find the best selection of college baseball apparel.

UCLA Duo Heads Louisville Slugger Teams…

UCLA's Trevor Bauer

Other first team pitchers are Matt Purke-TCU (16-0, 3.02 ERA), Taylor Jungmann-Texas (8-3, 2.03 ERA), Danny Hultzen-Virginia (11-1, 2.78 ERA), Noe Ramirez-Cal State Fullerton (12-1, 2.54 ERA), and John Stilson-Texas A&M (9-1, 10 SV, 0.80 ERA).

First team position players are C-Peter O’Brien-Bethune-Cookman (.386-20 HR), 1B-Paul Hoilman-East Tennessee State (25 HR, .421), 2B-Zack MacPhee-Arizona St. (.389, 20 SB), 3B-Anthony Rendon-Rice.394, 26 HR), SS-B.A. Vollmuth-Southern Mississippi (.386, 20 HR), OF-Jackie Bradley, Jr.-South Carolina (.368, 13 HR), OF-Alex Dickerson-Indiana (.419, 24 HR), OF-George Springer-Connecticut (.337, 18 HR, 33 SB), DH-Garrett Wittels-Florida International (.413, 56-game hitting streak), UT-Mike McGee-Florida State (.328, 17 HR).

Purke is projected by Collegiate Baseball as the National Player of the Year.

Click here to see the complete 2011 Louisville Slugger Preseason 1st, 2nd and 3rd Teams

Give a unique gift this Christmas from Dugouthats.com!  The Dugout in Omaha has officially licensed 2010 College World Series memorabilia that would make the perfect gift this holiday season and it’s all marked-down right now!

From t-shirts and caps to limited edition prints commemorating the last CWS ever played at historic Rosenblatt Stadium. Dugouthats.com also always  hats of your favorite college teams like LSU, Texas, Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State, UCLA, South Carolina, Miami and more.

Will Receive Dick Howser On-Camus Salute…

In addition to being honored as the winner at the conclusion of the college baseball season, each Howser Trophy winner is saluted once again on his campus the following academic year so that fans and administrators at his school can be a part of recognizing his achievements.  Rendon will be re-presented the Howser Trophy by Jana Howser, daughter of Dick Howser and Executive Vice-President of the College Baseball Foundation, and Bo Carter, Executive Director of the NCBWA, during the first quarter of the Rice-UH football game which airs regionally on CSS.

The rising junior third baseman was the recipient of the 24th annual Dick Howser Trophy as college baseball’s player of the year.  The original presentation was made on July 2 in Lubbock, Texas as part of the festivities to recognize and induct the College Baseball Hall of Fame and award several other national honors for 2010.

Anthony Rendon (Courtesy Rice)

Rendon is just the second player in Conference USA history to be named Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons.  He picked up that honor again this year while leading the Owls to the regular season league championship and the school’s 16th consecutive NCAA Regional appearance.  The two-time first team All-C-USA selection was named to the C-USA Championship All-Tournament team and was named the Most Outstanding Player at the NCAA Austin Regional.  The Houston native was also named the Male Athlete of the Year for all sports in Conference USA.

He batted .402 in conference play and finished the season hitting .394 overall.  Rendon led Conference USA in home runs with 26 and had more homers than strikeouts (22) all season long.  Rendon ranks among the nation’s leaders in runs scored (83) and walks (65) while maintaining a .530 on-base percentage.  He had 12 doubles and 85 RBI, while posting an .801 slugging percentage.

Rendon was also been named the 2010 National Player of the Year by Baseball America and the American Baseball Coaches Association.

The Dick Howser Trophy, given in memory of the former Florida State University All-America shortstop and major league player and manager who died of brain cancer in 1987, is regarded by many as college baseball’s most prestigious award.  Criteria for consideration for the trophy include performance on the field, leadership, moral character and courage – qualities that were exemplified by Dick Howser’s life.

A Florida native, Howser was twice an All-America shortstop at Florida State University (1957-58), then coached the Seminoles in 1979 after a career as a major league player and coach. After one year in the college ranks, Howser returned to the majors to manage the New York Yankees and Kansas City Royals and won the World Series with the Royals in 1985. The baseball stadium on the Florida State campus is named for Howser.

NCBWA membership includes writers, broadcasters and publicists. Designed to promote and publicize college baseball, it is the sport’s only college media-related organization, founded in 1962.

The College Baseball Foundation was established in 2004 and has inducted 57 greats into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in Lubbock. The group promotes the highest ideals and recognition of greatness on college baseball diamonds in the 150 years since the first intercollegiate contest in 1859 between Amherst and Williams.

The Howser Trophy was created in 1987, shortly after Howser’s death.  Previous winners of the Howser Trophy are Mike Fiore, Miami, 1987; Robin Ventura, Oklahoma State, 1988; Scott Bryant, Texas, 1989; Alex Fernandez, Miami-Dade Community College South, 1990; Frank Rodriguez, Howard College (Texas), 1991; Brooks Kieschnick, Texas, 1992 and 1993; Jason Varitek, Georgia Tech, 1994; Todd Helton, Tennessee, 1995; Kris Benson, Clemson, 1996; J. D. Drew, Florida State, 1997; Eddy Furniss, LSU, 1998; Jason Jennings, Baylor, 1999; Mark Teixeira, Georgia Tech, 2000; Mark Prior, P, USC, 2001, Khalil Greene, SS, Clemson, 2002; Rickey Weeks, 2B, Southern U., 2003; Jered Weaver, P, Long Beach State, 2004; Alex Gordon, 3B, Nebraska, 2005; Brad Lincoln, P/DH, Houston, 2006; David Price, P, Vanderbilt, 2007; Buster Posey, C, Florida State, 2008 and Stephen Strasburg, P, San Diego State, 2009.

(NCBWA Release)

22 Players Make Final Cut…

39 Players Invited – 22 Will Make Final Roster…

USA Baseball Collegiate Team 2010 Schedule