USC, ASU, and UCLA highlight top classes

FROM USC PRESS RELEASE

LOS ANGELES — Student Sports (studentsportsbaseball.com) has released its recruiting rankings for the 2009 season with the USC program slotted at third on the nation’s Top 25 classes. Head coach Chad Kreuter and first-year recruiting coordinator Doyle Wilson signed 10 players during the early signing period, including highly-touted shortstop Tim Beckham out of Georgia.

Five Pac-10 Conference teams were picked in the top ten (No. 1 Arizona State, No. 2 UCLA, No. 7 Stanford, No. 9 Arizona).

The class includes two Aflac All-Americans and six players ranked in Baseball America’s Top 200 national list: outfielder Jay Austin (Atlanta, Ga./North Atlanta HS), first baseman Beau Brett (Spokane, Wash./Ferris HS), left-handed pitcher Danny Coulombe (Scottsdale, Ariz./Chaparral HS), catcher/outfielder Brandon Garcia (Las Vegas, Nev./Bishop Gorman HS), infielder Ashton Kent (Tucson, Ariz./Catalina Foothill HS), first baseman/third baseman/pitcher Ricky Oropesa (Rancho Cucamonga/Etiwanda HS), right-handed pitcher Jon Pettibone (Yorba Linda/Esperanza HS), right-handed pitcher Chad Smith (Thousand Oaks/Thousand Oaks HS) and right-handed pitcher Michael Tonkin (Palmdale/Palmdale HS).