San Jose State announces 10 Signees for 2010

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FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
San Jose, Calif. – San Jose State University head baseball coach Sam Piraro has announced the signing of 10 players to a National Letter of Intent for the 2010 season during the early period.

Five of the 10 signings are currently in their senior year at Northern California high schools, with one a two-sport prep star out of San Luis Obispo, Calif. The other four are locals at junior colleges, including a pair of San Jose natives. Two of those transfers are from the Ohlone College program that first-year Spartan associate head coach Tom Kunis led in 2008 prior to returning to his alma mater.

“This is a very solid group that we’ve signed,” said Piraro about his early class. “We established a plan in the early summer, and continued to implement that plan as the summer went on, and into the fall. I thought we prepared ourselves for this period very well. Our goal was not necessarily to have x amount of people sign, but we knew we needed a bigger number than we have had in the last couple years. There was a lot of homework done, and a lot of effort put in. Our staff was very diligent in terms of watching these guys play, bringing them in on visits, communicating with them, and so on. I want to credit our coaching staff, and our entire staff, because, for example, Jason Piraro and Brian Yocke handled the visits, took the guys on campus, and did other behind-the-scenes things. Teghan Meyer did an outstanding job with making sure the visits went the way they were supposed to. So, it was a total commitment shown by our entire staff. I want to make sure that those individuals get the credit they deserve, for bringing in these 10 players that we’re very happy to have.

“We have six freshmen. That is a real priority of ours, is to bring the top high school players into this program, and we can develop them. That’s what this program is good at, is developing players. We also have four junior college guys that we think will be ready to contribute, and that is always the objective with junior college players. They have to come in ready to contribute. We don’t want them to need a year of transition, so we think that we’ve met that.”

“One of our goals is to have Spartan Baseball represented by players from our community, meaning San Jose, the Bay Area, Silicon Valley, the East Bay, the Peninsula, the Central Coast,” commented second-year assistant coach and recruiting director Jeff Pritchard. “Northern California is an outstanding place to find players. There is excellent talent in this area, and we are very happy that the majority of this class is from Northern California. We are very proud that they are Spartans, and are going to be representing obviously us and their families, but also their community as well.

“All of these players bring not only a lot of athleticism to their position, but also, across the board, each guy is extremely competitive, and always willing to do the small things to win a game. They will represent San Jose State very well not only on the field, but in the community and in the classroom as well. We are really looking forward to these guys starting their careers at San Jose State.”

“I am very pleased with the mix of the new players that we have been able to acquire,” added Kunis about the incoming crop of hurlers that will be at his disposal in 2010. “We have three quality high school pitchers, one a left-hander and two right-handers. We also have four junior college additions, with again a good mix of three right-handers and a left-hander. Each should be number-one or number-two on their staffs this year. They are all skilled pitchers, and are gaining the necessary experience to be able to step right in and compete as Division I players in the Western Athletic Conference.

“This group is made up of quality individuals with quality track records. They are solid students, talented both in the classroom, as well as on the mound. I’m looking forward to having them here.”

2010 San Jose State University Baseball Early Signings

Name Pos. B/T Ht. Wt. Hometown/Current School
Drew Bradshaw LHP R/L 6-1 220 Danville, Calif./Monte Vista HS
Tyler Christian IF/P R/R 6-0 175 San Jose, Calif./Leigh HS
Richard Johnson IF R/R 6-0 160 San Leandro, Calif./Arroyo HS
David Luna RHP R/R 6-3 205 San Jose, Calif./Ohlone College
Sean Martin RHP R/R 6-0 180 Newark, Calif./Ohlone College
Blake McFarland RHP R/R 6-5 235 San Jose, Calif./Santa Barbara CC
Dylan Morrow RHP R/R 6-1 185 San Luis Obispo, Calif./Mission Prep HS
Timothy Quiery OF/IF L/L 6-0 161 San Mateo, Calif./Junipero Serra HS
Andrew Rodriguez OF R/R 5-10 160 Union City, Calif./James Logan HS
Graham Rodriguez LHP L/L 6-1 185 Oakland, Calif./Chabot College

Drew Bradshaw is a left-handed pitcher at Monte Vista High School (Coach Bill Piona) in Danville, Calif. He helped lead the Mustangs to an 18-8 overall record during his junior year. Bradshaw was voted by college coaches and professional scouts in attendance as the Most Inspirational Player at the Bay Area World Series IV, which took place June 8-10, 2007.

Coach Piraro: “Drew is a left-handed pitcher from Monte Vista High School in Danville, which is a good baseball area. Drew has been a little bit under the radar. He’s part of a pitching staff that has four or five players that are going to Division I. Drew was someone that we were very surprised he was available, because we think he’s got a great ceiling. We think he’s going to be a very good college pitcher here. He’s a quality individual. He’s well-respected by his teammates, and if you talk to most baseball people, they will tell you that Drew was a real good get for San Jose State, so we’re happy we have him. We think he’s going to have a great senior year at Monte Vista. He will open up a lot of eyes there, but we’re happy we have him.”

Coach Pritchard: “Drew Bradshaw is a very physical pitcher with a lot of upside. He’s very durable and also just a great teammate and an excellent talent. He throws three pitches extremely well, and we are looking forward to him improving when he gets here.”

Tyler Christian is a third baseman and right-handed pitcher for nearby Leigh High School in San Jose. He hit for a .465 average (47-for-101) with four home runs 17 doubles, 38 runs scored and 36 runs batted in over 33 games during his junior season for the 23-10 Longhorns (Coach Chris Perry) in 2008, earning Blossom Valley Athletic League (BVAL) Mount Hamilton Division Junior of the Year recognition. He also was chosen to the San Jose Mercury News’ first team. On the mound, Christian posted a 4-2 record with one save and a 3.94 ERA over 21.1 innings, striking out 28 with 24 walks. Opposing batters hit .247 against him. He was a second-team All-BVAL pick for the Mt. Hamilton Division as primarily a catcher and infielder his sophomore year.

Coach Piraro: “Tyler Christian is a local player in our backyard, from Leigh High School. He had a really good junior year, where he made first-team All-CCS. Tyler pitches and plays the infield for Leigh. He’s the type of young man that I want to give the option to play both, to see if he can do it. He has an excellent arm, but at the same time, he’s a very fine infielder. He’s a good offensive player, and it’s not hard to project him as a starter early in his career here. We think that he’s going to have a great senior season, and his versatility is certainly something that got our attention, being able to do multiple things and being a solid individual. We got a chance to meet his family, and we were very impressed with the values he has in his life and how they would project to be in tune with ours, so, we are very happy to have Tyler.”

Coach Pritchard: “Tyler Christian is a very talented, versatile young player. He’s a local guy. We hope that he comes in and competes for many different roles. I think he’s going to have an opportunity at a few different positions. He does a lot of things very well. He’s very athletic, and knows the game extremely well. He’s a great teammate, and is going to be a great Spartan.”

Richard Johnson is a shortstop at Arroyo High School in San Leandro, Calif. He batted a team-leading .444 with 37 hits, nine of them doubles, and had 37 runs and 29 RBI a year ago, earning first-team All-Hayward Area Athletic League (HAAL) honors for the North Coast Section finalist Dons. Johnson was also a second-team All-East Bay choice.

Coach Piraro: “Richie is a shortstop at Arroyo High School. He has always been a very good offensive player there. He’s put up some great numbers. I had the opportunity to see him play several times this summer, and I really liked Richie’s athleticism. I thought he had great feet, which, to me, is a prerequisite to being a really good infielder in our program. Richie’s bat speed was also very good, so those two things, which are hard to teach, he already possesses. He’s a kid that is kind of quiet, but when he’s on the field, his actions speak for themselves very well. He’s a guy that’s going to help us with the glove and the bat.”

Coach Pritchard: “Richie is a very talented infielder, both with the glove, and with the bat. He knows the game. His baseball aptitude is better than most high school kids his age. He’s just a real solid Spartan. When we recruited him, he did everything that Spartan Baseball requires.”

David Luna is primarily a right-handed pitching prospect in his second season at Ohlone College in Fremont, Calif. In 2008, he earned first-team All-Coast Conference South honors as a utility player. Offensively as a designated hitter, Luna hit .317 (45-for-142) with 22 runs, 12 doubles, one triple, seven home runs, 37 RBI, a .563 slugging percentage and a .372 on-base percentage, starting 36 of 40 games played. On the mound, he posted a 4-1 mark in 15 appearances, with 25 strikeouts.

Luna, who maintains a 3.0 GPA at Ohlone, represented the Renegades at the annual Sophomore Showcase at Sacramento State on Saturday, October 4. He spent a redshirt year at West Valley College in Saratoga, Calif., prior to landing at Ohlone for the 2008 campaign.

Luna is originally another San Jose native out of nearby Piedmont Hills High School (Coach Jerry England). He was the 40th-round selection (No. 1188 overall) of the Colorado Rockies as a catcher out of Piedmont Hills, in the 2006 First-Year Player Draft. Luna was the Blossom Valley Athletic League Santa Teresa Division MVP as a senior, hitting .524 (44-for-84) with 32 runs, 11 doubles, one triple, three home runs and 40 RBI in 27 games. He was the Piedmont Hills team MVP in each of his final two prep years.

Coach Piraro: “David played for Coach Kunis at Ohlone. He’s got an outstanding arm. He’s a drafted player, out of high school, as a catcher. Tom (Kunis) converted him to a pitcher. He has a live arm. He has action on his ball, and his velocity is plus-velocity. During this current year at Ohlone, Dave may develop into a guy that throws in the low 90’s and could be a real force for us when we get him here. We’re not sure how we’ll use him. He could be a closer-type guy. He’s a guy that has an explosive arm, and something we were looking for in that area. He’s a good, competitive guy. He is very competitive and athletic, so those two ingredients are things that are going to be really important for us next year.”

Coach Pritchard: “In junior college, David was a position player, as well as a pitcher. He is another great athlete. He already was drafted by the Colorado Rockies, and brings a great mentality to the mound. Dave is going to be a great addition to the Spartan pitching staff .He’s very athletic and another great competitor.”

Sean Martin is in his freshman season at Ohlone, and will have three years of eligibility left when he arrives at San Jose State next fall. Martin previously attended Newark (Calif.) Memorial High School (Coach Dan Freitas), going 11-1 and earning first team All-Mission Valley Athletic League honors as a senior while leading his team to a first-place finish in the MVAL. He was an Alameda World Team player during the 2005 World Tournament in Fresno, Calif.

Coach Piraro: “Sean Martin is a real good steal for us. When he comes here next year, he’s only going to be a sophomore. Coach Kunis recruited him to Ohlone. He was one of his top recruits. I got a chance to see Sean pitch this summer. Coach Kunis is very high on him. He is Ohlone’s number-one pitcher right now, and should have a banner season. He is another very competitive young man, who has good command of multiple pitches. His mechanics have a chance to be real good, which is going to put him in a position to be a guy that we’ll look at as a rotation pitcher. Sean will be a front-line pitcher, not only this year, but in Division I.”

Coach Pritchard: “Sean Martin has the potential to be a frontline pitcher in our conference at the Division I level. Very, very meticulous about his mechanics, and very competitive. Again, most of these guys have that attribute. He’s got a lot of upside to his mechanics, and a lot of upside to the pitches he features. We look for him to compete again for a starting weekend spot in our rotation.”

Both Luna and Martin are expected to be a part of the Ohlone pitching rotation during the 2009 campaign, for new head coach Jordon Twohig. San Jose State took on Ohlone in a 14-inning scrimmage inside Municipal Stadium back on Saturday, October 25, winning, 13-5. Luna threw a couple of innings of relief in that contest. Martin did not see action.

Blake McFarland is currently in his second year at Santa Barbara (Calif.) City College. He was a second-team All-Western State Conference North selection for the Vaqueros (Coach Teddy Warrecker) in 2008. The tall right-hander went 5-3 with two saves, posting a 3.21 ERA over 84 innings thrown, while also making the academic honor roll.

McFarland started the first-round game of the Southern California Regionals for the 18th-seeded Vaqueros, a 3-0 road loss at Palomar College last May, going 5.2 innings as Santa Barbara concluded the season at 23-21 overall. He gave up six hits and two earned runs while striking out five in a game that was a scoreless pitchers’ duel over the first five frames. McFarland played for the Santa Barbara Foresters this past summer.

McFarland spent his prep days at San Jose’s Leigh High School, earning first-team All-BVAL Mt. Hamilton Division honors as a pitcher and first baseman for the Longhorns as a senior. The three-sport standout lettered in baseball, basketball and football during all four years at Leigh. He originally attended West Valley College in Saratoga, Calif., as a freshman out of high school, participating in football while redshirting as a member of the baseball team.

Coach Piraro: “Blake McFarland is a junior college transfer from Santa Barbara, but a local kid. His grandfather is the former (head) coach at Santa Clara, John Oldham (1985-97). John and I go back a long ways. John was very high on him, so Tom (Kunis) and Coach Pritchard both saw him a lot this summer. He made a dramatic jump in velocity. He went from 82 to 87 miles an hour in one year, which is a huge jump. He has an athletic background. He was a football player, a basketball player, a baseball player, and now he’s just solely going to be a baseball player. His size is very good, and he’s a strike-thrower. Blake throws strikes, and that’s always something that we are very excited about having, somebody that’s going to do that. He’s the number-one pitcher at Santa Barbara City College. He’ll get a lot of experience this year, drawing the tough assignments.”

Coach Pritchard: “Blake is a very steady performer in junior college. He was the number-one starter at Santa Barbara City College last year. We expect him to have the same role this year, and when he gets here, we expect him to compete for a starting spot in our rotation. He’s very durable, and a very competitive individual. He really pounds the zone with all pitches.”

Dylan Morrow is a right-handed pitcher from Mission College Prep High School in San Luis Obispo, Calif. A three-year varsity letterwinner already for the baseball team, he posted a 2.30 ERA with a 3-2 record and two saves as a junior, batting .330 as an infielder. As a sophomore in 2007, he was 4-2 with one save and a 1.70 ERA, earning second-team all-county honors. He picked up all-county honorable mention as a freshman, producing four saves (0-1) and a 1.10 ERA. Morrow played on the 16-and-under western regional championship team for Babe Ruth Baseball, and advanced to the Babe Ruth World Series in Arkansas in the summer of 2007.

Morrow is also the standout starting quarterback for Mission Prep, and attracted football interest from nearby Cal Poly before committing to San Jose State. He is the Central Coast’s leading passer, and accounted for all nine touchdowns during a 62-14 home win for the Royals over Kings Christian on Friday, November 7. In that game, he was 18-of-24 in the air for 337 yards and five touchdowns, while also going for 131 yards and four scores on the ground, all before the fourth quarter. Morrow is among the state leaders in total offense and touchdowns per game. Fourth-seeded Mission Prep (9-1) advanced to the CIF-Central Section Division V semifinals last Friday, November 28, scoring 33 unanswered points en route to a 40-14 home win over No. 5 Firebaugh. Morrow tossed five touchdowns in that contest. He averages 137 yards rushing and has thrown just three interceptions on the year.

Coach Piraro: “Dylan is a real good athlete out of the San Luis Obispo area. He’s competitive, and has an outstanding arm. We know Dylan’s played a lot of football, and has not been able to play baseball on a full-time basis, so we see a lot of upside in him. Those are the guys that we really think, once they commit to one sport, that their status will go up. Dylan is one of the top players in that area down there, and we’re very happy to have him. He’s a great athlete, and that’s something that we like to have in our program.”

Coach Pritchard: “Dylan Morrow is one of the more athletic recruits we have had in a while. He’s a football star, as well as an excellent baseball player. I think one of his greatest attributes is his competitiveness. He knows how to win, whether it’s on the football field, or the baseball field, and he will always give you everything he has to win a game. We are looking forward to him coming in and competing for a spot on the pitching staff. I can’t say enough about all of these guys, but Dylan is another great talent and even better student and individual.”

Timothy Quiery is an outfielder and first baseman at Junipero Serra High School in San Mateo, Calif., where current senior right-handed pitcher Scott Sobczak graduated from in 2005. Quiery helped lead Serra to a West Catholic Athletic League (WCAL) crown as a junior on the varsity team in 2008. The left-hander was previously the Most Valuable Player for the WCAL champion junior varsity squad in 2007, and the MVP of the WCAL-winning freshman team in 2006.

Coach Piraro: “Timmy Quiery is a good story. He had been in our prospect camp for a number of years. When I first saw Tim, he stuck out in my mind as a young man that had a lot of character and class on the field. Hustled, competed, didn’t say much, and did all the things we asked him to do. He had an interest in San Jose State, so of course, we established a relationship, in terms of following him. He’s overcome a lot of injuries over his career at Serra. He’s been banged up a lot, but he can do a lot of things. He can play first base, he can play the outfield, he’s a left-handed hitter, and he’s going to get bigger and stronger as his career develops. Tim’s coming from a very good program at Serra, and we’re anxious to get him here at San Jose State.”

Coach Pritchard: “Tim Quiery is a very energetic player. He’s got a lot of versatility. He can run, he can throw, he can play first base, he can play the outfield, center field, right field, left field. He does a lot of things that we require for Spartan Baseball. He takes care of a lot of the details of the game. We look for him to come in, add a spark to our lineup, and be a solid young player that will grow into everything that Spartan Baseball is about.”

Andrew Rodriguez, like fellow future Spartan Sean Martin, was a first-team All-Mission Valley Athletic League selection a year ago, as a junior, and the varsity team’s Most Valuable Offensive Player at James Logan High School in Union City, Calif. As a teammate of current freshman Spartan walk-on Anthony Bona, he batted .442 with a .534 on-base percentage, 32 runs scored, 13 RBI, 10 doubles, one home run and 30 stolen bases. The speedy outfield prospect, primarily a centerfielder, was named the Most Valuable Player of the junior varsity team as a sophomore. Rodriguez was also selected as the Most Inspirational Player of the 2008 Rawlings NorCal World Series.

Coach Piraro: “Andrew Rodriguez is the fastest I’ve ever seen in baseball. I’m a real advocate of speed. Speed is a very important part of our game. Andrew’s speed is off the charts. With that being said, he uses his speed very well. He does an outstanding job in the outfield, covering a lot of area. He’s a good base-runner, and we think that offensively, we’re going to be able to do a lot of things with him. He’s tough, he’s competitive, and he takes a lot of pride in what he does, so we just think he’s a good fit here at San Jose State.”

Coach Pritchard: “Andrew Rodriguez is one of the fastest baseball players in Northern California. He’s a great kid, a great student, and just a great human being. He’s very talented as far as his athleticism goes, and the way he plays the outfield. We look for him to make the transition from high school to Division I very quickly, because of his speed. We think he is going to be an excellent hitter, and another great teammate.”

Graham Rodriguez is a left-handed sophomore pitcher at Chabot College in Hayward, Calif., who graduated from Bishop O’Dowd High School in Oakland, Calif. Rodriguez began his college days at UC Irvine, spending the 2007 fall semester there before moving on to Chabot for the spring 2008 term. At Chabot, he plays for former Spartan Steve Friend (1982-83). The Gladiators also list former Spartan player and coach Jason Bugg as an assistant. He threw 18.2 innings over 11 appearances in 2008,

Coach Piraro: “Graham was a young man that was in our prospect camp a few years ago. We tried to recruit him, and he went to UC Irvine. He left there for Chabot, and that is where we resumed our relationship. I liked Graham when I saw him in our camp. His being left-handed certainly is something that everybody likes. He’s playing in a good program at Chabot, where he’ll be their number-one guy. He just needs to throw. He needs experience, a lot of innings this year, which he will get, and I think he’s going to be a real solid addition to the San Jose State baseball program. We have a lot of expectations for this young man.”

Coach Pritchard: “Graham Rodriguez is very good left-handed starting pitcher. He shows great command, great poise, and really knows what he wants to do on the mound. He’s hopefully going to compete for a starting spot here. He’s an excellent competitor, and he comes from an outstanding junior college program.”

“In final thoughts on this class, I believe all 10 of these young men have upside, and can contribute to our program early and quickly,” concluded Piraro. “I think they will fit very well into our program, and the way we do things. I’m thrilled with them, and I’m going to look forward to seeing them play this year at their respective schools.”