ASU head coach Chris Pollard inked nine former Mountaineers to National Letters of Intent during the early signing period.- Courtesy: Marc DeRose
FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
BOONE, N.C. — Appalachian State University head baseball coach Chris Pollard announced on Wednesday that nine high-school seniors, including eight of North Carolina’s top prospects, have signed National Letters of Intent to attend ASU. All nine start classes at Appalachian next fall and hit the diamond for the Mountaineers in 2010.
The nine include: IF Hector Crespo (Miami, Fla./Florida Christian), RHP/IF Nathan Hyatt (Brevard, N.C./Brevard), LHP Tyler Jackson (Jonesville, N.C./Starmount), LHP/OF Zach Joyce (Lexington, N.C./North Davidson), RHP Randy Shepherd (Salisbury, N.C./West Rowan), OF Ryan Stetson (Charlotte, N.C./Ardrey Kell), C Tyler Tewell (Charlotte, N.C./Butler), C/IF/OF Josh Zumbrook (Wilkesboro, N.C./West Wilkes) and OF Tyler Zupcic (Charlotte, N.C./Providence).
“Once again, we’ve landed what we feel is one of the top classes in the state of North Carolina,” Pollard said. “Eight of the best players in the state have chosen to become Mountaineers and we continue to have recruiting success in other baseball hotbeds like South Florida. We couldn’t be more pleased with the quality of this class, both on and off the field.”
HECTOR CRESPO (IF, R/R, 5-9, 150, Miami, Fla./Florida Christian)
Plays second base for one of Florida’s top high-school programs … has earned all-Dade County recognition all three years of his prep career (honorable mention as a freshman and sophomore, second-team as a junior) … has stolen 54 bases over the past two seasons … started and conducts “Hecky’s Hit and Run,” a donation program in Dade County that collects and delivers new and used baseball equipment to underserved youth programs … coached by Ernie Padron … was high-school teammate of current Mountaineer Andrew Webster.
NATHAN HYATT (RHP/IF, R/R, 6-0, 180, Brevard, N.C./Brevard)
Regarded by several publications as one of North Carolina’s top 10 players … earned all-conference recognition as a junior this past spring … participated in 2008 State Games (Region 8) and 2008 East Coast Professional Showcase, one of the nation’s top three invitation-only showcases.
TYLER JACKSON (LHP, L/L, 6-4, 230, Jonesville, N.C./Starmount)
Went 9-0 with a 0.96 ERA, 133 strikeouts and only 35 hits allowed in 80 innings en route all-state recognition as a junior last spring … was also named the 2008 Mountain Valley Conference Player of the Year and Tri-County Player of the Year … is a two-time all-conference honoree … participated in the 2008 State Games (Region 7).
ZACH JOYCE (LHP/OF, R/L, 5-11, 160, Lexington, N.C./North Davidson)
Helped lead North Davidson to a 23-3 record and the 2008 Central Piedmont Conference regular-season and tournament championships as a junior … was an all-conference selection in ‘08.
RANDY SHEPHERD (RHP, R/R, 6-3, 210, Salisbury, N.C./West Rowan)
A 2008 all-conference and all-Rowan County honoree as a junior … rated the No. 1 pitching prospect at the 2008 Impact Summer Showcase … participated in 2008 State Games (Region 6).
RYAN STETSON (OF, R/R, 6-0, 175, Charlotte, N.C./Ardrey Kell)
Earned 2008 all-America recognition from Max Preps as a junior … a 4A all-state honoree each of the past two seasons … also named all-conference, all-Mecklenburg County and all-South Charlotte Sports Report as a sophomore and junior … participated in State Games in 2007 and ‘08 (Region 6) … coached by ASU alumnus Hal Bagwell, who also coached 2008 MLB Draftee David Rubinstein and current Mountaineers Matt Andress and Doug Jones at South Mecklenburg H.S.
TYLER TEWELL (C, L/R, 5-11, 170, Charlotte, N.C./Butler)
Ranked among the nation’s top 500 players by Perfect Game Crosschecker … named all-conference, all-Charlotte Observer and all-South Charlotte Sports Report following junior season last spring … participated in 2008 State Games (Region 6) … also played for prestigious South Charlotte Panthers.
JOSH ZUMBROOK (C/IF/OF, R/R, 6-1, 200, Wilkesboro, N.C./West Wilkes)
A 2008 all-state honoree … has earned all-conference recognition all three seasons of his prep career … named 2008 Northwest 1A Conference Hitter and Player of the Year … 2008 Wilkes County Player of the Year … participated in 2008 State Games (Region 7) … also a two-time all-conference performer in football.
TYLER ZUPCIC (OF, R/R, 6-0, 165, Charlotte, N.C./Providence)
Earned 2008 all-conference, all-Mecklenburg County and all-South Charlotte Sports Report honors as a junior … participated in 2008 State Games (Region 6) … also played for prestigious South Charlotte Panthers … coached by ASU alumnus Danny Hignight … father, Bob, played four seasons (1991-94) in the major leagues with the Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox, batting .250 for his career with seven home runs and 80 RBI in 319 career games.
