The HBU baseball team has signed 11 new players for the upcoming 2010 season, including seven players from the high school ranks and four junior college transfers.
Jacob Gonzalez comes from Brazoswood High School where he was a teammate of Ben Coram, who signed with the Huskies in the fall. An outfielder, Gonzalez helped lead the Buccaneers to the Region III finals. He was named First Team All-State, district and county MVP, First Team All-Greater Houston and was selected to the HABCA Southeast All-Star team.
Josh Gonzales, an infielder from Pearland High School, was a Second Team All-State selection and HABCA All-Star. He was a leader on the Pearland team that reached the semi-finals of the 5A state championship tournament.
Michael Rains will come to HBU from Stony Point High School in Round Rock where he was an All-Central Texas selection and also earned All-State recognition as a catcher. First baseman/outfielder Jackson White is the lone signee from out of state for the Huskies, hailing from Edmond Memorial High School in Oklahoma. White was an All-City and All-Region performer for the Bulldogs.
Randy Picard is a pitcher/infielder from Katy High School and comes from a team that won a district championship and reached the regional semi-finals in 2009. He was a two-time All-District honoree. Scott Moore, a pitcher from Kingwood High School, was a Second Team All-District selection as a senior. The seventh incoming freshman is Matt Warren, a pitcher/outfielder from Cinco Ranch High School in Katy who is the younger brother of current Husky Beau Warren.
“We have signed some quality freshmen for next season. They are guys who have proven themselves in high school and for the hitters, the key will be how long it takes them to adjust to college pitching. Their accolades speak to their ability,” said head coach Jared Moon. “We will be young this year but the nice thing is that most of these guys know each other and have played each other, so that should bode well for our team chemistry.”
Dalton Schafer, a pitcher from North Lake College, will be a sophomore in his first season with the Huskies. In 2009, Schafer posted a record of 7-6 with a 3.93 earned run average. He struck out 64 batters in 87 innings.
An outfielder from Angelina College, Paul Prestera, played high school baseball at Houston Christian High School. As a sophomore at Angelina, Prestera batted .321 with 12 doubles, 35 runs scored and 13 stolen bases.
The Huskies will add a pair of pitchers from Midland College in Michael Schulle and Jamie Storey. In 2009, Schulle finished with a 3.57 ERA and a 3-1 record in 40.1 innings pitched. Storey went 2-2 with 49 strikeouts in 33 innings pitched for the Chaps.
Moon concluded, “We signed some good arms. We will be better on the mound next year and we should be stronger all around.”
