College Baseball Daily continues our countdown to the start of the 2011 College Baseball season by checking in on the Top 100 Players in the country. We will be providing one player per day until we reach number 1.
We continue the countdown today at number 47 with redshirt junior 2B Tommy La Stella from Coastal Carolina. La Stella is from Closter, N.J. attended St. Joes Montvale High School. He was an All-State selection during his senior season, hitting .525 with 6 homeruns and 38 RBI. He hit .542 with 5 home runs during his junior season.
La Stella began his college career at St. John’s University, hitting .320 while seeing action in 20 games in 2008. He sat out the 2009 season adhering to NCAA transfer rules before beginning his playing career at Coastal Carolina. He did play the summer of
the 2009 season with the Haymarket Senators in the Valley League. He finished the season with a .303 batting average with six homers and 37 RBI in 51 games (49 starts). Even without seeing much college game action for 2 seasons, La Stella played in 64 games for the Chanticleers in 2010, leading the team in batting average (.378) and hits (93), with 14 doubles, 2 triples, 14 homeruns and 66 RBI. Out of all those stats, possibly most impressive for the Chanticleers cleanup hitter was the fact that he only struck out 15 times in 246 ABs. He posted a .977 fielding percentage at 2B, leading the Chanticleers to a Super Regional berth, losing to eventual champion South Carolina.
LaStella played the summer in the Cape Cod Baseball League with the Bourne Braves. He appeared in 36 games with a .262 batting average while hitting a homer and driving in 15 runs.
You can check out the rest of our Top 100 by clicking here.
