College Baseball Daily kicks off our countdown to the start of the 2014 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 list today at number 83 with UNC RHP Trent Thornton. In his first season with the Tar Heels Thornton quickly proved himself as a top notch starter with three above average pitches and a command of the zone that is usually only seen from veteran players. Thornton saw action in several roles for the Tar Heels as he set the UNC freshman record for wins (12) and tied the freshman record for saves (8) in his 91.2 innings of work. Thornton posted a 1.37 ERA, the seventh-lowest mark in the country. Thornton also earned freshman All-American honors as well as a spot on the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team.
Thornton was originally born in Pittsburgh, Penn., but later found himself calling Charlotte home. He attended Ardrey Kell High School where he was ranked No. 370 nationally by Perfect Game and No. 12 in the state of North Carolina. His talent goes beyond the diamond, as he was a member of the National Honor Society , National Technical Honor Society and a member of Knights in Action community service.
After exiting the College World Series, Thornton and teammate Skye Bolt were added to the USA Collegiate National team and combined with the rest of the nation’s top collegiate talent to go 20-3 on the summer, ending their run with a five game sweep of a tough Team Cuba. “Having USA across your chest is one of the coolest things, one of the best feelings I ever had,” said Thornton, who pitched a total of 5.2 scoreless innings for Team USA.
Thornton returns to the Tar Heels for the 2014 season and looks to continue his success on the mound.
You can check out the rest of our Top 100 by clicking here.
