TUCSON, Ariz. — For the second consecutive year and third time in the past four years, the Kentucky baseball team has had its recruiting class ranked, as Collegiate Baseball tabbed the Wildcats? incoming class as the 31st -best in the nation, the publication announced Tuesday.
Wildcat head coach John Cohen, entering his fifth season as the UK head man, has brought in stellar talent to the Bluegrass since arriving in Lexington before the 2004 season. Combining with recruiters associate head coach Gary Henderson and assistant coach Brad Bohannon, Cohen welcomes 15 newcomers ? one four-year college transfer, five junior college transfers, and nine high-school products.
Among the headliners of the class include, catcher Dan Killian (Stanwood, Mich.) and outfielder Navarro Hall (Kennesaw, Ga.) – two freshmen drafted in the 2007 MLB Draft. Middle infielder Kevin Carby (Tulsa, Okla.), infielder Chris McClendon (Lufkin, Texas), southpaw Logan Darnell (Joelton, Tenn.), lefty Mike Kaczmarek (Orland Park, Ill.), outfielder Troy Frazier (Louisville, Ky.), and outfielder Kevin Thulin (Owassa, Okla.) are among the notable players expected to have an immediate impact on the 2008 squad.
Killian is a dynamic 6-foot-3 catcher likely to fill the void behind the dish vacated by senior slugging catcher Sean Coughlin. Killian is the brother of Billy Killian, a former UK commitment who was selected by the Padres in the third-round (72nd overall) in the 2004 MLB Draft. Projected as a top-four round talent before his senior year of high school, Killian missed the majority of his senior season due to injury.
Hall, a 6-foot-1, 180-pound outfielder, was tabbed as the Georgia High School Player of the Year, and will compete for an outfield spot with fellow newcomers Frazier and Thulin. Thulin, a big-bodied 6-foot-3, 235-pounder, comes to UK from the same junior college as UK slugger Sawyer Carroll and current MLB stars Eric Gagne and Adam LaRoche – Seminole State (Okla.) CC. Frazier, a Pleasure Ridge Park HS graduate, played his freshman year at Western Kentucky, leading the Hilltoppers with a .327 average, ripping three home runs and 25 RBI.
Darnell and Kaczmarek are both dynamic lefties capable of competing for a weekend rotation spot. Darnell, who had scholarship offers from over half of the SEC, sits around 88-90 mph with his fastball and works with an excellent curveball. Kaczmarek, a lefty who had over 30 scholarship offers, commands three excellent pitches and sits in the high 80s with his fastball.
McClendon joins Carby, his fellow Texarkana (Texas) CC teammate at Kentucky for 2007, after leading the entire state of Texas junior college?s in batting. Carby, a switch hitter who will compete for the second base and shortstop position, has excellent speed and athleticism, evidenced by twice having been drafted (2004 18th Round ? Dodgers, 2005 25th Round ? Yankees).
Among the other newcomers likely to step into a role for the 2008 season include, Chris Bisson (Orleans, Ontario), T.J. Daugherty (Owensboro, Ky.), Scott Davis (Dallas, Pa.), Spencer Korus (Olympia, Wash.), Seth McCabe (Madisonville, Ky.), Joshua Weninger (Wichita, Kansas), and Jesse Yano (Fairport Harbor, Ohio).
Kentucky returns a deep, talented team from its 34-win season in 2007, highlighted by Carroll, outfielder Collin Cowgill, and right-handed fireballer Scott Green. Carroll returns after hitting .350 a year ago and leading the SEC in doubles with 23. Cowgill, a Lexington native and preseason All-America selection in 2007, sat out last season due to injury and returned to form during the summer in the prestigious Cape Cod League, where he and Green led their team to the Cape Cod League Championship.
For the second time in four years, LSU has been ranked No. 1 in the Collegiate Baseball annual rankings. LSU is one of 11 SEC teams to be ranked in the top 40, with Tennessee being the only SEC squad not to rank on the listing.
Last year, UK?s class ranked No. 21 in the Collegiate Baseball rankings and No. 23 in the Baseball America rankings. UK?s 2005 class, which included 2006 SEC Player of the Year Ryan Strieby, lefty starter Chris Rusin, 2007?s leading hitter Mike Brown (.369 average), and All-American Sean Coughlin (30 HR?s, 128 RBI in two seasons) was the only class in the Cohen era not to be ranked. That class led UK to its first SEC Championship and completed the most historic season in SEC baseball history, going from a last-place finish in 2005 to the league crown in 2006.
Rank Team Recruits 1. Louisiana St. 19 2. Florida St. 20 3. Oregon St. 16 4. Notre Dame 14 5. UCLA 11 6. Cal. St. Fullerton 16 7. North Carolina 12 8. Arizona St. 17 9. San Diego 18 10. Texas 17 11. Washington 16 12. Auburn 14 13. Virginia 16 14. Oklahoma St. 18 15. Vanderbilt 13 16. Georgia 14 17. Rice 12 18. South Carolina 13 19. Missouri 16 20. Miami, Fla. 8 21. Clemson 10 22. Stanford 13 23. Georgia Tech. 11 24. Arizona 9 25. Mississippi 17 26. Mississippi St. 11 27. Florida 9 28. Louisville 20 29. U.C. Irvine 13 30. Tulane 16 31. Kentucky 15 32. Southern California 14 33. Arkansas 20 34. Wichita St. 10 35. Oklahoma 18 36. Pepperdine 20 37. Alabama 14 38. U.C. Riverside 17 39. Baylor 11 40. Jacksonville 15 Central Florida 12
Other Top Recruiting Classes: Texas Christian, South Florida, Tennessee, Arkansas St., U.C. Santa Barbara, Texas A&M, San Diego St., Long Beach St., Florida Atlantic, Southeastern La., Kansas, North Carolina St., Richmond, James Madison, UNLV, Nebraska, East Carolina, San Francisco, Michigan, California, Fresno St., Minnesota, Connecticut, Maine, Oral Roberts, Iowa, Seton Hall, Houston, Ohio St., Central Michigan, Cal. St. Northridge, Michigan St., Marshall, Samford, West Virginia, Western Kentucky, Coll. of Charleston, Stetson, Villanova, Texas Tech., Wake Forest, Southern Mississippi, Ohio, Louisiana-Lafayette, San Jose St., Nevada, Illinois St., Illinois, East Tenn. St., S.E. Missouri St., Middle Tenn. St., Rutgers, Memphis, Miami (Ohio), N.C. Greensboro, Lamar, Santa Clara, Southern, W. Illinois.
