LEXINGTON, Ky. ? The 2007 Kentucky baseball team reported to campus Tuesday, eager to build upon the 2006 Southeastern Conference Championship season. A roster which features a talented mix of newcomers and returnees, look to continue a blossoming tradition of UK baseball.
An impressive group has been assembled by SEC Coach of the Year John Cohen and his staff. Among the talented prospects is Chris Walden, a right-handed pitcher from Ohio. Walden, a 37th round draft pick of the Seattle Mariners in 2006, will look to show the ability to contribute early to a Kentucky pitching staff.
Gatorade Kentucky High School Player of the Year Clint Tilford is among the prospects headlining the class. Tilford, a 6-foot-2 pitcher from Paducah, is one of many talented right-handers looking to contribute to the staff.
The staff brings in a talented transfer from baseball power Witchita State in Brian Spear. Spear, a talented 6-foot-1 infielder will have two years of eligibility remaining.
Junior college transfers Aaron Lovett (6-5, 190, RHP), Tyler Howe (6-0, 200, C), and Sawyer Carroll (6-4, 200, INF) also look to become immediate impact players for the Wildcats.
High school stars Jason Chowning, Tyler Henry, Ross Hubbard, Neiko Johnson, and Chris Wade also look to contribute early for a team which seeks to replace SEC Player of the Year Ryan Strieby and MLB draft picks Michael Bertram, John Shelby, and Zach Dials.
Summer League Wrap-up
The summer was a busy time for UK baseball players, as many took to the road to participate in collegiate summer leagues all across the country. Summer collegiate leagues provide college players the opportunity to experience baseball in a minor league setting and swing wooden bats as opposed to aluminum.
Collin Cowgill, Antone DeJesus, and Brock Baber participated in the prestigious Cape Cod Summer league. The Cape Cod is widely regarded as a building block for successful collegiate players seeking a professional career as 198 Cape Cod alumni were on MLB rosters in 2005.
DeJesus performed the best out of the Wildcat trio in the Cape, earning league All-Star honors while playing for the Harwich Mariners. DeJesus, arguably the best defensive centerfielder in the college game, batted .234 in 36 games, plating 29 runs and committing only two errors.
Cowgill, who began the summer trying out for the USA National Team, participated in 36 games at the Cape, batting .244 with two home runs.
Baber, who has functioned as an effective closer during his time with UK, played in 17 games, pitching 30 innings for Orleans. Baber severed a similar late-game reliever role for Orleans, finishing seven games while saving two.
Andrew Albers, who played a vital role coming out of the bullpen during the historic UK 2006 season, played for the Torrington Twisters of the New England Collegiate Baseball League. Albers was dominant, notching a 5-1 record in eight games. The southpaw finished the summer with a 1.81 ERA in 44.2 innings of work, striking out 45.
Standout transfers Brian Spear and Sawyer Carroll also honed their skills this summer. Spear, a transfer from Wichita State, played for Denton in the Texas Collegiate League batting .212 in 49 games. Spear was named to the TCL All-Star team for the second consecutive year and has proven to be an excellent addition to an infield. Carroll, hit .275 in 37 games, plating 17 runs and knocking in 17 RBI.
Shortstop Ryan Wilkes played in the Northwoods league, suiting up for the Wisconsin Woodchucks. Wilkes played in 43 games batting .268.
A statistical standout this summer, freshman Anthony Ottrando had an outstanding summer. Ottrando, a native of Ocala, Fla., redshirted in 2006 after suffering an ankle injury in preseason. The infielder garnered league MVP honors in the Florida Collegiate Summer League while batting .390 in 28 games, plating 24 runs and driving in 25, while swiping 10 bases.
Incoming pitcher Aaron Lovett may have put up the most impressive numbers of the summer, earning a 6-2 record to complement a 1.56 ERA while pitching for the Fayetteville SwampDogs in the Coastal Plain League. Lovett, a Minnesota Twin draft pick in 2004 and 2005, hurled 57.2 innings striking out 58.
Returnees Tommy Warner, Mike Brown, Matt McKinney, and Duran Ferguson also played summer ball. Warner, Brown, and McKinney all participated in the Northwoods league. Ferguson, a right-handed pitcher, played for Amsterdam in the New York Collegiate Baseball League. He had an excellent summer, headlined by a no-hit performance in addition to pitching 53 innings and striking out 47.
Former UK Stars Continue Minor League Success
Former Kentucky stars Ryan Strieby, John Shelby, Michael Bertram, Zach Dials, Adam Revelette and Matt Robinson are continuing their solid play in the minor leagues this summer.
Strieby, the 2006 SEC Player of the Year, began his professional career slowly but has performed excellent at the plate during the last few months. Strieby is currently batting for a .271 average including three homeruns and 19 RBI.
Shelby, a Lexington native and fifth-round draft pick of the Chicago White Sox, is also swinging the wood bat well, batting at a .245 average with six home runs and 23 RBI in 51 games for the Great Falls White Sox.
Another Lexington native, Michael Bertram has also been playing minor league baseball this summer. Bertram, a 39th round draft pick by the Detroit Tigers in 2006, is batting .250 with one home run and 25 RBI in 44 games for the Gulf Coast League Tigers.
Zach Dials, a 28th round draft pick by the Toronto Blue Jays, has been suiting up for the Auburn Doubledays of the New York-Penn League this summer. Earlier this summer, Dials earned pitching prospect of the month honors by the Blue Jays organization and has appeared in a total of 13 games with two minor league clubs, accumulating a 1.16 ERA in 34 innings. Dials has only allowed four earned runs thus far into his professional career and accumulated a 4-2 record to accompany three saves. Adam Revelette, a Lexington native also signed with the Minnesota Twins this summer. He has appeared in eight games, pitching 26.1 innings. Revelette has accumulated an ERA of 4.78 and struckout 18 thus far this summer for the Gulf Coast League Twins.
Pitcher Matt Robinson has also played well as a professional, earning a 3-1 record in 17 games out of the bullpen. Robinson, a signee of the Cleveland Indians, has hurled 32.1 innings striking out 28.
Cohen Receives More National Recognition
Kentucky baseball head coach John Cohen has continued to receive national awards recognizing the Wildcats historic 2006 SEC Championship season. The latest honor for Cohen comes from the American Baseball Coaches Association as the association named the UK skipper NCAA Division I South Region Coach of the Year.
Cohen, directed the most historic turnaround in the history of SEC baseball, bringing the Wildcats from a last place finish in 2005 to claiming a share of the SEC Championship in 2006. The Tuscaloosa, Ala. native has received a number of awards this summer recognizing Kentucky?s 44-win season, including SEC Coach of the Year and Collegebaseballinsider.com National Coach of the Year.
Cohen was recently rewarded for the school-record season, inking a new five-year contract which keeps the coach in Lexington thru 2011.
Among the other coaches honored by the ABCA as NCAA Division I Regional Coaches of the Year are Wayne Graham (Rice), Mark Scalf (UNC-Wilmington), Paul Marineri (Notre Dame), Rob Walton (Oral Roberts), Kevin Leighton (Manhattan), and Pat Casey (Oregon State).
