LEXINGTON ? In the midst of its best season in school history, the Kentucky baseball team?s future just might be even brighter as two Wildcat signees for the 2007 season have been named the Gatorade Player of the Year in his respective state.

Clint Tilford, a pitcher for Heath High School, was named the Kentucky State Player of the Year after leading Heath to the state playoffs while posting a 9-1 record. His career earned-run average is 1.98 and he is batting better than .400 at the plate.

Tilford marks the third time in the past four years the player of the year in the state has been signed with Kentucky.

Chris Walden, a pitcher at Bellefontaine High School, has gone 7-1 with a miniscule 0.59 ERA en route to Ohio Gatorade Player of the Year honors. He has fanned 60 batters in just 38 innings. Offensively, he bats .355 with 27 RBIs as well while leading his team to the state playoffs.

Both standouts also excel in the classroom. Tilford has a perfect 4.0 grade-point average while Walden sports a 3.6 GPA. Prior to the season, each was named a first-team Louisville Slugger All-American.

The two players are now eligible for the prestigious Gatorade National Player of the Year award, which will be announced in early June.