When the Kentucky baseball team trots out onto the diamond for the first time on Friday in Greenville, S.C., one thing is for certain ? it will trot out one of the most talented, veteran outfields in all of college baseball.
Anchored by the sensational Antone DeJesus and the athletic Collin Cowgill, this Kentucky outfield has all the necessary tools to lead the Wildcat baseball team to another successful campaign.
?The outfield, I feel like, and I?m not being arrogant when I say this, I think we have one of the best defensive outfields in America right now,? Cohen said. ?I think our kids can run it down as good as any three in the country. Antone DeJesus was picked as the best defensive outfielder in the Southeastern Conference, and that is saying a lot.?
While the outfield will be dazzling defensively, DeJesus and Cowgill will anchor a lineup geared towards getting on base and scoring runs. DeJesus will again be a fixture atop the lineup as the disciplined leadoff hitter. The Amherst, Ohio native is a career .333 batter and his patience and approach at the plate translated into a .433 on-base percentage in 2006.
Cowgill is coming off a breakout junior season, batting .298, ripping 16 home runs, and driving in 61 runs. The Lexington native started all 61 games a year ago, en route to All-Region honors. Baseball America tabbed Cowgill as the best preseason outfield arm in the SEC.
?Defensively, Collin Cowgill obviously is a great, great defensive outfielder,? Cohen said. ?Collin continues to get better offensively and he had a great year offensively for us last season.?
While the outfield will be anchored by the talented Cowgill and DeJesus, veteran Billy Grace also appears to be in the mix for the right-field spot. The senior saw significant action a year ago as the designated hitter and a reserve right fielder, batting .297 and blasting six home runs.
While Cowgill, DeJesus, and Grace all appear to get a significant portion of playing time, several new, talented faces will be in the mix, including redshirt Jason Kipnis.
?Jason Kipnis is a redshirt freshman from the Chicago area, who can really run and create some power,? Cohen said. ?Jason has come back and become an outstanding outfielder. Jason has tremendous range, he has arm strength, he is one of our best runners and he can really bunt.?
Among the other newcomers likely to make a splash in the outfield this season are redshirts Brock Wright, Keenan Wiley, and freshman Kevin Bishop.
?Brock Wright, coming in from Paducah, can really swing it and may see some time in the outfield,? Cohen said. ?Keenan Wiley is a very, very good defensive outfielder, and Kevin Bishop is another freshman from the Atlanta area, who we feel like is going to be very, very good.?
Cowgill and DeJesus have received significant preseason national attention this year, as Cowgill was named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association preseason All-America team and DeJesus was selected a preseason second-team All-SEC member by SEbaseball.com. In addition, Cowgill was named to the watch list for the 2007 Brooks Wallace Award, given annually to the top player in college baseball.
Editor’s Note:
This is the second of a four-part series on the Wildcat baseball team leading up to the 2007 season opener on Friday, Feb. 16 at Furman in Greenville, S.C. During the week, UKathletics.com will also preview the Wildcat catchers and pitchers.
