Kentucky Baseball’s 2020 Recruiting Class Named Top 25
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky baseball’s 2020 recruiting class has been ranked as one of the nation’s best by D1 Baseball. With the No. 25 ranking the program has landed a Top 25 class in each of head coach Nick Mingione’s four recruiting cycles.
Ryan Hagenow, a right-handed pitcher from Knoxville, Tennessee, is considered the crown jewel of the class, ranking as a top 10 national recruit to have arrived on a college campus for the 2021 season. He is the highest ranked recruit to land in Lexington since former big leaguer Alex Meyer in the 2008 class.
Hagenow, a 2020 preseason high school All-American and 2019 Tennessee Player of the Year, was one of the top arms in the 2020 prep ranks and considered as a potential early-round selection in last summer’s Major League Baseball Draft. The 6-foot-5, 210-pounder led Farragut High School to the 2019 Tennessee state championship and he also played for the same travel club, Exposure, as current UK star John Rhodes.
The Cats also landed the No. 9 junior college class in the country according to Perfect Game. The group is headlined by infielder Ryan Ritter, one of the top prospects for the 2022 MLB Draft. Ritter arrived at UK via John A. Logan College, where he hit .342 with 19 runs, seven extra-base hits, 19 RBI and 10 stolen bases in just 79 at-bats during the Covid-19 shortened 2020 season.
In addition to Hagenow, six of the Wildcats’ other nine freshmen were nationally ranked by Perfect Game, including right-handed pitcher Wyatt Hudepohl (No. 166), infielder Reuben Church (No. 208), catcher Devin Burkes (No. 226), outfielder Houston King (No. 312), infielder Jack Hicks (No. 337) and right-handed pitcher Seth Logue (No. 473).
Hudepohl, from Mason, Ohio, was considered by both Perfect Game and Prep Baseball Report to be the top pitcher and No. 2 overall prospect in the state of Ohio and was a member of the Elite 25 of Ohio in 2020. His fastball has touched 95 MPH and he was named 2020 First-Team All-State by Prep Baseball Report Ohio.
Church, from Maryville, Tennessee, was highly regarded by both Prep Baseball Report and Perfect Game, as both services ranked him the top third baseman and a top 10 overall player in Tennessee. He was named First-Team All-State each of his three seasons at Maryville High School and a member of the PBR Tennessee Dream Team.
Burkes, from Ocala, Florida, was ranked the No. 23 catcher in the country and in talent rich Florida was the No. 54 player overall and No. 6 catcher. He played catcher, third base, first base and outfield for coach Brady Bogart at Villages Charter and was named all-state in 2018, as well as a 2020 preseason High Honorable Mention All-American.
King, from Cabot, Arkansas, was rated the No. 3 outfielder and No. 9 overall player in Arkansas. Collegiate Baseball named him a 2020 Preseason Second-Team All-American and he was a member of the PBR Arkansas Dream Team. King participated in Perfect Game’s 2019 National Showcase and 2018 Junior National Showcase.
Hicks, from Raleigh, North Carolina, saw Perfect Game evaluate him as the top prep shortstop in North Carolina. He was a three-time all-conference performer at Leesville High School and set the school batting average and single-season hits records as a junior in 2019. He also was named a 2020 Preseason High Honorable Mention (Perfect Game) and2020 Preseason First-Team All-Atlantic Region (Perfect Game).
Logue, from Mason, Ohio, helped lead Archbishop Moeller to Cincinnati Greater Catholic League championships in 2018 and 2019 and was ranked the No. 3 pitcher and No. 7 player overall in Ohio by Perfect Game, while Prep Baseball Report ranked him the No. 5 overall player in the state. In 2020, was a preseason First-Team All-State and Elite 25 Ohio (Prep Baseball Report) member. He is the brother of former UK pitcher and current Toronto Blue Jays prospect Zach Logue.
2020 Kentucky Recruiting Class
Devin Burkes, Fr., Catcher
Evan Byers, Fr., Left-Handed Pitcher
Reuben Church, Fr., Infielder
Ryan Hagenow, Fr., Right-Handed Pitcher
Jack Hicks, Fr., Infielder
Wyatt Hudepohl, Fr., Right-Handed Pitcher
Houston King, Fr., Outfielder
Kirk Liebert, Jr., Catcher/Outfielder
Seth Logue, Fr., Right-Handed Pitcher
Nolan McCarthy, Fr., Utility
Jacob Plastiak, Jr., Infielder
Ryan Ritter, So., Infielder
Alonzo Rubalcaba, Jr., Catcher
Austin Strickland, Fr., Right-Handed Pitcher
