Aug. 28, 2010
After another successful season under head coach Tim Corbin, Vanderbilt baseball has brought in another standout recruiting class featuring some of the best talent in the country.
The 13-member class, listed at the bottom of the page, consists of eight position players and five pitchers, two of whom are left-handers.
“We’re trying to get balance each year,” Corbin said. “Not trying to be top heavy, so what you have to do is you have to look a year and sometimes two years ahead because with this incoming class, what we’re trying to do is fill the needs of possible juniors who will move out of this year’s team into another area next year, so you’re trying to fill a bunch of needs rather than fill those needs with freshmen next year.”
Two players are transfers: sophomore Jack Lupo and junior Sam Lind. Lupo transferred from Air Force and has played with the Nashville Outlaws of the Prospect League over the summer. Lind comes to Vanderbilt after two seasons at Central Arizona Junior College.
Another five players were drafted by major league clubs in June but elected to come to Vanderbilt, including left-handed pitcher Kevin Ziomek, who was picked in the 13th round by the Arizona Diamondbacks.
“I think they’ll be impactful here very soon, and specifically there are some kids there that will have a chance to impact our team right away,” Corbin said.
Corbin’s eighth season was one of Vanderbilt’s best ever; the Commodores advanced to their second-ever Super Regional in June and ended the year ranked among the top 15 teams in the nation.
The first key in the recruiting process after such a successful year was keeping proven talent from the team that won 46 games last season.
Three players who were eligible to leave if they chose to sign with major league clubs are returning for the 2011 campaign in first baseman Aaron Westlake, pitcher Taylor Hill and catcher Curt Casali.
Westlake will be back to provide excellent production in the middle of the order; his 14 home runs last season led the team and his 61 RBIs were second behind Jason Esposito. Westlake, a rising redshirt junior, was picked in the 22nd round of the Draft by the Toronto Blue Jays.
Hill, who will be a senior, was drafted in the 30th round by the Cleveland Indians but elected to return to keep last year’s starting rotation intact. The durable right-hander led the team with 17 starts and tied for third with six victories. Along with rising juniors Sonny Gray and Jack Armstrong, Vanderbilt will have back pitchers who started 49 of its 66 games last season and sported a combined record of 23-14.
Curt Casali was one of Vanderbilt’s most productive hitters during the postseason after being hampered by injury for much of the year. He went 7-14 with a home run and six RBIs during the Super Regional against Florida State, in addition to scoring the winning run against Louisville in the Regional championship game.
“You get three guys like that, that’s a pretty potent group of kids that add to your line-up that have been around for awhile,” Corbin said. “With that group and then the kids coming in, I think it’s a pretty good recruiting class.”
RECRUITING CLASS
Conrad Gregor, INF-OF
Bats Left, Throws Right
Carmel, Indiana
Carmel High School
Robert Hansen, RHP
Bats Right, Throws Right
Hendersonville, Tennessee
Beech High School
Jake Harper, RHP
Bats Right, Throws Right
Mt. Juliet, Tennessee
Mt. Juliet High School
Will Johnson, INF
Bats Left, Throws Right
Austin, Texas
Westwood High School
Tony Kemp, OF-INF
Bats Left, Throws Right
Nashville, Tennessee
Centennial High School
Josh Lee, INF
Bats Right, Throws Right
Franklin, Tennessee
Independence High School
Sam Lind, INF
Bats Left, Throws Right
Hartford, South Dakota
Roosevelt High School/Central Arizona Junior College
Jack Lupo, OF-C
Bats Right, Throws Right
Indianapolis, Indiana
Cathedral High School/Air Force
Joel McKeithan, SS
Bats Right, Throws Right
Arden, North Carolina
T.C. Roberson High School
Spencer Navin, C
Bats Right, Throws Right
Des Moines, Iowa
Dowling High School
T.J. Pecoraro, RHP
Bats Right, Throws Right
Dix Hills, New York
Half Hollow Hills West High School
Steven Rice, LHP
Bats Left, Throws Left
Crawfordsville, Indiana
Crawfordsville High School
Kevin Ziomek, LHP
Bats Right, Throws Left
Amherst, Massachusetts
Amherst High School
