Baseball Announced Nine Signees
The coaching staff announced nine early signees for the 2010 class
Baseball Announced Nine Signees
Nov. 11, 2009
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford Baseball coaching staff has announced the addition of nine student-athletes in the early signing period for the 2010 recruiting class.
As the team heads into their second season in the Southern Conference, this will be the first large class that has been recruited as a member of the prestigious league. Head Coach Casey Dunn has high expectations for the group.
"Hopefully you always feel good about a group you have chosen to bring in, but we are very excited about these guys and the impact we feel they can have on our program," Dunn said. "Last year's group was very strong but not a large one, we feel we have added the type of talent we need to compete at the highest levels of the Southern Conference. We discovered last year this is a league full of big, physical players and we addressed our needs with that in mind."
The Bulldog Coaching Staff will be replacing a lot of production in the current lineup and as a result sought immediate help at the junior college level in this group after not signing a junior college player a year ago. Recruiting Coordinator Tony David feels like the staff has done a good job with its needs.
"Obviously from class to class things change based on need," David said. "We needed to bring in a few proven offensive guys who have had power production and experience to replace what we are losing to graduation and the draft this year."
The class features four junior college player additions and five high school guys so far, with the expectation of adding another signee soon. One of the junior college players is a former member of the ACC in his first season as well. Coach Dunn's staff has produced four nationally ranked classes in its first five years with the 2010 class being their sixth class. The staff, including pitching coach Mick Fieldbinder and assistant Rucker Taylor have released a current list of the 2010 class:
Brandon Miller (6-2, 205, NW Florida CC, Tyrone, Ga.) spent his freshmen year as a catcher at Georgia Tech before transferring to Northwest Florida Community College. He was drafted in the 33rd round of the 2008 draft by the Boston Red Sox. Out of high school he was the No. 9 player in state of Georgia and No. 101 in the nation by Baseball America.
Saxon Butler (6-3, 210, Pensacola JC, Oxford, Ala.) was selected for the First-Team All-Panhandle Conference team after his freshmen year after leading his team in home runs, RBI, doubles and batting average. He is a powerful left-handed hitter considered a great defensive first baseman.
Charles Basford (6-2, 210, Pensacola JC, Tallahassee, Fla.) is a big right-handed pitcher who was selected to the Second-Team All-Panhandle Conference team after his freshmen year after leading PJC in innings pitched, strikeouts and ERA as the team's top starter.
Kevin Putkonen (6-0, 200, Chattahoochee Valley CC, South Windsor, Conn.) just completed an outstanding freshmen year at CVCC. He is a powerful left-handed outfielder that can run well.
Tyler Filliben (6-2, 185, Columbus High School, Miami, Fla.) is a strong, athletic shortstop from one of the top high school programs in the country at Columbus High School in Miami, Fla. As an All-Miami Dade County performer, he helped lead the team to the Florida State 6A Finals.
Nick Calloway (6-4, 195, Lyman High School, Lyman, Fla.) is a tall hard-throwing right-handed pitcher who just completed an outstanding junior season at Lyman High School in Florida where he was selected as the team's most valuable player.
Phillip Ervin (6-0, 185, Leroy High School, Leroy, Ala.) is a versatile athlete having starred in high school for state championship baseball and football teams, as well as playing basketball in between. He possesses tremendous power, hitting 11 home runs as a junior, as well as excelling on the mound with a fastball that reaches into the 90 plus mile-per-hour range. Phillip will play outfield and pitch and Samford.
Brandon Powell (6-1, 180, Second Baptist High School, Houston, Texas) is an outstanding outfielder and hitter from Second Baptist High School in Houston, Texas. His outstanding play has led him to All-District and High School All-Star honors as well as leading h team to a State Championship last year.
C.K. Irby (6-1, 190, Mars Hill Bible High School, Florence, Ala.) is an outstanding dual player who will be both an infielder and right-handed pitcher at Samford. While leading his high school team offensively and on the mound, he was selected to the North-South All-Star Game and All-Star weekend in Troy.
This group will also have the potential to force the Samford staff this coming June to pay close attention to the Major League Baseball draft. Along with a few underclassmen on the current team, several of the signees are expected to get strong looks in the draft this year. Coach Dunn says it's the classic good news, bad news situation where you need the program to be.
"You want guys on your team and the ones you're bringing in to have that kind of talent," Dunn said. "We have been working hard to get it to this point. We hope it is a situation that needs close attention because it means our guys, both current and future, have had great years."
Future additions will be announced on a later date. A complete write up of each individual signee will start next week with a feature on each individual player.
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