Tennessee head baseball coach Rod Delmonico announced Wednesday that 12 players have signed national letters of intent to attend the University of Tennessee and play for the Volunteers beginning with the 2008 season. Highlighting this early-signing-period crop are two AFLAC All-America selections, four players who have been previously drafted and the top position player prospect in the state of Tennessee.
The Vols' November signees include an even split of six pitchers and six position players. Eight of the signees are high school prospects, and four are currently in the junior college ranks. Five of the 12 signees hail from the Volunteer State, with natives of Alabama, North Carolina, Virginia, Illinois, Arizona, Colorado and Florida also represented.
"[Assistant coach and recruiting coordinator] Mike Bell has done a tremendous job putting together a great class," Delmonico said. "He's worked extremely hard and has spent many hours on the road, and it's obviously paying off. This class is going to be a really exciting group."
Outfielder Kentrail Davis currently attends Theodore High School in Theodore, Ala. An AFLAC All-America selection, Davis is ranked 17th among national prospects by PerfectGame and 14th by Baseball America. Baseball America also tabbed Davis as the top batting prospect and the fourth overall prospect at the 2006 East Coast Professional Showcase. Davis hit .444 last season with 12 home runs, 34 RBIs, 43 runs and 31 stolen bases.
The Vols' second AFLAC All-America signee is right-handed pitcher Sam Runion out of A.C. Reynolds High School in Asheville, N.C. Baseball America rated Runion as the 72nd-ranked prospect in the country, while PerfectGame ranked him 51st nationally. He posted a 9-1 record last season with a 1.50 ERA and 97 strikeouts while earning All-Conference honors.
Right-handed pitcher Gary Bulman is another of Tennessee's signees rated as a top-150 prospect. The Virginia Beach, Va., native who attends Greenbriar Christian Academy is ranked as the nation's 118th-best prospect by Baseball America and 84th by PerfectGame. Bulman was a 2006 All-State selection while also garnering All-Conference acclaim.
Versatile outfielder/catcher/third baseman Josh Liles out of the University School of Jackson (Tenn.) is another gem in this class. The Jackson, Tenn., native is tabbed as the top position player in the state of Tennessee by both Baseball America and PerfectGame. Nationally, Liles is ranked 157th by Baseball America and 274th by PerfectGame. As a sophomore, he was named the Tennessee Class A Player of the Year. And as a freshman, he set the state single-season record for runs with 76.
Left-handed pitcher Joey Rosas from Yavapai College in Arizona is the highest-drafted of the four MLB selections in this class. The Cottonwood, Ariz., native was selected by the Washington Nationals in the ninth round of the 2006 draft. He posted a 9-1 record and a 2.41 ERA as a freshman last season while leading the Roughriders to a runner-up finish at the junior college national championships.
Third baseman Stephen Shults of Walters State Community College was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the 15th round of the 2006 draft. The Lawrenceburg, Tenn., native hit .366 with 23 home runs and 71 RBIs in 2006 while helping WSCC win the junior college national championship. He was named the most outstanding defensive player of the tournament, and his 23 homers ranked second nationally among junior college players (behind current Vols outfielder Chad Maddox, who hit 25).
Tennessee added another 15th-round draft pick in catcher Dustin Black from Powell, Tenn. Black, who attends Cleveland State Community College, was selected by the Baltimore Orioles this past June after hitting .351 with 13 home runs and 57 RBIs for the Cougars.
Rounding out UT's quartet of drafted signees is left-handed pitcher Timothy Dennehy, who was selected in the 26th round of the 2006 draft by the New York Yankees. The Oak Park, Ill., native who attends Chandler-Gilbert Community College in Arizona was also selected in the 2005 draft (19th round by the Cleveland Indians).
One of Tennessee's new signees brings a familiar name to Rocky Top, as Dylan Hochevar (pronounced: HO-chay-vur) follows in the footsteps of his older brother Luke, who played at UT from 2003-05 and was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2006 MLB draft. Dylan Hochevar is an All-State and All-Conference right-handed pitcher at Wray High School in Wray, Colo. He posted an 8-1 record last season with a 1.76 ERA and 86 strikeouts.
Right-handed pitcher Anthony Gallego (pronounced: guy-AY-go) is an All-State and All-County selection from Miami, Fla. Gallego's 2006 statistics at Pace High School included a 9-1 record, a 1.08 ERA and 70 strikeouts.
Catcher Blake Forsythe out of Christian Brothers High School in Memphis, Tenn., is another All-State signee set to join the Vols. Also a 2006 All-Metro and All-Conference pick, Forsythe hit .385 with 10 home runs and 42 RBIs last season. He played in the Tennessee Sunbelt Classic in both 2005 and 2006 and was also named to the 2005 TBCA Super Sophomore Team.
Outfielder P.J. Polk from Murfreesboro, Tenn., is an All-District and All-Region honoree out of Oakland High School. Polk batted .365 with two home runs and 13 stolen bases last season and is a two-time Daily News Journal MVP.
Members of this signing class are slated to begin enrolling at UT in the fall of 2007.
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