Better late then never but here is the Top 5 Juco University Recruiting Classes. This will hopefully be a Monthly thing updating it/Updating you guys. Enjoy!
One thing you always see when it comes to recruiting classes is that of the high school kids. Who has recruited the best guys to go play at said given school generally only taking into account the high school guys. Well this is not that. It is however that same thing but with the Junior College guys that they have recruited. Now some schools still do not see the perks/point of getting guys from Junior College but for those that do it always has a great benefit. This list also has the potential to not just be Division 1 but all 4 Year schools (D1/D2/D3/NAIA). You will honestly be surprised on what you might see.
5. Louisana-Monroe
P-Austin Booth-Hinds
P-Jordan Mikel-Howard (90-94, With a good Slider)
OF-Trace Henry-Jones County
OF-Mason Holt-Navarro
Wiley Cleland-Pearl River
ULM is another school that has a Recruiting Coordinator that has strong Junior College Ties. Jake Carlson has spent time at Blinn, Odessa, Howard and Coffeyville coaching and recruiting . and he is on of the big reasons UTSA got the Juco guys they did last year before he moved out to Louisiana. When it comes to Booth he was used mainly as a pitcher his freshman year at Hinds. He made 15 App with 12 of them being Starts. with 1 complete Game and a 4-3 record while also pitching 52 innings and striking out 40. For Jordan he is in his first year at Howard and spent his freshman year at Western Illinois. He saw action in 18 games with 3 Starts having a 4.38 ERA during it. With his fastball in the Mid-90s and a Good slider look for him to have a big spring. Trace had one of the best seasons in the country for Jones this past year. As a true Freshman he hits .399, and with his speed scored 60 runs while stealing 39 bases which was 5th in the country. Holt played in 39 of the Bulldogs 56 games. hitting .352 with 30 rib while scoring another 41 runs. He also is a very solid defender. Cleland only saw two games this past year for pearl river but had an amazing Fall. Hitting .457 with a .524 OBP with 4 HR. Look for him to carry that over to the spring.
4. Middle Tennessee State
Greg Bennet-Iowa Western
P-Adam Link- Jefferson
P-Austin Cheeley- Jefferson
P-Austin Hicks- Jefferson
P/INF Hunter Sullivan- John A. Logan (87-90 Good Slider and good Bat)
Middle Tennessee is another school you dont here much from in regards to any sport. But this up coming year when it comes to the Junior College class watch out. For the guys form Jefferson. They just came off of one of the best seasons in Program history making it to Grand Junction. Those three pitchers combined for a total of 45 Appearances, a 14-2 record, with 139 Ks. Any time you have that sort of production from freshman you are going to be good. So look for Jefferson to make another run to Grand Junction this year. Hunter Sullivan was used mainly as a pitcher his freshman year but he still has a solid bat. He hit .286 in his 72 ABs. On the mound however this is where he shines. Touching 90 with a good slider his has the looks to have a big spring. he was 3-2 last season with 7 Starts. Bennet played in about half of the games that Iowa Westerner played this past year. He hit .241 having part in roughly 40 runs this past year.
3. TCU
P-Johnny Ray-John A Logan (Mid 90’s, Good Changeup and Breaking Ball)
P-Grant Miller-McLennan
P-Harrison Beethe- North Iowa Area (91-95 With a Good Slider)
P-Drew Hill- South Mountain (Upper 90s Fast Ball, Great Slider, Solid Curveball)
P-Austin Krob-Kirkwood (87-91 Lefty Good Breaking Ball)
Tommy Sacco- Yavapai (Solid Defender, Big Presence at the Plate)
TCU has had one of the best Programs in recent years. With 4 Trips to Omaha in the past 5 years with a 187-92 during that span. Schlossnagle is no stranger to the JuCo route either, having multiple Junior College guys on the roster every year. Next years group will be no different. Johnny Ray with his big predictable frame he should have a big spring. With Grant Miller despite being a two-way guy he saw the most success in 2018 on the Mound. Starting 8 Games in 17 Appearances taking home a 9-1 Record with 3 Complete Games while holding a 1.92 ERA. Harrison only saw limited action for North Iowa Area only throwing 11 innings in 7 games. He had a 1-2 Record. Drew Hill is going to be one to Watch this year. Transfer from Utah Valley made 16 appearances for the Wolverines getting 5 Saves in the process. His best outing of the year came agains Arizona where he went 6 innings with 6 Ks. Austin Krob is one of the freshman to watch this season. With his 6’2 frame he has room to add weight and with how he did this fall will be a big impact this season at Kirkwood. As a freshman Sacco played in all of Yavapais games. With 6 Hr, 37 RBI, 50 Runs and 20 Stolen Bases. When it came to his Fielding ability this past season he had a .969 Fielding %.
2. South Carolina
INF-Ivan Johnson-Chipola(Solid Defensive Tools, Good and Developing at the plate)
P-Andrew Peters-John A Logan (92-95, Hard Slider)
P-Thomas Farr- North Western Florida (Mid-90s, Solid Breaking Ball)
P-Luke Little- San Jac (93-94 6’9 Freshman Huge Upside)
OF-Noah Myers- Wabash Valley
P-Brannon Jordan-Cowley
South Carolina is one of those SEC school that when it comes to baseball can be forgotten at times. Since Winning Back to Back National Titles in 2010 and 2011 they have only been back to Omaha once (2012) but have made it to the Supers 2 more times. They also have been a good spot to find JuCo guys. This next crop is no exception. To start Ivan Johnson the Georgia Transfer is going into his first season at Chipola. At Georgia however he played in 32 of the games for the bulldogs starting 11 of them. He hit .239 while scoring 11 runs. Peters another transfer in his first year at John A. coming from Maryville University made 10 starts last season as a True Freshman with a 3-4 record and 3.30 ERA. Thomas from NW Florida had a decent freshman year. in 12 starts he had an 8-6 record in 67.2 innings and tallied 56 K’s. Luke is the first in coming Freshman on this list. with what was an impressive Fall and a huge frame he is going to has the potential to be a big time guy for the Gators this spring. Playing in 57 games last year for Wabash Valley Noah Myers had a great year. Hitting .318, with 49 RBI along with scoring 58 Runs and stealing 20 Bases. In the field he was just as impressive holding a .955 Fielding %. For Brannon he Started 10 games for Cowley this past year with a 8-1 Record with a 3.33 ERA and 11.67 K/9.
- Houston
INF-Bryson Hill- Cisco
UTIL-Brett Cain- Howard
P-Reed Osburn-Howard
C-Ryan Hernandez-San Jac
INF-Andrew Papantonis-San Jac
P-Robert Gasser-San Joaquin Delta
OF-Steven Rivas-Southern Nevada
LHP-Nick Rupp-Southern Nevada
In Recent years the University of Houston has made big moves when it comes to their sports programs. and Baseball is no Exception. Making it to the Regionals 3 of the last 4 years with a handful of Juco Route guys on those teams. When it Comes to the class of 2019 those guys should be huge impacts. Starting it off with the two from Howard. On the mound Reed didn’t see the innings he might have wanted last spring but when he did he made the most of them. With only 10 innings pitched he struck out 9 but also had a 1-0 record. For Brett he played in 49 of their 56 games while hitting .351 with a .439 OBP. While racking up 38 RBI and 44 runs. For San Jac Both guys are in their first year at the School Papantonis transferring from the University of Virginia while Hernandez is coming from Albany. Hernandez Started 46 of the 47 games he played in hitting .289 with 14 Doubles along with 12 RBI. Papantonis on the other hand started 5 of the 12 games he played in last season hitting .250 with only 4 RBI. Look for these two to be big parts in the Gators season this year. With another set of teammates Southern Nevada is sending two. Nick Rupp was one of the big starters for the Coyotes. With 13 Stars a 6-3 Record with 79 K’s over 61.2 innings. With another Guy in his first year at the school Rivas comes from Long Beach State. For Gasser from San Joaquin he played his freshman season at New Mexico. He pitched in 21 games while making 11 Starts. Throwing 52.1 innings with 52 Strike outs.