Lance Fleming
8/3/2009 11:11:19 PM
ABILENE – ACU head baseball coach Britt Bonneau announced Monday that he has added nine players for the 2010 season, a group he believes is one of his top recruiting classes in his 14 years at the helm of the program.
The Wildcats – who won the Lone Star Conference championship last season and advanced to the NCAA Division II South Central Region Tournament for the eighth time in the last 10 years – attracted eight transfers and signed one high school standout.
Leading the list of transfers are Aaron Oliver, a shortstop / outfielder from East Los Angeles College who hit .398 with 43 stolen bases in 2009, and Will Calhoun from Howard College, who led the nation in hitting in 2009 with a .527 batting average.
Also transferring to ACU for the 2010 season are pitchers Zach Sneed of Paris College Aaron Lambrix of Long Beach State, and Josh Crockett of Kansas State, as well as catcher Ian Tomkins of Wake Forest, outfielder Tyler Reeves of Columbian Basin College and utility infielder Abe Williams of Paris College. The Wildcats' high school signee is San Antonio Marshall shortstop Marcus Uechi, the brother of ACU standout Willie Uechi.
"This class of student-athletes is by far one of the top classes that we have assembled in years," said Bonneau, who is 542-234-1 in 13 seasons. "We're adding these guys to a team that already returns five (everyday) starters, and that will allow us to compete at a very high level. We were able to address several of our needs, which included speed in the outfield and at the top of the lineup."
Calhoun was part of a record-setting Howard College team that in 2009 won its first 57 games of the season on its way to a 63-1 finish and the National Junior College Athletics Association (NJCAA) Division I national championship. Calhoun led the nation in batting average and was awarded the Rawlings Big Stick Award and was a first team all-America selection at designated hitter. Calhoun was also the Hawks' closer and could see time on the mound for the Wildcats.
In two seasons at East L.A., Oliver collected 120 hits and 67 stolen bases while scoring 86 runs. Last season as a sophomore he was a first team all-South Coast Conference and Southern California all-America selection.
Sneed was 7-6 with a 3.24 ERA in 2009 at Paris, earning all-conference honors. He struck out 66 batters in 72 1/3 innings of work and walked just 14 batters. As a freshman in 2008 he was 5-5 with a 2.88 ERA and 45 strikeouts in 75 innings of work.
Crockett and Lambrix also figure to compete for starting spots in the Wildcats' rotation. Last year at Kansas State, Crockett had a 4.86 ERA in 16 2/3 innings of work. As a sophomore at Sierra (Calif.) College in 2008, Crockett was 2-1 with six saves in 17 appearances. Last year as a freshman at Long Beach State, Lambrix worked 4 2/3 innings over three appearances and had an ERA of 13.50.
Last season at Wake Forest, Tomkins hit .333 with two home runs and seven RBI in 24 games (nine starts) as the Demon Deacons finished 22-30. A native of Wilmette, Ill., Tomkins was the No. 1 catching prospect in the state in 2007.
As a freshman at Columbian Basin in 2008, Reeves hit .332 with 16 doubles, three triples, one home run and 28 RBI on his way to earning all-conference honors.
"We were able to address our needs on the mound with four quality starting pitchers and one quality closer to go with (Cameron) Aspaas and (Brad) Rutherford," Bonneau said. "The 2010 season should be another exciting one for us, and we're looking forward to getting out on the field and building a great team.