Wildcats add 16 new faces
8/24/2006 7:45:00 PM | Baseball
ABILENE - ACU head baseball coach Britt Bonneau announced Wednesday that he has added 16 new players to the 2007 Wildcat roster.
Seven of the new players are junior college transfers while three are high school signees and six more are high school walk-ons.
The junior college class is led by shortstop J.J. Pacheco, who transfers to ACU from Chabot (Calif.) College where he was a first team all-Northern California selection. As a second baseman for Chabot he hit .395 with eight doubles and 41 stolen bases. He will most likely start at shortstop and hit leadoff while sophomore Trey Watten starts at second base.
"We were fortunate to get one of the top leadoff hitters in the nation," Bonneau said of Pacheco. "He'll add a lot to the top of our lineup: speed, good bat control and the ability to get on base."
Left-handed pitcher Matt Davis of Butte College is the only junior college pitcher to announce his intention to transfer to ACU. Last year Davis was 6-4 with a 4.06 ERA and 61 strikeouts in 71 innings, earning first team all-Golden Valley honors.
After losing all three starting outfielders, the Wildcats got three junior college transfers in the outfield in Matt Spotanski (.303 with five triples at Saddleback College), Mike Elkerson (.333 with six doubles and two home runs at Saddleback College), and Corey O'Neill (.444 with 12 doubles and four triples on his way to first team all-Golden Valley honors at College of the Siskiyous).
Davis' teammate at Butte College, shortstop Jared Votaw, is also transferring to ACU, and will bring with him a .327 batting average to go along with five home runs and 40 RBI last year as a sophomore. Votaw can play every infield position and a was a first team all-Golden Valley selection as a sophomore.
Right-handed pitcher Jameson Maj, who could either be a No. 1 or No. 2 starter or the Wildcats' closer, transfers to ACU from Vernon College. Last year as Vernon's closer he finished with a 3-3 record to go along with four saves and a 2.68 ERA.
High school first baseman Justin Shults of Valencia, Calif., was an all-district player at Valencia High School last year where he played first base and third base for head coach Jared Snyder, a former teammate of Bonneau's in the Chicago Cubs' organization. Shults was also recruited heavily by Ole Miss, Long Beach State and San Francisco State.
Left-handed pitcher Taylor Chapel of Lake Highlands High School was 7-1 with a 1.53 ERA and 73 strikeouts in 55 innings, and he has signed a letter-of-intent with ACU. Chapel will be used out of the bullpen early before perhaps getting some spot-starts later in the year.
Outfielder Trent Kinnear of Tulsa (Okla.) Union High School has also signed with ACU. Kinnear helped lead Union to a second straight Class 6A state championship as a senior in 2006. Union clinched the title with a 4-3 championship-game over Owasso, which entered the game as the nation's top-ranked high school team. Kinnear was 1 for 4 with a run scored an RBI in the championship game.
The high school walk-ons are catcher Chase Churcill and outfielder Wade Baker of Abilene High; first baseman Ryan Carter of Allen High School; shortstop Brent Garner of Copperas Cove; infielder John Winston of Dallas Christian High School; and catcher Justin Zahanik of San Antonio Christian High School.
