TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of Alabama baseball program has signed 10 players to national letters of intent during the Nov. 11-18 early signing period, head coach Mitch Gaspard announced Tuesday.
The list includes right-hand pitcher Cary Baxter, outfielder Reggie Golden, shortstop Matt Lipka, first baseman/left-hand pitcher Patrick McGavin, catcher Ladson Montgomery, infielder/right-hand pitcher Wes Mugarian, right-hand pitcher/catcher Case Nixon, right-hand pitcher Jay Shaw, first baseman/third baseman Austen Smith and outfielder Jeremiah Tullidge.
“We feel like this is certainly a top-notch class,” Alabama head baseball coach Mitch Gaspard said. “There was a lot of time and effort from our recruiting coordinator Dax Norris and Coach (Kyle) Bunn coming in and helped solidify this class. The way the recruiting process is now; this has been a year-and-half putting this class together. Having an older team this year is going to help us build and have a great core of young players coming in next fall. It’s a talented group that’s been compiled and we’re excited and looking forward to have these young men become a part of the Alabama baseball family and develop them as students and baseball players.”
The signing class includes six different high school All-Americans, including four Under Armour All-Americans (Golden, Lipka, Montgomery and Nixon), two AFLAC High School All-Americans (Golden and Lipka) and one Perfect Game USA All-American (Mugarian). The class also boasts two Team USA gold medal winners (Montgomery and Lipka), eight players who participated in the invitation-only National Perfect Game Showcase at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minn., and six all-state selections.
Alabama signed eight players who attended the invitation-only 2009 Perfect Game National Showcase at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minn. Four of the players were ranked among the top 100 high school players in the country and six were ranked among the 165 best prep players, according to PG Cross Checker. The class represents four different states, including Alabama (6), Florida (3), Texas (1) and Georgia (1).
“As you can see, it’s a highly-rated class with some of the elite players across the country,” Gaspard said. “With that you sort of have high risk, high reward. Obviously the summertime we could be on eggshells seeing what some of these guys will do. Many of these players will be drafted professionally and have to make a decision as to which direction they want to go. Considering so many of them are outstanding students and education is so important to them, we feel like the high majority of these guys will attend the University of Alabama.”
Baxter is a right-hand pitcher and infielder from Oak Mountain High School in Birmingham. He is a two-sport star for the Eagles and three-year starter in both baseball and basketball. Last year as a junior, he posted a 5-2 record with one save and 1.62 ERA, while hitting .316 with four home runs and 17 RBI. He is a two-time selection to the Alabama Baseball Coaches Association (AlaBCA) Showcase. He averaged 11.9 points and 8.0 rebounds per game as a junior and recently scored a career-high 35 points in a win over Woodlawn. His high school coach is Shelton Stall.
Golden, an outfielder from Wetumpka High School was selected as a 2009 AFLAC and Under Armor All-American. He is rated as the No. 23 prep prospect in the nation, according to PG Cross Checker. In his three-year career, Golden has compiled a .407 batting average with 31 home runs and 132 RBI. He has scored 108 runs and is a perfect 48-for-48 in stolen bases in his high school career. Golden homered in the 2009 Under Armor All-American Game at Chicago’s Wrigley Field this past summer. His high school coach is Ray Mullino.
Lipka, an infielder and right-hand pitcher from McKinney High School in Frisco, Texas, is a two-time prep All-American and gold medal winner with Team USA Baseball. Lipka is a 2010 Under Armor Preseason All-American selection after being named to the 2009 AFLAC All-American squad following his junior season. He is rated the No. 31 prep prospect in the nation, according to PG Crosschecker. Lipka has compiled a .400 batting average with 18 home runs and 72 RBI during his prep career. He won a gold medal with Team USA (16-and-under) at the 2008 COPABE Youth National Championship in Veracruz, Mexico. His high school coach is Jeremy Price.
McGavin, a left-hand pitcher and first baseman at Spanish Fort High School, was a preseason 2009 preseason Under Armor and Perfect Game All-American. He is rated as the No. 163 prep prospect by PG Crosschecker and has enjoyed an outstanding prep career. He has played in 122 games at Spanish Fort HS and has compiled a .340 average with 11 home runs and 88 RBI. On the mound, he is 24-6 (.800) with a 2.45 ERA in 45 games during his three-year career. McGavin holds nine single-season and career records at Spanish Fort HS, including career hits (127), career doubles (38) , career RBI (88), career starts on the mound (32), career wins (24) and innings pitched (191). His high school coach is Justin Moore.
Montgomery, a standout catcher from Creekside High School in Jacksonville, Fla., has won two gold medals with Team USA during the last two summers. He was on the 16-and-under gold medal winning team that beat Venezuela to capture the 2008 COPABE Youth National Championship in Veracruz, Mexico. One year later, he was on the gold medal winning team that beat Cuba in the 2009 COPABE “AAA” Pan American Junior Championships in Barquisimeto, Venezuela. He is rated at the No. 165th prep prospect in the nation by PG Crosschecker. The 2009 St. Augustine (Fla.) Record Player of the Year, Montgomery hit .487 with 35 RBI and 21 stolen bases as a junior.
Mugarian is another high school All-American and was rated was the No. 100 high school player by PG Crosschecker at the National Perfect Game Showcase. The right-hander has compiled a 16-0 record and 1.19 ERA during his last two seasons at Pensacola Catholic High School. In 113 innings, he has recorded 192 strikeouts. As an infielder, he has hit .384 with five home runs and 44 RBI over the last two seasons. Last year as a junior, he was 9-0 with 0.75 ERA and was named the Pensacola News Journal "Pitcher of the Year" and the Panhandle Sports Broadcasting's "Pitcher of the Year". He is a high school teammate of fellow UA signee Austen Smith. His high school coach is Richard LaBounty.
Nixon has enjoyed a fine career at Hillcrest High School in Tuscaloosa, Ala., where he has excelled as a right-hand pitcher and catcher for the Patriots. He is a 2010 Under Armour preseason All-American after a solid junior season, where he played in the 2009 Under Armour All-American Game at Chicago’s Wrigley Field. Nixon has attended numerous high school showcases, including the 2009 Perfect Game National Showcase at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minn., and the 2008 and 2009 East Coast Showcase at Tigertown in Lakeland, Fla. He is rated as the No. 77 high school player in the country by PG Crosschecker. In his three-year career at Hillcrest, Nixon has appeared in 28 games and has recorded 135 strikeouts in 101 1/3 innings on the mound. His high school coach is Todd Agee.
Shaw, a right-hand pitcher from Russell County High School, is another of the nation’s top high school prospects, having attended three major showcases in his career. He was one of eight UA signees to participate in the 2009 Perfect Game National Showcase at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minn. He has also attended the 2008 Perfect Game Southeast Underclassmen Showcase and the 2008 Perfect Game National Underclassmen Showcase in Ft. Myers, Fla. Shaw has compiled a 14-3 record the last two seasons and recorded 139 strikeouts in 102 1/3 innings on the mound. His high school coach is Tony Rasmus.
Smith, an infielder from Pensacola Catholic High School, is another highly-rated prospect. He has attended numerous national showcases during his prep career, including the 2009 Perfect Game National Showcase, the 2008 East Coast Professional Showcase, 2009 Tournament of Stars (Cary, N.C.) and 2008 and 2009 WWBA Perfect Game Showcase (Jupiter, Fla.). He was rated as the No. 214 high school player in the country by PG Crosschecker. During his three-year prep career, Smith has hit .421 with 15 home runs and 97 RBI for the Crusaders. He was the 2008 and 2009 Northwest Florida Player of the Year. He hit .451 (41-for-91) in 32 games as a junior, with five home runs and 32 RBI. He is a high school teammate of fellow UA signee John Mugarian. His high school coach is Richard LaBounty.
Tullidge is a two-sport star at Tuscaloosa Academy High School. He is a three-year starter on the diamond as an outfielder, shortstop and pitcher. He played 27 games as a junior and hit .453 (34-for-75) with nine home runs and 27 RBI, while adding 42 runs scored, seven doubled and five triples. He led the Knights in slugging percentage (1.040) and on-base percentage (.583) and was 17-for-19 in stolen bases. Tullidge made 10 appearances on the mound and posted a 7-2 record, with six compete games in his nine starts for the Knights. He was also a standout prep quarterback, where he set school records with 496 career completions, 5,391 career passing yards and 78 career touchdowns. His older brother, James, is a sophomore pitcher on the Crimson Tide baseball team. His high school baseball coach is John Rushing.
