In all, four players from Kentucky, two from Tennessee, and one each from Indiana, Mississippi and Michigan will join the Hilltoppers beginning in the 2008 season.
“First of all, let me say how hard our coaching staff worked creating relationships with all these young men’s families,” said Finwood. “Coach (Andrew) Slater and Coach (Ryan) Halla did a tremendous job of evaluating and recruiting these fine young men.
“I’m extremely excited about all of their abilities as well as their character. This class really addressed our immediate needs of pitching depth and left-handed hitting.”
Pitcher Ross Hammonds will stay in town and join the Toppers after finishing up his prep career at Bowling Green’s Warren East High School this spring. A two-time all-district selection, Hammonds has earned 16 varsity wins for the Raiders and already holds the school strikeout record with 196 in 182 innings of work. In 2006, he was the fourth region representative on the Kentucky Junior All-Star team. In three seasons, he has helped Warren East to the district tournament championship game all three years, winning the title in 2004 and 2006.
Another right-handed pitcher will stay close to home as Rye Davis signed with WKU from nearby Edmonson County High School. Davis — a three-time all-district selection — has recorded 15 wins for Edmonson County, striking out 261 batters and posting a 4.30 earned run average. Also expected to see time in the outfield, he is a career .298 hitter with 95 career hits and 61 RBI.
The Toppers added three other right-handed arms to the pitching staff with the signings of Brady Frey, Eric Githens and Bryce Jenney. Frey has been a two-time all-county and all-district selection at Beech High School in Hendersonville, Tenn, while also being named to the 2005 and 2006 TBCA Showcase teams.
Githens — a two-year letterwinner at Lafayette Jefferson High School in Lafayette, Ind., — was an honorable mention all-Hoosier Crossroads Conference selection last season as he helped lead his club to a conference championship.
Jenney earned all-state, all-region, all-district and all-conference honors at Northville High School in Northville, Mich., last season. He was also named team co-MVP and pitcher of the year in 2006.
“We feel like we signed some bona fide Sun Belt Conference starting pitchers,” added Finwood. “Added pitching depth will be very important heading into 2008 as the season gets condensed.”
Chad Cregar is the only junior college player in the group, as he will join the Hilltoppers next season from Northwest Mississippi Community College. A corner infielder from Oxford, Miss., played in 32 games last season, finishing with a .330 batting average. He also finished with four home runs and 22 RBI.
WKU rounded out the class with a pair of high school teammates and a catcher. Both Matt Bracken and Chris Wood will join the Hilltoppers from Dunbar High School in Lexington, Ky. Wood, an outfielder, was named to the all-state team in 2006, and earned a Golden Glove Award in 2005. He was also selected as the most valuable fielder at the 2006 National High School Tournament in Louisville.
Bracken has been named a Baseball Factory preseason All-American heading into the 2007 season after earning all-region and all-city honors in 2006. He was also Dunbar’s representative for the Wendy’s High School Heisman Award.
Matt Rice will add depth to an already talented pool of Hilltopper catchers next season as he joins the squad from Science Hill High School in Johnson City, Tenn. Rice is coming in after earning all-region, all-district and all-conference laurels following his junior year.
“All of these young men are also extremely good students and come from great families — something that is a very important part of our criteria in evaluating prospects,” said Finwood. “This class, along with last year‘s nationally-ranked recruiting class, will be a strong part of our future here at WKU.”
Western Kentucky will open up its 2007 season on Feb. 9, traveling to UNC-Wilmington for a three-game round-robin tournament. The Hilltoppers will face UNCW, South Carolina and Oklahoma on the opening weekend.
