Of the five players signed, four are Kentucky products, while one hails from Georgia. The group also includes three infielder, a catcher and a pitcher.
Three of the signees — Jared P. Johnson, Logan Smith and Matt Payton — already have experience playing together as they were members of the 2006 Kentucky Senior All-Star West team this summer.
Johnson, an infielder from Owensboro Catholic, also has first-team all-district and all-region honors on his resume. He helped guide the Aces to the KHSAA state tournament in 2005 and the 2005 All “A” championship.
“Jared comes from a WKU family, and is a high-energy guy,” said Finwood. “He’s coming out of a great program at Owensboro Catholic, and knows how to win and approach the game.”
Payton will also add some infield depth coming out of Male High School in Louisville. He has garnered all-metro, all-district, all-region and all-state honors during his prep career.
“Matt is the epitome of toughness,” added Finwood. “He can really run and hit, which has us really excited about his offensive abilities.”
Smith — a product of Campbellsville High School — also earned first-team all-district all-region and all-state accolades to go along with his selection to the Kentucky senior all stars.
“Logan caught our eye after participating in four of our camps last year,” said Finwood. “He‘s a strong catch-and-throw guy, who is full of energy.”
Left-handed pitcher Garrie Krueger will also join the Toppers this fall after an outstanding career at Lexington Christian Academy. He was named the MVP of the 2005 Kentucky State Tournament after guiding LCA to the championship. His efforts during the tournament — which included a complete-game victory on the mound and a 4-for-9 effort at the plate — earned him Prep Player-of-the-Week honors in USA Today. As a senior he earned all-city honors as a pitcher and outfielder.
“Garrie is a big, physical athlete with good arm strength and a good feel for the baseball,” said Finwood. “He really had a lot of success as both a pitcher and hitter during his high school career.”
The only out-of-state prep signee in the group is infielder Tyler Bumgarner out of Walton High School in Marietta, Ga. A three-year letterwinner with the Raiders, Bumgarner earned all-state and all-county honors, and was also a member of the Georgia Top 20 team.
“Tyler is a great athlete who can really run and defend,” said Finwood. “He comes from a very successful program at Walton that has produced a large number of Division-I signees in the past”
