BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - WKU baseball coach Chris Finwood announced the signing of five players to National Letters of Intent on Friday. Current high school seniors Matt Spalding, Ian Tompkins and Ryan Fucci will have four years of eligibility when arriving at WKU in 2011-12, and junior college transfers Jerad Eickhoff and Steve Hodgins will have two years of eligibility remaining.
"We feel great about the young men we signed in this early signing period," Finwood said. "I can't say enough about the time and effort recruiting coordinator Blake Allen and associate head coach Matt Myers put into developing those relationships that are so important during this process. These young men are all quality individuals from great families and will represent our baseball program and WKU very well both on the field and in the classroom. We are proud to welcome them into our baseball program."
Below is information and comments from Finwood about each of the five early-signing period signees:
Matt Spalding - RHP/IF/OF // 6'0 180 // Louisville, Ky. (St. Xavier HS)
Spalding is a two-way player from St. Xavier High School in Louisville who is ranked as the No. 1 high school player in the state of Kentucky and rated the No. 1 draft prospect in the state by Perfect Game. He is also ranked as one of the top 125 prospects in the country and as the No. 38 pitcher in the country. As a junior at St. Xavier, he was named all-district, all-region and all-state.
Finwood on Spalding: We are really excited about Matt. He was our first commitment in this class as a junior and helped get us jump-started for this year. Matt is a true two way player. He can really swing the bat and projects as a very productive hitter in college. He can play outfield and infield as well. Matt is also an exceptional talent on the mound and has been clocked as high as 94-95 this fall. He is an outstanding student as well.
Ian Tompkins - LHP // 6'1 175 // Louisville, Ky. (St. Xavier HS)
Tompkins is a left-handed pitcher who was named all-district, all-region and all-state his junior year at St. Xavier High School. He was also selected to play in the Kentucky Junior East/West All Star game.
Finwood on Tompkins: Ian is a teammate of Matt Spalding at St. Xavier and is an outstanding young pitching prospect. Finding a quality high school lefty was a big priority for us this fall and Ian has been a bit of a late bloomer but by the middle of the summer, everyone was on him. We got on Ian early and stayed the course and we are excited to add him to our pitching staff. Ian is an exceptional young man and will be an outstanding college pitcher
Ryan Fucci - OF //6'2 185 // Lexington, Ky. (Tates Creek HS)
Fucci is an outfielder from Tates Creek High School who was named All-City basketball and baseball his junior year. He was also named All-State basketball as a junior.
Finwood on Fucci: Ryan is a tremendous athlete and one of the better basketball players in the state as well as an outstanding baseball player. Ryan projects as a centerfielder and once he commits himself to playing baseball full time, he will become a pretty good professional prospect as well. Ryan plays for his dad, Dom, at Tates Creek High School. Dom was an all-SEC first baseman at Auburn University as well as Mr. Basketball in Kentucky, his senior year in high school. Ryan's athleticism fits right into our style of play at WKU.
Jerad Eickhoff - RHP // 6'5 190 // Evansville, IN (Olney Central CC)
Eickhoff is a right-handed pitcher from Olney Central Community College who was selected in the 46th round of the Major League Baseball draft by the Chicago Cubs. As a freshman at Olney, Eickhoff posted a 6-4 record and led his team in starters. He struck out 65 in 63 innings and limited opponents to a miniscule .181 average against.
Finwood on Eickhoff: Jerad is a big strong hard throwing righty who is playing for former Hilltopper great Casey Hamilton at Olney. Jared was drafted by the Chicago Cubs last year in the 46th round. Jerad is a great student and should vie for a rotation spot right away. We are extremely excited to add Jerad to our baseball program.
Steve Hodgins - SS // 5'11 170 // Keego Harbor, MI (Wabash Valley CC)
Hodgins was a major contributor while playing infield on a Wabash Valley team that won 50 games this past season and ended the year ranked fifth in all of junior college baseball. Both of which were Wabash team records. He also had a very good summer with the Ozark Generals of the MINK league where he hit .270 and stole a team leading 19 bases.
Finwood on Hodgins: Steve is an energy type player who really can play shortstop and has a quality left handed bat. He is the son of a major league scout and has grown up around the game. Steve handles the bat well, can bunt and run and is very solid on defense. He was exactly what we were looking for to solidify our middle infield situation for next year.
The Hilltoppers open the 2011 season Feb. 18-20 with a three-game series against Bowling Green State at Nick Denes Field.
