Dec. 1, 2006
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State head coach Tony Gwynn has announced the signing of 13 players for the 2008 baseball season. Included in that number are a member of the USA Junior National Team plus six standout athletes (four freshmen, two junior college) from the local San Diego area. The six other signees are freshmen, with three hailing from southern California, a pair from Northern California and one from New York.
Leading off the new class is Daniel Elorriaga-Matra, a catcher currently at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Elorriaga-Matra was a member of the USA Junior National team that won the silver medal at the Junior World Championships in Cuba this past summer. He led the team with a .412 batting average and .706 slugging percentage. Last season, he hit .354 with three homers as a catcher/third baseman for his high school team, which captured the district title.
Heading up the recruits from the local area is catcher Kevin Silvett (Torrey Pines HS), who was the Palomar League Player of the Year last season while helping his team to a 28-6 record and top 50 national ranking by Baseball America. Silvett hit .402 as a junior with nine home runs, 29 RBI and seven stolen bases. An all-CIF selection, he was the starting catcher for the USABF World Series champion Colton Nighthawks during the summer of 2006.
Another local standout signed by Gwynn and his staff is pitcher/utility player Deryk Hooker, an all-Eastern League selection from Mira Mesa High in San Diego. Hooker compiled an record of 7-2 last season with a 1.32 earned run average, striking out 65 and walking only eight over 58 innings. He also hit .351 with seven homers and 34 RBI for the Marauders. Hooker was a member of the southern California team that played in last summer's Mariner Cup at Safeco Field in Seattle.
SDSU's other two local freshman recruits are first baseman Grant Allgire (La Costa Canyon HS) and pitcher Bobby Wilkins (Valhalla HS). Allgire was an honorable mention all-Palomar League selection who batted .316 with nine doubles, three homers 19 RBI and a .526 slugging percentage during the 2006 season. Wilkins, who was the winning pitcher in last spring's Division III CIF championship game, went 6-3 with a 2.72 ERA, striking out 75 batters in 64.1 innings pitched.
From the local junior college ranks, the Aztecs picked up a pair of right-handed pitchers in Eric Martinez (Southwestern JC/Eastlake HS) and James McLaughlin (Palomar JC/Torrey Pines HS). Martinez, who also plays in the outfield, was 2-3 with a 5.49 ERA and hit .340 with six home runs for his JC team in 2006. McLaughlin, meanwhile, made eight relief appearances and compiled a 4.26 earned run average at Palomar.
The three other southern California freshmen signees include pitcher Brian Castro (Riverside Poly HS, Riverside, Calif.), utility player Addison Reed (Los Osos HS, Rancho Cucamonga) and shortstop Brett Tanos (Cypress HS, Cypress, Calif.).
As a junior, Castro compiled an 8-0 record with a 0.87 earned run average. Over 48 innings, he struck out 44 and walked just nine. Reed hit .420 with six home runs and drove in 40 during his team's 2006 campaign while Tanos was a first-team all-Empire league selection for a team that went 23-4 overall and 15-0 in league play.
From the northern California area, SDSU signed a pair of freshmen in second baseman Zach Babbit out of Albany HS (Albany, Calif.) and Cory Vaughn from Jesuit HS in Carmichael. Babbit, a member of the Milwaukee Brewers Area Code Team, was an all-league selection who batted .385, stole 16 bases and compiled a .518 on-base percentage. Vaughn hit .250 with a home run, 18 RBI and six stolen bases last season.
The final signee is T.J. Thomas, a three-sport standout at St. Dominic High in Oyster Bay, N.Y. Thomas, a first baseman/outfielder, has been listed among the top 200 prospects in the country by Baseball America. He has also earned all-state and all-Long Island accolades as a basketball player the past two seasons.
"We feel very good about this group of athletes that we've signed for the 2008 season," said Gwynn. "There's some real talent in this class, and we were able to fill some holes that we anticipate we'll have at the end of the upcoming season. This is as good a group of recruits as any we've signed in the past five years. We went after some the best players available and we look forward to their arrival next fall."