Sept. 22, 2010
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State baseball's recruiting class for the upcoming 2011 season has been ranked 36th nationally by Collegiate Baseball. That rating is out of 292 Division I teams and is the highest for a Mountain West Conference school.
SDSU's group of 22 newcomers includes 20 freshmen and a pair of junior college transfers. That freshman number is the most of any school ranked among the top 40 classes.
Included in this year's crop of Aztec recruits is a trio of players who were selected in the Major League draft last June. That threesome includes two local prep pitchers in Philip Walby (drafted by Baltimore) and Evan Thomas (drafted by Colorado). Walby went 7-4 with a 2.38 earned run average at Scripps Ranch HS last season while Thomas compiled a 6-2 record with a 2.95 ERA at Poway HS.
Also chosen in the pro draft (by the New York Yankees) was junior college hurler Mike Hachadorian (San Diego Mesa JC). A former quarterback and baseball player at Westview HS in San Diego, he had a 4.01 ERA as a junior college sophomore last spring.
Three other pitchers highlight the recruiting class as well. TJ Kendzora is a 6-4 left-hander from El Toro HS (Lake Forest, Calif.) who posted an 11-2 record and a 2.00 ERA along with 95 strikeouts and only 18 walks. He will be joined another lefty, Carl Robinson, who could be among the team's weekend starters after going 6-4 with a 2.38 ERA at Valencia High in Fullerton, Calif.
The third pitcher is local product Cole Swanson out of Torrey Pines High School (San Diego, Calif.) joins the Aztecs after receiving numerous college offers after his senior season. He went 5-5 with a 2.59 earned run average while helping his team to the semifinals of the 2010 CIF championship tournament.
Among the other newcomers are four players who will likely have an immediate impact on the program. Cody Slader is a switch-hitting shortstop from Bishop O'Dowd HS (Oakland, Calif.) where he won all-league honors after hitting .352 with four home runs and 12 stolen bases. Outfielder Dillon Bryant was an all-league selection and team MVP at Orange Lutheran High (Santa Ana, Calif.) after batting .342 with six double as a senior.
At catcher, Brad Haynal was one if the premier prospects at his position in southern California as a player at Rancho Bernardo HS in San Diego. Last season his numbers included a .347 average with eight doubles, six homers and 36 RBI in 34 games.
Infielder Tim Zier is a standout athlete who was recruited as a football running back out of Escondido (Calif.) High School as well. He was an all-league and all-CIF honoree last season after hitting .463 with six home runs and 33 runs scored.
San Diego State is set to begin its fall baseball practice on Monday, Oct. 4, and continue until the first week of November. Fall workouts will conclude with the annual Red-Black World Series at Tony Gwynn Stadium Nov. 4-6.