The Louisville baseball program’s 2013 recruiting class was ranked 19th nationally by Baseball America, which announced its annual recruiting rankings on Tuesday afternoon. This is the fifth time in the last six seasons the Cardinals have signed a recruiting class ranked among the top 25 in the nation under the guidance of head coach Dan McDonnell and assistant coaches Chris Lemonis and Roger Williams. Listed below are some of the notes published by Baseball America published about Louisville’s 2013 recruiting class, which is on campus and recently completed fall workouts in preparation for the 2014 season. For the full recap of the entire Baseball America Top 25 Recruiting Classes, visit http://www.baseballamerica.com/college/college-recruiting-rankings-florida-ranks-no-1/. Fans can follow Louisville baseball on Twitter at http://twitter.com/uoflbaseball and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ulbaseball. Click below for details on the 2013 class.
Notes from Baseball America on the 2013 Louisville Baseball Recruiting Class
“The Cardinals say their future move to the Atlantic Coast Conference helped them put together this strong, deep, balanced class. Like older brother Nick (a junior closer for Louisville and the nation’s hardest thrower), Zack Burdi (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove South HS) stands out most for his arm strength, working in the 89-95 range with his lively fastball and showing a promising slurve at 79-81.
“As usual, Louisville mined Illinois very effectively, as Corey Ray (Chicago, Ill./Simeon Career Academy) and Colin Lyman (Algonquin, Ill./Huntley HS) join Burdi as impact talents from the state. Ray’s solid tools across the board, good baseball instincts and build earn him comparisons to former South Carolina center fielder Jackie Bradley. He has bat speed and feel for hitting from the left side, and his average speed plays up because of his moxie. Lyman is another athletic outfielder with even better speed (he runs the 60 in 6.6 seconds), but he needs to get stronger at the plate.
“Grant Kay (Omaha, Neb./Iowa Western CC/Ralston HS) is a hitting machine who ranked as the No. 4 prospect in the New England Collegiate League in 2012 and has shown plus-plus speed, average arm strength and invaluable defensive versatility. Matt Rowland (Blue Bell, Pa./Chestnut Hill Academy) and Nick Solak (Woodridge, Ill./Naperville North HS) bring additional athleticism, versatility and energy, though both will probably need some time to develop.”
“Drew Harrington (Elizabethtown, Ky./Central Hardin HS), Ryan Lauria (Roanoke, Va./Hidden Valley HS) and Josh Rogers (Floyds Knobs, Ind./New Albany HS) join Burdi in a nice pitching core. Harrington can work in the 88-92 range from the left side with a nice curveball at 76-78, although his command is still a work in progress. Fellow southpaw Rogers might not have made it through the draft if he had not had Tommy John surgery last spring; before he got hurt, he showed 90-93 heat and a swing-and-miss power curve that reached 80 mph. Lauria can reach 91 from the right side and has good feel for his slurvy breaking ball. Mason Richardson (Owensboro, Ky./Owensboro Catholic HS) can reach 86 mph from a submarine slot, making him a potentially useful bullpen piece.”
Baseball America’s Top 25 Recruiting Classes for 2013
1. Florida
2. Texas
3. South Carolina
4. Oklahoma State
5. Oregon State
6. Miami
7. Oregon
8. Ole Miss
9. Mississippi State
10. Oklahoma
11. Nebraska
12. Cal State Fullerton
13. Auburn
14. Virginia
15. Tennessee
16. Clemson
17. TCU
18. Florida State
19. LOUISVILLE
20. Vanderbilt
21. Georgia
22. Loyola Marymount
23. Tulane
24. Southern California
25. Kentucky