Jan. 11, 2008

SAN DIEGO - San Diego State head coach Tony Gwynn has announced the signing of 17 players for the 2009 baseball season. Included in that number are four prep athletes from the local San Diego area and three members of the College of Southern Nevada squad that won a conference title and finished as runner up at the 2007 regional tournament. The class also contains several all-state players as well as a number who are ranked among the nation's top prospects.

The four local signees include Cal-Hi Sports all-state underclassmen team members Brandon Meredith (Montgomery HS) and Chris Wilson (Cathedral Catholic HS). Meredith, who was an all-CIF catcher and Mesa League Player of the Year as a sophomore, has emerged as one of the top outfielders in the area. Last season he batted .413 with eight homes runs and 46 RBI. Wilson, a catcher/utility player who was a second-team all-CIF selection as a junior, hit .385 with 18 doubles and 45 RBI in 2007.

Joining them from the local area are pitcher/shortstop Ryan O'Sullivan and first baseman Jomel Torres. O'Sullivan played in last summer's AFLAC national high school all-star contest after earning all-league and all-section accolades at Valhalla HS. As a pitcher, he went 7-2 with a 2.86 ERA and also batted .320 with four homers and 28 RBI as a shortstop. Torres (Eastlake HS) was an all-league honoree last spring after hitting .396 with seven doubles. He earned the Best Performance award at the 2006 National Underclass Showcase.

The Aztecs also inked three other top players from the southern California region in outfielder Isaac Galloway (Los Osos HS, Rancho Cucamonga) along with pitchers Matt Lollis (Patriot HS, Riverside) and John Pecoraro (Paloma Valley HS, Menafee). Galloway has been ranked as the 11th-best prospect in the country by Baseball America and was a teammate of O'Sullivan at last year's AFLAC all-star game. Last season he batted .365 with 10 double, eight triples a pair of homers and 14 stolen bases. He also competed at the Area Code Games and the USA Baseball Tournament of Stars during summer 2007.

Lollis, meanwhile, was ranked #23 by Baseball America after earning all-AAF (formerly all-CIF) honors last season and playing in the Area Code Games last summer. As a pitcher, he compiled a mark of 5-4 with a 2.94 ERA and also hit .432 in the DH role. Pecoraro earned all-league honors with a record of 9-2 and a 1.67 ERA. As a hitter, he batted .371 with 29 runs scored and 14 stolen bases. He was on the Inland Empire team at the SoCal Cup tourney and was also selected to compete in the Perfect Game 2007 Underclass Showcase

For the second time in three years, Coach Gwynn and his staff reached into the talent pool at the College of Southern Nevada to sign three players. That trio includes pitchers Tyler Lavigne and Andrew Leary plus shortstop Easton Gust. Lavigne was a first-team all-region selection and was named the Region 18 pitcher of the year in 2007. He finished the year with a mark of 8-2, five saves and a 0.79 earned run average. He struck out 56 in 45.1 innings and opponents batted just .139 against him.

Leary, who was drafted by Boston out of high school in 2006, finished the 2007 season with a record of 5-4, one save and a 3.72 ERA. He struck out better that one batter per inning and also went 2-for-6 at the plate. Gust was a second-team all-Region 18 honoree and was the 2007 defensive player of the year for the Scenic West Athletic Conference. As a freshman at CSN, he hit .286 with seven doubles, three homers and 28 RBI.

The Aztec coaching staff stayed in Nevada to sign pitcher/utility player Joe Wieland from Bishop Manogue High in Reno. An all-state selection the past two years, he compiled a mark of 4-2 with a 2.63 ERA and also batted .508 with 10 home runs and 51 RBI last season.

SDSU also added a pair of recruits, one freshman and one junior college player, from Arizona: pitchers Justin Harper (Yavapai JC) and Maverick Lasker (O'Connor HS, Glendale, Ariz.). Harper was a 31st-round pick of the Florida Marlins in the 2007 major league draft after going 0-2 with a save and a 3.80 ERA last season. Lasker, an honorable mention all-state honoree, compiled a record of 8-3 with a 2.64 ERA while also earning second-team all-5A Northwest Region accolades in 2007.

Also inking letters of intent with the Aztecs for the 2009 season were catcher Aaron Fujiki (Mid-Pacific Institute, Honolulu) and pitcher Matt Skipper (Ralston Valley HS, Arvada, Colo.). Fujiki was the Interscholastic League of Honolulu first-team catcher and was selected to compete in the 2007 Hawaii Showcase Tournament. He is ranked as the No. 2 prospect in the state by Perfect Game. Skipper is a multiple all-state selection who has also played in the infield and outfield. In 2007, he went 8-1 with a 3.02 ERA and also batted .529 with 10 doubles and 31 RBI in 20 games. He is the school record holder for both wins and strikeouts in a season.

Rounding out SDSU's 2009 class is a pair of athletes from the state of Texas: outfielder Blake Silguero (Cisco JC) and pitcher Josh Blanco (Franklin HS, El Paso). Silguero is a freshman at Cisco JC after finishing his prep career at Cedar Park HS in 2007. Last spring he earned honorable mention 14-5A all-district accolades after hitting .356 with 10 doubles and 38 RBI. He was a participant in the Austin Area Baseball Coaches Association All-Star Game as well. Blanco, meanwhile, had a 5-2 record with a 2.69 ERA as a junior last season.

"We're very happy with this group of athletes that we've signed for the 2009 season," said Gwynn. "We'll lose a number of seniors and possibly a few juniors after this year, so this class will fill a lot of holes for us in the future. Multi-position players are becoming more important in college baseball and we've done well in signing some of the top multi-dimensional athletes available. This is as good a group of recruits as any we've signed in the past six years and we're looking forward having them join the Aztec baseball family."

Name               Pos      Ht.  Wt.  Yr.  Current School (Location)
Josh Blanco        LHP     6-0  185   Fr.  Franklin HS (El Paso, Texas)
Aaron Fujiki        C      5-10 190   Fr.  Mid-Pacific Institute (Honolulu, Hawaii)
Isaac Galloway      OF     6-3  190   Fr.  Los Osos HS (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.)
Easton Gust         SS     5-9  175   Jr.  College of Southern Nevada (Las Vegas, Nev.)
Justin Harper      RHP     6-3  220   Jr.  Yavapai JC (Prescott, Ariz.)
Maverick Lasker  RHP/Util  6-2  185   Fr.  O'Connor HS (Glendale, Ariz.)
Tyler Lavigne      RHP     6-0  190   Jr.  College of Southern Nevada (Las Vegas, Nev.)
Andrew Leary       RHP     6-4  225   Jr.  College of Southern Nevada (Las Vegas, Nev.)
Matt Lollis      RHP/DH    6-9  235   Fr.  Patriot HS (Riverside, Calif.)
Brandon Meredith    OF     6-1  220   Fr.  Montgomery HS (San Diego, Calif.)
John Pecoraro      RHP     5-10 170   Fr.  Paloma Valley HS (Menafee, Calif.)
Ryan O'Sullivan  RHP/SS    6-1  180   Fr.  Valhalla HS (El Cajon, Calif.)
Blake Silguero      OF     6-2  215   So.  Cisco JC (Cisco, Texas)
Matt Skipper     RHP/OF    6-9  220   Fr.  Ralston Valley HS (Arvada, Colo.)
Jomel Torres      1B/OF    6-0  185   Fr.  Eastlake HS (Chula Vista, Calif.)
Joe Wieland     RHP/Util   6-2  180   Fr.  Bishop Manogue HS (Reno, Nev.)
Chris Wilson      C/Util   6-1  180   Fr.  Cathedral Catholic HS (San Diego, Calif.)
   (Yr. indicates class at SDSU in fall 2008)