LSU’s baseball team will have a lot to live up to this year.
Long before the Tigers made their way to the College World Series, they showed promise with the country’s No. 1 recruiting class this past season.
LSU’s new associate head coach David Grewe and newly-promoted assistant coach Javi Sanchez took time away from a recruiting trip to talk about the Tigers’ incoming 2009 class and the status of the juniors still deciding whether to return to LSU or pursue professional careers.
“It’s probably going to not have the glitz or the glory or the glamor as the class we had before it,” Sanchez said. “But also that class was a lot bigger.”
The Tigers’ 2008 roster boasted 13 freshmen and seven transfer additions.
Sanchez said one thing that excites him about this year’s smaller class is its local flavor.
“These kids grew up at a young age realizing the importance and knowing the pride that it means to be an LSU Tiger,” Sanchez said.
As the Tigers – and their fans – begin to get excited about the new additions, the team could still face some losses.
Pitcher Jared Bradford and third baseman Michael Hollander, both seniors this past season, have signed professionally after completing their eligibility with the Tigers.
Bradford was an 18th-round selection by the St. Louis Cardinals, and the Texas Rangers chose Hollander in the 20th round.
Junior pitcher Blake Martin, a 17th-round pick by the Minnesota Twins, has opted to forego his senior season.
Four other LSU juniors were drafted this year.
First baseman Matt Clark and pitchers Ryan Verdugo, Louis Coleman and Jordan Brown are still deciding whether to return for a senior season or sign a contract with the Major League team that drafted them.
LSU head coach Paul Mainieri said during the CWS he expected Clark – a 12th-round choice by the San Diego Padres – to sign a professional contract. Sanchez and junior outfielder Nicholas Pontiff said Wednesday afternoon they agreed with Mainieri’s assessment.
“I think he’ll eventually sign,” Pontiff said. “There’s still a small chance that we can still get him back next year. It’s not a large chance – it’s a pretty small chance. If he came back, I think it’d be great for the program. But if he went, I think it’d be great for him to go to pro ball also.”
Grewe and Sanchez said they have not had a chance to talk much to Clark, Verdugo, Coleman or Brown, and Mainieri has been more active in consulting with the current players so far.
“Coach Mainieri is staying in touch with a lot of those guys that are really kind of out there and have been drafted. Their future is really kind of up in the air right now,” Grewe said. “My focus right now is, I’ve just got to work on [recruiting]. The recruiting goes so fast these days, I’ve just got to work on a bunch of young kids for the next couple years.”
Grewe said the incoming class was handled mainly by Mainieiri and former coaches Terry Rooney and Cliff Godwin. This past season, Rooney and Godwin held Grewe’s and Sanchez’s positions, respectively.
Grewe and Sanchez are currently scouting prospects for the future.
Two LSU recruits for 2009, junior college pitchers Ryan Chaffee and Jon Michael Redding, have signed with the major league organizations that drafted them instead of donning the purple and gold.
Sanchez said the absence of players like Chaffee, Redding, Martin or any other juniors who decide to leave early will not hurt the team as much as some people may believe.
“What I’ve learned in my short time doing this is you have to guard against the draft when you’re out recruiting,” Sanchez said. “I don’t think there’s ever really a situation where you all of a sudden have to go out late and get a guy in the spring … because we plan for these type of things to happen.”
Sanchez said the most difficult part of his new role on the staff is recruiting – more specificially, having to understand NCAA regulations.
“I can go out and evaluate talent – I don’t think that’s the issue – talent that’s good enough for LSU, that’s going to keep our program going in the direction we want it to go,” Sanchez said. “It’s the other things – the whole NCAA regulations and the dead periods and the contact periods and all the rules behind that stuff.”
—-Contact Jerit Roser at [email protected]