June 19, 2017
NLI Signing Central Link
SAN JOSE, Calif. - San José State University baseball signed a community college state champion, three community college all-conference players and a player with Division I experience among five players in the 2017 spring recruiting class. Spartans head coach Jason Hawkins made the announcement.
Hawkins' first spring recruiting class includes three pitchers, a catcher and an infielder, complementing the 13 signees from last fall.
Sawyer Pittman, a two-time All Central Valley Conference first-team selection at Reedley College (Reedley, Calif.) and Jace Duty, a Northwest Athletic Conference Southern Region first-team selection at Chemeketa College (Salem, Ore.) are the two lone position players in the spring signing class.
Pittman, a middle infielder from Sanger, Calif., batted .361 in his two seasons at Reedley.
"Sawyer is very dynamic. He has great hands and feet and is exactly what we look for when we recruit middle infielders," said Hawkins.
Duty, a catcher from Newport, Ore., hit .306 last season at Chemeketa Community College and hit .441 in 95 varsity games at Newport High.
"Jace is a very athletic catcher that can come in and play right away. He has proven offensive skills that are huge at the catching position for our conference," said the Spartans head coach.
PITCHING SIGNEES
Among the three pitching signees, the Spartans got a pair of right-handers in Fineas Del Bonta-Smith and Travis Sanders, and a southpaw in Andrew Mitchel.
Mitchel played the 2017 season at Grossmont Community College in El Cajon, Calif., posting a 6-1 record to help the Griffins win its first California Community College Athletic Association Baseball Championship.
"Andrew is a power left-handed arm that has a chance to be very good. His fastball is above average and his secondary stuff makes him even tougher," said Hawkins.
Del Bonta-Smith appeared in 22 games during his freshman campaign at the University of the Pacific before transferring to San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton, Calif.
"Finn is a great competitor and brings both experience and maturity to our staff," said Hawkins.
Sanders, a 2017 Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC) Southern Region first-team selection at Linn-Benton Community College (Albany, Ore.) rounds out the 2017 spring signing class.
"Travis is another experienced arm that will bring a great deal of toughness to our staff," said Hawkins.
The signees will join the Spartans in the fall of 2017.
2017 San JoséState Baseball Signees *Denotes 2017 spring signees. |
Santiago Cantu, INF, R/R, 5-11, 155, FR, Patterson, Calif. (Patterson HS) |
Wesley Clawson, LHP, L/L, 6-1, 185, FR, Red Bluff, Calif. (Red Bluff HS) |
Jack Colette, RHP/OF, L/R, 6-0, 175, FR, Bellflower, Calif. (St. John Bosco HS) |
*Fineas Del Bonta-Smith, RHP, R/R, 5-11, 185, JR, Soquel, Calif. (San Joaquin Delta College) |
Jason Dumont, INF, S/R, 5-11, 170, FR, Portland, Ore. (Sunset HS) |
*Jace Duty, C, R/R, 5-10, 200, JR, Newport, Ore. (Chemeketa College) |
Ryan Guardino, INF, R/R, 6-3, 180, FR, Santa Barbara, Calif. (San Marcos HS) |
Ruben Ibarra, 1B/OF, R/R, 6-4, 240, FR, Watsonville, Calif. (St. Francis HS) |
Connor Konishi, LHP/OF, L/L, 6-1, 180, FR, La Mesa, Calif. (Helix HS) |
*Andrew Mitchel, LHP, L/L, 6-0, 170, JR, Atwater, Calif. (Grossmont Community College) |
Nick Morales, RHP, R/R, 6-1, 205, FR, Bellflower, Calif. (St. John Bosco HS) |
Sam Olsson, C, R/R, 6-0, 195, FR, Eugene, Ore. (Sheldon HS) |
*Sawyer Pittman, INF, R/R, 5-8, 170, JR, Sanger, Calif. (Reedley College) |
Aaron Roose, C, R/R, 5-9, 165, FR, Lancaster, Calif. (Paraclete HS) |
Brandon Ross, LHP, L/L, 6-0, 165, FR, Murrieta, Calif. (Vista Murrieta HS) |
*Travis Sanders, RHP, R/R, 5-11, 185, Hood River, Ore. (Linn-Benton Community College) |
Cody Stevenson, 2B, S/R, 5-5, 145, FR, Fremont, Calif. (Kennedy HS) |
Clayton Westrope, LHP, L/L, 5-6, 140, FR, Livermore, Calif. (Livermore HS) |
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