2001 Spartan Baseball Recruiting Class Ranked No. 17 in the Nation
SAN JOSE, Calif.The San Jose State Baseball team's 2001 recruiting class was ranked No. 17 in the nation, according to the Oct. 5 issue of the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. The last time the Spartans were ranked in the top 30 was in 1998the nucleus
SAN JOSE, Calif.—The San Jose State Baseball team’s 2001 recruiting class was ranked No. 17 in the nation, according to the Oct. 5 issue of the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. The last time the Spartans were ranked in the top 30 was in 1998—the nucleus of the team that went to the College World Series in 2000.
"I’m really pleased with the quality of players we were able to recruit this year," said Spartan head coach Sam Piraro, "A lot of the credit needs to go to my assistant coaches, they spend countless hours researching these players."
Assistant coaches Doug Thurman and Dean Madsen are the backbone of the recruiting system. The two begin the recruiting process by identifying the prospects, researching the players, double-checking the information they receive, and evaluating the player’s talent in person.
"With the small size of our recruiting budget we can’t afford to make any mistakes," Piraro says, "We have to be precise and make sure we have the right information on these kids."
The annual survey ranks the school’s recruiting class based on the quality of freshmen, junior college transfers and other collegiate transfers.
The Spartans added to the depth of the infield with the addition of shortstop Justin Styles (Granite Bay, CA/Granite Bay HS), utility infielder Anthony Contreras (Piedmont, CA/ Piedmont Hills HS), third-baseman Hector Zamora (Culver City, CA/Cerritos College), catcher Lucas Sargent (Yorba Linda, CA/Esperanza HS) and first-baseman Brian Baker (Norwalk, CA/Cerritos College).
A pair of Major League draftees leads the outfield recruits. Travis Becktel (San Juan Capitrano, CA/Capistrano Valley HS) was drafted by the Montreal Expos in the 41st round of the 2001 draft, and Markum King (Oakland, CA/Laney College), drafted in the 38th round of the 2000 draft, both could make an immediate impact in the outfield.
The pitching staff added depth with the addition of left-handed pitcher and outfielder Brad Kilby (Elk Grove, CA/Laguna Creek HS), and right-handed pitcher Matt Durkin (San Jose, CA/ Willow Glen HS) who was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 10th round of the 2001 draft.
Also two right-handed four year college transfers, Mike Dorsa (San Jose, CA/Santa Clara University) and Don Gemmell (Manteca, CA/Cal State Stanislaus) should help bolster the Spartans pitching staff.
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