North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State Baseball Adds Nine In Fall Signing Period
12/19/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Dec. 19, 2003
RALEIGH, N.C. - NC State baseball coach Elliott Avent announced this week the signing of eight recruits to grants-in-aid during the November signing period. In addition, one of Herb Sendek's basketball signees will pitch for the Wolfpack baseball team in addition to playing basketball. Four of the Wolfpack's signees were in-state recruits. Seven were high school players.
"We really feel that we signed an outstanding group of players this fall,"Avent said. "I give all the credit in the world to my staff, especially assistant head coach Billy Jones, who is our recruiting coordinator, and Chris Roberts, our pitching coach. They did a tremendous amount of homework and legwork in putting this class together, and think that hard work has paid off with an excellent class of recruits."
Righthanded pitchers Erik Cordier of Southern Door High School in Sturgeon Bay, Wisc., and Andrew Brackman of Moeller High School in Cincinnati, Ohio, rank as the most heralded members of Avent's recruiting class. Cordier, whose fastball has been clocked as high as 95 mph, is ranked by Baseball America and Perfect Game USA as the No. 36 prospect nationally in the current senior class. Brackman, who is signed to a basketball scholarship, is ranked No. 18 in the current high school senior class by Team One Baseball and No. 5 in the state of Ohio by Baseball America and Perfect Game USA. A third out-of-state recruit, shortstop Ramon Corona of Miami, Fla., is ranked as the No. 71 player in the state of Florida by Baseball America and Perfect Game USA.
From the state of North Carolina, the Wolfpack signed righthanded pitcher Travis High and outfielder Chris Engle, a pair of independent school all-state players from Wesleyan Christian Academy in Kernersville; righthander Matt Payne of Alexander Central High School, infielder Matt Mangini from Apex High School, and outfielder Reggie Dixon of Kinston High School.
The Wolfpack also signed one junior college player, infielder Aaron Cone of Lakeland (Ohio) Community College. Cone was a first-team Division II Juco All-American.
NC State's recruiting class includes three pitchers (four including Brackman), three infielders and two outfielders. Those numbers reflect projected needs in the program following the current season.
"Looking at our team for this coming season, we have a number of pitchers who are in their last year in the program, or who might be," Avent said. "Vern Sterry, Nate Cretarolo, Daniel Caldwell and Derek McKee are all seniors, and we have some underclassmen who are eligible for the Major League Baseball draft. Those are all front-line pitchers, and while we have some depth on our staff, it was obvious that we needed to recruit pitching. We think the guys we signed will definitely help us. Erik Cordier and Andrew Brackman are high-profile guys, but we also really like Travis High and Matt Payne. We believe all four of those guys can help us next year.
"As for position players, our needs weren't as immediate, but we definitely felt the need to add depth, especially in the infield and outfield. Aaron Cone is a junior college hitter who should be able to help us right away. Ramon Corona, Chris Engle, Reggie Dixon and Matt Mangini are quality players and will push for playing time next season."
NC State Baseball Fall 2003 Signees
Andrew Brackman ... RHP ... 6-9 ... 200 ... R/R ... Moeller High School ... Cincinnati, Ohio. Ranked as the No. 18 senior in America by Team One Baseball ... Listed as the No. 5 prospect in Ohio by Baseball America and Perfect Game USA ... Went 6-1 with one save and a 1.19 ERA as a junior in 2003 ... Allowed 31 hits while walking 14 and striking out 63 in 47 innings ... Made seven starts and threw four complete games ... Signed to a basketball grant-in-aid, and is listed as a top 100 hoops prospect by several recruiting services ... Also recruited by Georgia Tech.
Aaron Cone ... INF ... 6-0 ... 195 ... L/R ... Lakeland (Ohio) Community College ... Lakeland, Fla. Earned first-team NJCAA Division II All-America honors as a freshman in 2003 after batting .528 with 26 doubles, 3 triples, 14 home runs and 77 RBIs in 56 games as a freshman in 2003 ... Drew 40 bases on balls, and had a .640 on-base percentage and an .893 slugging percentage ... Was voted first-team All-OCCAC and All-NJCAA Region XII ... Was a three-year varsity letterman for coach Ron Nipper at Lakeland (Fla.) High School, earning second-team all-county honors as a senior ... Also recruited by Clemson, Kentucky, South Carolina and Kent State.
Erik Cordier ... RHP ... 6-3 ... 197 ... R/R ... Southern Door High School ... Sturgeon Bay, Wisc. Was 1-3 with a 4.66 ERA in a junior season plagued by control problems ... Struck out 37 but walked 32 in 21 innings of work as Southern Door went 17-6 and came within a game of making the state playoffs ... Has been clocked as high as 95 mph by major league scouts ... Earned all-conference honors, but as an infielder ... Played summer baseball with the Ohio Warhawks ... Ironed out his control problems with the Warhawks, which led to a huge summer season at the nation's top showcase camps ... Ranked as the No. 36 prospect in the senior class by Baseball America and Perfect Game USA, and the top prospect in the state of Wisconsin ... Ranked as the No. 69 senior by Team One Baseball ... Was the No. 4 prospect in the Perfect Game World Underclassmen Showcase in Jupiter, Fla. ... Also stood out in the Area Code Games in Long Beach, Calif. ... Was 1-1 with a 1.55 ERA as a sophomore in 2002, allowing 11 hits, walking 17 and striking out 31 in 18 innings ... Was 5-0 with a 0.56 ERA as a freshman in 2001 ... Pitched 37 innings in seven games ... Allowed 13 hits, walked 16 and fanned 49 ... Has allowed 31 hits, struck out 117 and walked 65 in 76 high school innings ... Also recruited by Mississippi and Texas A&M.
Ramon Corona ... SS ... 5-11 ... 180 ... R/R ... Gulliver Prep ... Coral Gables, Fla. Batted .440 with one home run and 25 stolen bases in 26 games as a junior in 2003 ... Was honorable-mention all-conference selection ... Was honorable-mention All-Dade County by The Miami Herald ... Listed as the No. 71 player in the state of Florida by Baseball America and Perfect Game USA ... Participated in the West Coast Area Code Games in Long Beach, Calif., and the East Coast Professional Baseball Showcase ... Played during the summer for the Florida Bombers, who won the World Wood Bat Association Senior Division Championship and finished second in the national Connie Mack Baseball championship tournament ... Also recruited by South Carolina and Notre Dame.
Reggie Dixon ... OF ... 5-10 ... 180 ... R/R ... Kinston High School ... Snow Hill, N.C. Earned honorable-mention all-conference honors after hitting .375 with four homers and 14 RBIs in 24 games as junior in 2003 ... Struck out nine times in 68 plate appearances ... Helped lead Kinston to the conference championship and a berth in the North Carolina 4-A state playoffs ... Listed as the No. 31 prospect in the state by Baseball America and Perfect Game USA ... Also recruited by North Carolina.
Chris Engle ... CF/LHP ... 5-8 ... 165 ... L/L ... Wesleyan Christian Academy ... Kernersville, N.C. Earned all-conference and 3-A NCISAA all-state honors after batting .461 with 10 doubles, three triples, four home runs and 25 RBIs in 25 games as a junior in 2003 ... Had a .568 on-base percentage and an .829 slugging percentage ... Helped lead Wesleyan Academy to a 20-5 record and a berth in the finals of the 3-A NCISAA state playoffs ... Went 7-3 with a 1.97 ERA on the mound ... Allowed 38 hits, walked 29 and struck out 96 in 60 1/3 innings ... Was team co-MVP along with fellow NC State signee Travis High ... Ranked as the No. 13 prospect in the state by Baseball America and Perfect Game USA ... Played in the 2002 State Games of North Carolina ... 0Was selected for the 2003 State Games, but did not participate because of an injury ... Also recruited by Duke.
Travis High ... RHP ... 6-2 ... 175 ... R/R ... Wesleyan Christian Academy ... Kernersville, N.C. Earned all-conference and 3-A NCISAA all-state honors after posting an 8-1 record and a 0.90 ERA as a junior in 2003 ... Worked 69 2/3 innings, allowing 40 hits, walking 23 and striking out 73 ... Batted .333 with seven doubles, five triples, one home run and nine RBIs as a hitter ... Helped lead Wesleyan Academy to a 20-5 record and a berth in the finals of the 3-A NCISAA state playoffs ... Ranked as the No. 177 prospect in the country by Baseball America and Perfect Game USA ... Listed at No. 185 by Team One Baseball ... Ranked as the No. 2 prospect in North Carolina by Baseball America and Perfect Game USA ... Also recruited by Duke, Wake Forest and Stanford.
Matt Mangini ... INF ... 6-4 ... 210 ... L/R ... Apex High School ... Holly Springs, N.C. Batted .458 with seven doubles, one triple, seven home runs and 24 RBIs in 18 games as a junior in 2003 ... Had an on-base percentage of .542 and a slugging percentage of .875 ... Earned all-conference in the Tri-7 4-A Conference ... Earned team MVP honors ... Was an all-conference selection as a sophomore in 2002 ... Ranked the No. 28 prospect in the state by Baseball America and Perfect Game USA ... Also recruited by Clemson.
Matt Payne ... RHP/SS ... 6-2 ... 175 ... R/R ... Alexander Central High School ... Hiddenite, N.C. One of the top high school pitchers in North Carolina ... Ranked the No. 8 prospect in the state by Baseball America and Perfect Game USA ... Went 7-1 with a save and a 1.22 ERA as a junior in 2003 ... Struck out 80 and walked 23 in 51 2/3 innings pitched ... Allowed 21 hits ... Went 5-1 in conference play ... Batted .403 with one homer and 14 RBIs as an infielder when he wasn't pitching ... Was a first-team all-conference selection in the Northwestern 4-A Conference ... Helped lead Alexander Central to an 18-7 overall record and an 8-4 overall mark Attended the 2003 Impact Baseball Showcase at Chapel Hill and played for Region 7 in the State Games of North Carolina ... Also recruited by North Carolina, South Carolina and Clemson.
