JAG BASEBALL RECRUITING CLASS RANKED NO. 25 BY COLLEGIATE BASEBALL

TUCSON, Ariz. – The University of South Alabama baseball 2017 recruiting class was ranked No. 25 in the nation by Collegiate Baseball, the organization announced Wednesday.

Student-athletes who signed letters of intent, but then signed professional contracts following the 2017 Major League Baseball Draft were not considered in Collegiate Baseball's overall evaluation. Only the student-athletes who enrolled in school this fall were factored.

South Alabama ranked 25th out of 40 schools in Collegiate Baseball's recruiting rankings, and was the lone Sun Belt Conference school to make the list. The Jaguars signed 14 student-athletes to NLIs last fall, including two who were selected in the 2017 MLB Draft.

Right-handed pitcher JoJo Booker was selected in the fifth round (145th overall) of the draft by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim out of T.R. Miller High School in Brewton, Ala. He earned class 3A first-team all-state honors in his final two seasons by the Alabama Sports Writers Association (ASWA), including his junior year in which he recorded 107 strikeouts and a 1.54 ERA.

Catcher Hunter Brittain, a teammate of Booker's at T.R. Miller High School in Brewton, was selected in the 15th round (445th overall) of the 2017 draft by the Angels. Brittain earned class 3A second-team all-state honors from the ASWA as a senior last season, and earned first-team all-state accolades as a sophomore and junior.

The Jaguar recruiting class consisted of eight high school student-athletes and six who planned on joining the program via transfer from either junior college or another four-year institution last fall, with nine of the signees listed as pitchers.

"It's a huge honor for us to be ranked in the top 25," USA head coach Mark Calvi said. "It gives the program notoriety, and brings some attention to the university and the baseball program; we're proud of that. We have had some past classes that probably should have been ranked. To me, it's great that the program is recognized and the student-athletes get recognition and that's really where it starts and stops. It's a ranking and we're thankful for it, but the most important thing is how they do on the field. The whole coaching staff from top to bottom worked tirelessly. We didn't work any harder on this class than we have any other class since we've been here. Recruiting is being at the right place at the right time, getting some breaks – we caught a break or two with the (MLB) draft this year. We had two decent draft picks show up, and that puts you over the hump there. We signed some really good junior college players as well. But this year having JoJo (Booker), the second-highest drafted player to go to school from this year's draft, and (Hunter) Brittain being a 15th rounder in there obviously helped.

"The effort from the coaching staff – Bob Keller, Chris Prothro, Alan Luckie and Andrew Carden – it's a total team effort. The three of us, Bob, Chris and myself, go out on the road but then we bring them in and there are so many moving parts to an official visit. We have had some success and we're trending in the right direction with facilities, you just have to keep working hard. The bottom line is how well they jell. Recruiting is filling needs and trying to avoid being bad on the mound and in the infield. That's been a staple of our recruiting approach. We want to get the best arms that we can and play great defense. We've had some kids grow up in the program, like Jordan Patterson, and you can see that next wave of high school kids – the Cole Billingsleys, the Jared Barneses – really helped put us on the map and achieve the right trajectory as a program that you want to be trending upward and not staying the same or going backward. Some of the guys who were here five or six years ago laid a lot of the bricks for these guys to say, 'Hey, South is a place where I want to go and I like the direction they're going in, the players and facilities they have and it's only getting better.' A lot of those guys paved the way for this next resurgence, and we're proud. Somebody notices your work, and now you have to do it on the field."

Vanderbilt was voted as having the nation's top recruiting class, followed by Florida, South Carolina, Arizona State and LSU to round out the top five.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with USAJaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at Twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the Dugout Club, the baseball specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund. Members enjoy all games from inside the Stadium Club with climate control, private restrooms, private concessions and access to listen to the radio broadcast. All donations to the Dugout Club go directly to support the South Alabama baseball program. For more information on how you can join visit: jaguarathleticfund.com/dugoutclub.

—USA—

2017 Collegiate Baseball Recruiting Rankings
1. Vanderbilt
2. Florida
3. South Carolina
4. Arizona St.
5. Louisiana St.
6. Arkansas
7. Oklahoma St.
8. Auburn
9. Kentucky
10. Michigan
11. Clemson
12. Oklahoma
13. Miami, Fla.
14. Florida St.
15. Georgia Tech.
16. Central Florida
17. Florida International
18. UCLA
19. U.C. Santa Barbara
20. Texas Christian
21. Texas A&M
22. North Carolina
23. Louisville
24. Mississippi St.
25. South Alabama
26. Virginia
27. Cal. St. Fullerton
28. Texas
29. Southern California
30. Coastal Carolina
31. Arizona
32. Stanford
33. San Diego St.
34. U.C. Riverside
35. Oregon
36. Oregon St.
37. New Mexico St.
38. East Carolina
39. Maryland
40. Cal. St. Northridge

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