BATON ROUGE — The LSU baseball program announced Wednesday the signing of 20 players — 16 high school all-stars and four JUCO prospects — to national letters-of-intent during the fall recruiting period. The signees will be eligible to compete for the Tigers in the 2006-07 academic year.
The class includes 10 pitchers and 10 position players, and 12 of the signees are Louisiana prospects.
“We feel like this class addresses our needs, and it is a very talented group,” LSU coach Smoke Laval said. “With the classes we’ve signed the past two years, we believe we’re building a very strong foundation for the future.”
LSU’s last signing class was rated No. 5 in the nation earlier this fall by Collegiate Baseball magazine.
The pitchers announced Wednesday include left-hander Shane Ardoin of Sacred Heart High School in Ville Platte, La.; right-hander Ragan Baker of Evangel High School in Shreveport, La.; right-hander Kellen Bozeman of Parkview Baptist High School in Baton Rouge; right-hander Jared Bradford of Shelton State (Tenn.) Community College; left-hander Blake Dean of Crestview (Fla.) High School; right-hander T.J. Forrest of Haughton (La.) High School; right-hander Troy Grundy of the College of Southern Idaho; right-hander Matt Jackson of Haughton (La.) High School; right-hander Tony Sedlmeyer of Snider High School in Fort Wayne, Ind.; and right-hander Kye Wilson of Franklin Parish (La.) High School.
The position players joining the LSU program include infielder Ryan Adams of Jesuit High School in New Orleans; outfielder Lee Haydel of Riverside Academy in Reserve, La.; outfielder Jamie Johnson of West Ouachita (La.) High School; infielder Stephen King of Winter Park High School in Orlando, Fla.; infielder Jason Lewis of Chipola (Fla.) College; infielder Milton Loo of Yavapai (Ariz.) College; catcher Sean Ochinko of Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.; first baseman Jacob Rhodes of Haughton (La.) High School; infielder Ryan Schimpf of St. Paul’s High School in Covington, La.; and outfielder Toddrick Stevenson of Walker (La.) High School.
Baker is a two-time all-district selection at Evangel, and he was 10-2 with a 2.04 ERA and 71 strikeouts as a sophomore in 2004. Bozeman is an all-state infielder who has helped lead Parkiew Baptist to consecutive state titles in 2004 and 2005. He is also a linebacker and kicker for the Parkview football team.
Grundy was a 2005 first-team all-conference pitcher at the College of Southern Idaho, recording a 1.82 ERA with 85 strikeouts. Jackson is an all-district hurler at Haughton High, and he has helped lead his baseball and football teams to district titles.
Sedlmeyer is an all-state pitcher at Snider High, recording a 6-2 record last season with a 1.23 ERA, 65 strikeouts and 12 walks. Wilson earned 2005 all-state honors at Franklin Parish High, recording a 6-3 mark with a 3.37 ERA, 90 strikeouts and 32 walks.
Adams, an all-state shortstop, was instrumental in Jesuit’s drive to the 2005 Class 5A state title. He delivered crucial home runs in the Blue Jays’ semifinal win over Southwood and in the championship game victory over Destrehan.
Haydel earned 2005 all-state recognition at Riverside Academy, batting .393 (44-for-112) with nine doubles, three triples, seven homers, 22 RBI, 40 runs and 18 stolen bases. Johnson, an all-state performer, helped lead West Ouachita High to the 2005 Class 4A state title. He hit .538 and launched five homers during the season.
King earned 2005 Florida all-state honors, batting .524 for Winter Park High. Loo batted .404 (65-for-161) at Yavapai College last season with 14 doubles, six triples, five homers, 38 RBI, 44 runs and 21 stolen bases.
Ochinko batted .407 with four homers, 10 doubles and 33 RBI last season, earning all-county recognition at Douglas High. Rhodes, an all-state performer at Haughton High, hit .520 in American Legion play this summer with six homers and 42 RBI.
Schimpf was a 2005 all-district and all-parish selection at St. Paul’s, batting .392 with nine homers and 43 RBI. Stevenson hit .411 last season at Walker High with four homers and 36 RBI.
Name
Pos.
B-T
Ht.
Wt.
Cl.
Exp.
Hometown (Previous School)
Ryan Adams
INF
R-R
5-11
175
Fr.
HS
Mandeville, La. (Jesuit HS)
P
L-L
6-1
155
Fr.
HS
Ville Platte, La. (Sacred Heart HS)
P
R-R
6-4
200
Fr.
HS
Shreveport, La. (Evangel HS)
P/INF
R-R
5-10
170
Fr.
HS
Baton Rouge, La. (Parkview Baptist HS)
P
R-R
6-2
175
Jr.
JC
Hueytown, Ala. (Shelton State CC)
P/OF
L-L
6-1
180
Fr.
HS
Crestview, Fla. (Crestview HS)
P
R-R
6-5
165
Fr.
HS
Benton, La. (Haughton HS)
Troy Grundy
P
R-R
6-1
200
Jr.
JC
Helper, Utah (College of Southern Idaho)
Lee Haydel
OF
L-R
5-11
170
Fr.
HS
Reserve, La. (Riverside Academy)
P
R-R
6-3
170
Fr.
HS
Haughton, La. (Haughton HS)
Jamie Johnson
OF/P
L-R
5-9
174
Fr.
HS
Calhoun, La. (West Ouachita HS)
Stephen King
INF
R-R
6-3
193
Fr.
HS
Orlando, Fla. (Winter Park HS)
UTIL
R-R
5-10
200
Jr.
JC
Crawfordville, Fla. (Chipola JC)
Milton Loo
INF
R-R
6-0
175
Jr.
JC
Molokai, Hi. (Yavapai JC)
C
R-R
5-10
195
Fr.
HS
Parkland, Fla. (Douglas HS)
Jacob Rhodes
1B
R-R
6-3
215
Fr.
HS
Haughton, La. (Haughton HS)
INF
L-R
5-10
180
Fr.
HS
Covington, La. (St. Paul’s HS)
Tony Sedlmeyer
P
R-R
6-1
195
Fr.
HS
Fort Wayne, Ind. (Snider HS)
Toddrick Stevenson
OF
R-R
5-9
175
Fr.
HS
Walker, La. (Walker HS)
Kye Wilson
P
R-R
6-1
220
Fr.
HS
Wisner, La. (Franklin Parish HS)