Miami Ohio University Athletics
Miami University Baseball Announces Seven Early Signees
11/17/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Nov. 17, 2005
OXFORD, Ohio -- Miami University head baseball coach Dan Simonds announced today the seven student-athletes who have signed National Letters of Intent during the early signing period to play baseball at Miami beginning in the fall of 2006. The seven-member group is comprised of four pitchers, two outfielders and one infielder, and is ripe with size and speed, both on the mound and in the field.
"We will be losing some key members of our pitching staff next year, as well as a couple of our more experienced position players. We felt like we had to identify and aggressively pursue the best arms and athletes available. With the talent level of these seven student-athletes, we feel we have addressed our needs. Potentially, all seven recruits could have an immediate impact in our program. We are excited about working with and developing these young men, not only as players but as individuals," said Simonds.
Tim Cross (Walled Lake, Mich./Walled Lake Central) is a six-foot-two, 185-pound outfielder who was a second-team all-state selection in Michigan as a junior, in addition to being an academic all-state pick.
"Tim impressed us with his combination of speed and power, not to mention his outstanding academic record," said Simonds. "He is a prototypical leadoff hitter and is a tremendous outfielder. He reminds us a lot of former Miami standout Clark Mace (1998-01)."
Chris Rodriguez (Chicago, Ill./Triton) will come to Miami after two years at Triton College in River Grove, Ill. In his first season at Triton, he batted .400 with 13 doubles and scored 40 runs for the Trojans. A tremendous athlete, the five-foot-11, 185-pound infielder was an all-state football player in high school.
"Chris is one of the fastest players we saw this summer. He is an athletically gifted player who will put pressure on defenses because of that speed. We can't wait to get him on campus and see how he progresses once he focuses solely on baseball," said Simonds.
Outfielder Jason Cisper (Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller) led Moeller High School to a state title as a sophomore in 2004 by hitting .489. The six-foot, 185-pound lefthanded hitter has twice been selected to the Greater Catholic League All-Conference Team.
"We feel Jason is one of the better hitting prospects in this area of Ohio," said Simonds. "He comes from a program with rich baseball tradition and has a chance to be a solid player at the Division I level."
The first of Miami's four pitchers is six-foot-two, 210-pound Reece Asbury (Centerville, Ohio/Centerville). Asbury pitched for the Midland Redskins last summer and boasts a 13-4 career record over three varsity seasons at Centerville High School.
"Reece has the ability to throw three pitches for strikes and has a true feel for how to pitch. He is a strong competitor and has had success at a very high level of play," said Simonds.
Righthanded pitcher Nick Kurash (Hinsdale, Ill./Hinsdale Central) spent last summer pitching for the Florida Bombers and helped the team to a 2005 National Wood Bat Championship. At five-foot-11 and 170 pounds, Kurash possesses a fastball that reaches the low 90s and was rated as the No. 2 college prospect in the state of Illinois by The Truth Prep Baseball Report. Most recently he was named by Baseball America as one of its top 300 prospects for the 2006 draft.
"Nick is one of the more highly-touted pitchers to come out of Illinois in the last couple years," said Simonds. "He throws a knuckle curve and a split finger to compliment his fastball and in many ways reminds us of John Ely. We are thrilled to have Nick joining our program next year."
Righthanded pitcher Chase Stewart (Trenton, Ohio/Edgewood) is the tallest of Miami's recruits at six-foot-seven. In 44.3 innings of work last season, Stewart fanned 45 batters and posted a 2.68 earned run average, while leading his team to a 22-7 record.
"Chase has as much potential as anyone we evaluated this year," said Simonds. "He has shown signs of a fastball in the upper 80s along with a solid breaking ball. He could be something special down the road."
The final early signee is righthanded pitcher Brandon Meister (Lincolnshire, Ill./Stevenson). Meister is six-foot-one and was recently named to the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association's list of top college prospects.
"Brandon impressed us at our fall prospect camp. He has a smooth delivery with a loose, quick arm," said Simonds. "He has shown the ability to throw three quality pitches. It will be interesting to watch Brandon improve as he matures physically."
Miami is the defending Mid-American Conference regular season and tournament champion. The RedHawks open the 2006 season on Feb. 25 when they travel to Greenville, S.C. for a three-game series with Furman.
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