GREENSBORO, NC – UNC Greensboro baseball coach Mike Gaski has announced the signing of 11 high school student-athletes to National Letters of Intent during the signing period this month, including several highly touted recruits.
“This may be our best recruiting class in this history of our program,” said Gaski. “It is a talented class and is certainly wide-ranging from a position standpoint. We signed three strong pitchers, two outstanding catchers, along with four infielders and two outfielders. On the whole, we believe that this class will be able to contribute almost immediately when they take the field in 2008.”
The highlight of the class may be catcher Shawn Zarraga from Boynton Beach, FL. Zarraga, a right-handed hitter who stands in at 6-2 and 210 lbs., hit .714 last season for Trinity Christian High School. He is regarded as one of the Top 10 high school catchers in the country and a Top 150 player by both PG Crosschecker and Baseball America. Entering his senior season, he has a chance to bat .600 for his Trinity Christian career.
Below are brief biographies on each of the UNCG signees:
UNCG BASEBALL SIGNEES (WILL ENROLL IN FALL 2007):
Christopher Berroa, CF, 6-1/180, Pennsauken, NJ, Pennsauken
HS
East Coast Professional Showcase invitee... ranked a Top 250 player
nationally by PG Crosschecker and Top 25 in the Northeast by
Perfect Game USA... possesses a great combination of speed and
hitting ability. Was clocked in the at 6.54 during the East Coast
Professional Showcase... three-year letterman at Pennsauken HS in
southern New Jersey... career batting average of .457 with 20
doubles, nine triples and nine home runs at Pennsauken... played
for the Tri-State Arsenal this past fall.
John Cucchiarella, 2B, 5-10/160, Katonah, NY, Somers HS
A three-year letterman at Somers High School... right-handed
hitting middle infielder at Somers HS, where he batted .403 last
year, tops in his section and earned all-league honors... played
for the South Florida Bandits last fall.
Joey Frabasile, 3B, 6-2/185, Hartsdale, NY, Fordham Prep
Ranked by one recruiting service as the 115th best player in the
Northeast... boasted a .395 batting average last season at Fordham
Prep with three home runs, 10 doubles and producing 30 RBI...
enters his senior season with a career batting average of .600 at
Fordham Prep... also played for the South Florida Bandits last
fall.
Drew Gehringer, CF, 5-10/160, Matthews, NC, Butler HS
Participated in the State Games of North Carolina as an
underclassman representing Region 6 in his junior year, running a
6.58 in the 60-yard dash... while attending Butler, Gehringer has
become the first player in school history to letter each of the
first three years and start in every game... enters his senior
season hitting better than .300 for his career... batted .340 in
his junior year after hitting .300 as a sophomore... played for the
On Deck O’s this past fall.
Wes McBride, RHP, 6-1/210, Lewisville, NC. West Forsyth HS
Local product with a career ERA under 2.00 at West Forsyth HS... as
a junior, McBride went 3-0 on the mound with two saves and a 1.35
ERA... that followed up a 5-1 mark with two saves recording a 1.87
ERA as a sophomore... played for the Dirtbags last fall.
Raymond Quinones, SS, 6-0/170, New York, NY, George Washington
HS
2006 Perfect Game National invitee... ranked in the Top 100
Position Players and in the Top 350 overall nationally by PG
Crosschecker... regarded as the top player from the state of New
York by PG Crosschecker... hit .561 last year with a .647 on-base
percentage... slugged three home runs and two triples; also scored
22 runs and stole 13 bases, while driving in 21 RBI.. played for
College Select last fall.
Greg Smith, RHP, 5-11/180, Manorville, NY, Eastport HS
Helped lead his team to a Long Island Class A championship last
spring... went 10-2 on the mound with a save and a 1.01 earned run
average... recorded 103 strikeouts in 83 innings for Eastport last
season...earned all-league and All-Long Island honors and was named
the Suffolk League VI MVP during his championship run... also led
Eastport in hitting with a .393 batting average and 36 runs
scores... also played third base at Eastport and earned Class A
all-state honors last year (one of two juniors named to the
squad)... played for the South Florida Bandits this past fall.
Michael Wall, 2B, 5-11/180, Rural Hall, NC, North Forsyth HS
Local product who helped lead North Forsyth to an undefeated
regular season... hit .420 with nine doubles, a triple and two home
runs... drove in 15 runs and stole 12 bases as well to earn
all-conference honors... part of a team that won 30 straight games,
which was the longest undefeated streak in North Carolina... was a
State Games Participant in 2006... played for the North Carolina
Baseball Academy this past fall.
Keith Weinkofsky, C/1B, 6-3/225, Oakhurst, NJ, Ocean Township
HS
2006 Perfect Game National invitee... prototype catcher that is
ranked a Top 100 Position Player (95) in the country by PG
Crosschecker... earned second-team all-state honors last
year... set several school records with 11 home runs, 33 runs
scored and drawing 33 walks last season; batted .427 for the season
with 11 doubles and 33 RBI... has belted 19 home runs in his
career... regarded as one of the top players from the state of New
Jersey... played for the South Florida Bandits in the fall of
2006.
James White, RHP, 6-0/190, Clendenin, WV, Herbert Hoover HS
Hard-throwing right-handed pitcher at Herbert Hoover HS in West
Virginia... has a career record of 18-2 at Herbert Hoover HS with
an ERA of 1.23... last season, was a perfect 9-0 with a 2.73 ERA,
striking out 55 in 51-1/3 innings of work... has thrown two
no-hitters in his high school career, logging 134 strikeouts in 177
innings of work... also a three-year letterwinner in football and
plays basketball... ranked No. 1 in his class academically...
played for the Atlanta Braves Scout club team last fall.
Shawn Zarraga, C, 6-2/210, Boynton Beach, FL, Trinity Christian
HS
2006 Perfect Game National invitee... headlines the
recruiting class as one of the top catchers in the nation by
combining excellent catch and throw abilities, speed, hitting
ability, and power... prototype catcher ranked as the seventh-best
catcher in the nation by PG Crosschecker and as a Top 150 player
overall (118) by PG Crosschecker and Baseball America... last
season at Trinity Christian, where he also plays third base, he
batted .714 (no one else in the county hit close to .600) with
three home runs to earn all-county and all-state honors...
also had 30 RBI and 12 stolen bases in 23 games... was the Class
3a, 2a, 1a Player of the Year for Palm Beach County... earned
first-team all-state honors even as a freshman when he batted
.569... also is a goalkeeper for Trinity Christian’s soccer
team, recording 13 shutouts as a junior... played for the South
Florida Bandits this past fall.
- UNCG -