Fresno State Athletics
2004-05 Baseball Recruiting Class Ranked No. 17
9/30/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Sept. 30, 2004
Fresno, Calif. - The Fresno State baseball program's 2004-05 recruiting class has been ranked No. 17 in the nation, as announced by Collegiate Baseball newspaper on Thursday. For the last 22 years the publication has ranked the top recruiting classes of the 287 Division I baseball programs.
This year's 19-member class marks the second group during head coach Mike Batesole's two years at Fresno State that has garnered a top 20 ranking. This year is also the fifth year in a row that Batesole has produced a top 20 recruiting class, dating back to his last three years at Cal State Northridge.
"We go to see as many games, tournaments and showcases as possible," head coach Mike Batesole said. "We try to turn over every rock we can, because we understand that in order to return to being a top 20 program, we need to go out and get the top players."
"Our ability to attract such a fine recruiting class is a great reflection of the support from the Fresno community, the administration, the Dugout Club, and the alumni," Batesole said. "They really give our staff the necessary tools to go out there and get it done."
This year's recruiting class is focused mainly on pitchers. This is in contrast to the 2003-04 class which was filled with physical position players, such as 2004 Freshman All-Americans Christian Vitters and Nick Moresi and first round draft pick and All-American Richie Robnett. Loaded with great arms, this recruiting class is expected to battle for weekend starts, a tough proposition considering the team has three pitchers with 38 starts between them returning.
Jaime Arneson and Doug Fister both passed on offers from the San Francisco Giants to pitch for the Bulldogs this season. The left-handed Arneson was a ninth round draft pick and Fister was a Junior College All Star. Other top pitchers include Brandon Burke, who was second in San Diego County history in shutouts, and Ryan Penn, a Junior College All-American at Cerro Coso who finished last year with 99 strikeouts and only 12 walks.
The gem of the position players from this class is Beau Mills. Mills, a 6'3" infielder from Golden West High School in Visalia, Calif., was named a High School All-American and should see some time on the field this season.
Fresno State's ranking was the second highest in the WAC, just behind defending WAC champion Rice at No. 13. San Jose State and Nevada are WAC contenders who also gained consideration.
Collegiate Baseball's 2004-05 Top 20 Recruiting Rankings Team Recruits(Freshman,JC,Transfers)
1 Louisiana State 11 7 2 22 Arizona State 15 12 2 13 Texas 11 8 2 14 Oklahoma State 23 4 17 25 Tulane 12 9 1 26 Arizona 10 8 1 17 Miami 11 8 2 18 Pepperdine 15 12 3 09 South Carolina 15 7 8 010 Oklahoma 22 11 10 111 Stanford 7 7 0 012 Clemson 15 8 5 213 Rice 22 17 5 014 Texas A&M 12 9 1 215 CSU Fullerton 11 8 3 016 Nebraska 21 15 5 117 Fresno State 19 14 4 118 North Carolina 13 13 0 019 Vanderbilt 11 10 0 120 USC 13 11 2 0
