Florida Baseball Announces 2004 Early Signing Class
Wednesday, November 10, 2004 | Baseball
Five pitchers and five position players highlight the 2004-05 recruiting class for the University of Florida baseball program. Head coach Pat McMahon announced Wednesday that 10 student-athletes have signed national letters of intent and will play baseball for the Gators beginning in the 2006 season.
"We feel that we signed some quality individuals who will excel on and off the field," McMahon said. "We have filled immediate needs by adding outstanding offensive players and pitchers with a chance to contribute right away. We worked extremely hard to achieve positional and class balance and we continue to take positive steps in that direction."
"Nine of the 10 players signing with us today are from the state of Florida," McMahon said. "This shows the commitment by our program in making our home state the recruiting base, while we continue to recruit on a national scale as well. This class improves our pitching depth tremendously and provides increased speed and power to our lineup. A number of these players will be able to help us immediately during the 2006 season. It is certainly an exciting time for Gator baseball."
The class includes five pitchers, four right-handed and one left-handed. Florida added right-handers Michael Allen (Jacksonville, Fla./Arlington Country Day School), Patrick Keating (Harrisburg, Ill./Harrisburg), Jarrod Langlois (Jacksonville, Fla./Bartram Trail) and Chas Spottswood (Key West, Fla./Key West). The southpaw signing with the Gators was J.K. LaCoste (Jacksonville, Fla./Paxon School for Advanced Studies).
The five position players added were outfielder/left-handed pitcher John Matulia (Eustis, Fla./Eustis), outfielder Andrew McCutchen (Fort Meade, Fla./Fort Meade), catcher Cody Neer (Orlando, Fla./Edgewater), shortstop/second baseman Clayton Pisani (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier) and shortstop/second baseman Drew Thompson (Jupiter, Fla./Jupiter).
RIGHT-HANDED PITCHERS
Allen went 8-2 on the mound for Arlington Country Day School last season, finishing with a 1.30 ERA in 76 innings. An honorable mention all-state selection for the Apaches, he also batted .400 with eight homers and 21 runs batted in for head coach Scott Hennessey's club. As a sophomore, Allen compiled an 8-1 mark with a scant 1.10 ERA in 60 innings, while hitting .350, to collect honorable mention first-team all-city honors. This past summer, he competed for the Mountaineer Hitmen in West Virginia.
Keating has enjoyed an outstanding tenure on the mound over the past two seasons for Harrisburg High School, leading the Bulldogs to the state championship in 2004 and a runner-up showing in 2003. As a junior, he was 10-1 with a 1.31 ERA and he recorded 103 strikeouts in 80 innings for head coach Joe Thompson. Finishing 35-5 overall, Harrisburg seized the conference, sectional, super-sectional and Class A hardware. The righty certainly did his part, claiming 21 straight victories over two seasons, the seventh-longest winning streak in Illinois history. Chosen as the 2004 Co-Baseball Player of the Year by the Southern Illinoisan and named to the Chicago Tribune's All-State Team, Keating pitched 11 of his squad's 21 innings at the state tournament and was selected as the event's all-tourney hurler. In addition, he was chosen to participate in the 2004 Jack Kaiser Memorial All-Star Game by the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association and was a first-team All-South honoree by the organization. Representing the Southern Illinois Bullets last summer, Keating was a perfect 8-0 and collected four saves as his team captured six of seven tournaments in which it participated. He was the winning pitcher in the championship game of the U.S. Congress Wooden Bat World Series.
During his sophomore campaign, Keating established a school record for lowest ERA (1.01) on his way to an unblemished 13-0 record. He fired the second perfect game in school history, had three no-hitters and authored six shutouts as HHS blazed to a 40-2 mark. In the 2003 state tournament, he set new standards for the fewest hits allowed when pitching a complete game (two) and tied records for fewest runs and earned runs allowed in a complete-game effort (zero). The only sophomore pitcher recognized on the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association Class A All-State Team, Keating garnered first-team All-South and first-team all-conference distinction. A standout for the Bulldogs on the gridiron, he made all-conference on both offense as a running back and defense as a lineman.
A first-team all-county selection at Bartram Trail High School, Langlois helped the Bears to a district championship last spring after turning in an 8-1 ledger. Coached by Tony Sowers, the right-hander registered a 0.92 ERA and fanned 43 batters in 38 innings as his team finished 21-7.
Spottswood helped Key West High School and head coach Ralph Henriquez to the district championship last spring and was tabbed as an All-Tournament Scholastic Player at the prestigious Westminster National Baseball Classic. Ranked as the 14th-best prospect in Florida and the No. 67 prospect in the nation by Baseball America, he represented the Florida Bombers in the Connie Mack World Series.
LEFT-HANDED PITCHER
LaCoste led the Paxon School for Advanced Studies with 101 strikeouts in 73 innings last spring and claimed the Golden Eagles' Triple Crown by pacing the club in batting average (.469), runs batted in (28) and homers (five). Chosen to the Florida Times-Union First Coast third team, he was an honorable mention choice by the Gateway Conference. LaCoste is the first Paxon player in Jerry Holland's five years as head coach to earn a scholarship offer. Under the guidance of former Gator pitcher Doug Corbett, LaCoste won a gold medal at the Sunshine Games as a member of the Jacksonville Bandits. While competing for the Jacksonville Warriors of the Florida Connie Mack League, he pitched the semifinal matchup as his team claimed the World Youth Classic in Binghamton, N.Y.
POSITION PLAYERS
A two-time all-state selection for head coach Chet Lemon at Eustis High School, Matulia played a key role in the Panthers' run to the 2003 3A state championship. In '04, he led EHS with a .430 batting average and 15 stolen bases on his way to becoming a first-team all-area, all-county and all-district pick. On the mound, he was 6-1 with a 2.33 ERA. During his sophomore season, Matulia hit a team-high .450 and earned a spot on the all-state tournament team as his club brought home the state crown. As a member of Chet Lemon's Juice, the outfielder collected a gold medal for the East at the 2003 USA Baseball Junior Olympic Baseball Championship and was voted as the Most Valuable Player of the World Wood Bat Association Underclassmen Showcase that October. His father, Mike, is the athletic director and head baseball coach at Lake Sumpter (Fla.) Community College.
Tied for the number one spot as the top 2005 prospect at the National Upperclassmen Showcase according to the Perfect Game USA Scouting Service, McCutchen was a first-team all-state selection at Fort Meade High School. One of 40 rising seniors who were chosen to the 2004 AFLAC All-American Baseball Classic that was played on Aug. 6 at Cal Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen, Md., McCutchen went 4-for-5 for the East. As a junior for head coach Jeff Tofanelli, he hit an eye-popping .569, set the county stolen base record with 44 thefts and helped the Miners to their first district championship and initial appearance in the state semifinals. McCutchen was a member of Team Florida and was chosen all-tournament in a pair of events last summer. On the track, he helped the Fort Meade 4x100 relay team to a state title during his freshman year.
Rated as one of Team One Baseball's top catchers, Neer was a 2004 second-team all-state choice as Edgewater High School who helped secure a third-place finish for the Eagles at the state tournament. Also chosen All-Orange County and all-district playing for head coach Chip Gierke, Neer hit a sizzling .542 and paced his squad in runs batted in (43) and home runs (nine). During his sophomore campaign, he was an honorable mention all-state, all-county and all-district honoree after batting .375 and driving in a team-high 37 runs. His summer league team was the Dallas Panthers.
A second-team Class 5A all-state selection, Pisani has proven to be a double threat for head coach Ted Parsons at Barron Collier High School. A first-team All-Collier County and all-district choice, Pisani batted .330 last season and was 9-0 on the mound with a 1.02 ERA. His efforts were instrumental in the Cougars winning the district championship and taking first place at the Bob Adamson and Bud Roth tournaments. Pisani was tabbed as the Most Valuable Player of the Bob Adamson event. He was a member of the Southwest Florida Scout Team that emerged victorious at several tourneys, including the Team One Showcase Invitational.
A first-team All-Palm Beach County Conference recipient who was voted as Jupiter High School's Best Defensive Player in 2004, Thompson helped head coach Doug Ferguson's team to the District 5A championship by hitting .357 and scoring a team-leading 30 runs. As a sophomore, he received the Warriors' Rookie of the Year Award after leading the squad with a .475 clip on their way to the District 4A title. He is the son of former Gator Robby Thompson, an 11-year Major League veteran who was an All-Star and a Gold Glove winner while playing for the San Francisco Giants. The younger Thompson was a member of the Yellow Jackets of the Connie Mack League and was named one of the top 50 prospects by the Perfect Game USA Scouting Service.
2004 FLORIDA BASEBALL SIGNEES
| Signee | HT | WT | B/T | Hometown/Previous School |
| Michael Allen | 6-3 | 210 | R/R | Jacksonville, Fla./Arlington Country Day School |
| Patrick Keating | 6-3 | 205 | R/R | Harrisburg, Ill./Harrisburg H.S. |
| J.K. LaCoste | 6-4 | 185 | R/L | Jacksonville, Fla./Paxon School for Advanced Studies |
| Jarrod Langlois | 6-3 | 180 | R/R | Jacksonville, Fla./Bartram Trail H.S. |
| John Matulia | 6-0 | 175 | L/L | Eustis, Fla./Eustis H.S. |
| Andrew McCutchen | 5-11 | 170 | R/R | Fort Meade, Fla./Fort Meade H.S. |
| Cody Neer | 6-4 | 225 | S/R | Orlando, Fla./Edgewater H.S. |
| Clayton Pisani | 6-1 | 180 | R/R | Naples, Fla./Baron Collier H.S. |
| Chas Spottswood | 6-4 | 180 | R/R | Key West, Fla./Key West H.S. |
| Drew Thompson | 6-0 | 165 | L/R | Jupiter, Fla./Jupiter H.S. |
-UF-
