Baseball's Incoming Recruiting Class Rated Top 15 by Baseball America
September 12, 2018 | Baseball
by: Greg Campbell, Assistant Director/Communications
STARKVILLE – For the ninth time since 2000, the Mississippi State baseball program has earned a spot in the Baseball American Recruiting Rankings. The Bulldogs 18-person incoming recruiting class was tabbed as the No. 12 class in the nation by the publication.
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The group of 18 newcomers is comprised of seven transfer student-athletes and 11 that joined straight from the high school ranks. Furthermore, the primary position breakdown features eight pitchers, eight position players and two utility (pitcher & position) student-athletes.
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"This is an impressive group of newcomers that we have welcomed to campus," said first-year head coach Chris Lemonis. "Recruiting coordinator Jake Gautreau and the coaching staff did an outstanding job of holding this recruiting class together. Our staff feels that this group of incoming student-athletes has a chance to make an impact for our program this season."
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The class includes four Bulldogs that were drafted in the 2018 Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft – JT Ginn (1st Round; Los Angeles Dodgers), Gunner Halter (26th Round; Cleveland Indians), Eric Cerantola (30th Round; Tampa Bay Rays) and Sam Knowlton (39th Round; Cincinnati Reds).
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Cerantola, Ginn and Knowlton are joined by Benjamin Bell, Hunter Blalock, Bryce Brock, Hayden Jones, Landon Jordan, Christian MacLeod, Brandon Smith and Basiel Williams as student-athletes arriving on campus straight from high school.
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Of the prep group, nine earned All-America honors following their senior seasons - Brock, Cerantola, Ginn, Jones, Jordan, Knowlton, MacLeod, Smith, Williams. The other two, Bell and Blalock, each earned all-state laurels during their final high school season.
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Halter is among the group of transfer student-athletes that also includes Tucker Childers, Jack Eagan, JP Elkins, Anthony Hickman, Tyler Spring and Colby White. That group includes one All-American (Halter), two NJCAA National Team selections (Childers & Spring), and three all-region picks (Childers, Eagan & Halter).
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Since Baseball American began ranking recruiting classes in 2000, Mississippi State has now been ranked on nine occasions. The No. 12 ranking marks the sixth time MSU has been ranked in the top 15, with its highest finish coming in 2000 (No. 3). Other top-15 rankings include 2009 (No. 8), 2011 (No. 14), 2013 (No. 9) and 2015 (No. 4).
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2018 Baseball America Top 25 Recruiting Class Rankings
1. LSU
2. Vanderbilt
3. Florida State
4. Louisville
5. Florida
6. UCLA
7. Texas A&M
8. Texas
9. Clemson
10. Miami (Fla.)
11. Virginia
12. Mississippi State
13. Arizona
14. USC
15. Alabama
16. Cal State Fullerton
17. Auburn
18. Texas Tech
19. FIU
20. TCU
21. South Carolina
22. North Carolina
23. Kentucky
24. Illinois
25. Coastal Carolina
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STARKVILLE – For the ninth time since 2000, the Mississippi State baseball program has earned a spot in the Baseball American Recruiting Rankings. The Bulldogs 18-person incoming recruiting class was tabbed as the No. 12 class in the nation by the publication.
Â
The group of 18 newcomers is comprised of seven transfer student-athletes and 11 that joined straight from the high school ranks. Furthermore, the primary position breakdown features eight pitchers, eight position players and two utility (pitcher & position) student-athletes.
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"This is an impressive group of newcomers that we have welcomed to campus," said first-year head coach Chris Lemonis. "Recruiting coordinator Jake Gautreau and the coaching staff did an outstanding job of holding this recruiting class together. Our staff feels that this group of incoming student-athletes has a chance to make an impact for our program this season."
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The class includes four Bulldogs that were drafted in the 2018 Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft – JT Ginn (1st Round; Los Angeles Dodgers), Gunner Halter (26th Round; Cleveland Indians), Eric Cerantola (30th Round; Tampa Bay Rays) and Sam Knowlton (39th Round; Cincinnati Reds).
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Cerantola, Ginn and Knowlton are joined by Benjamin Bell, Hunter Blalock, Bryce Brock, Hayden Jones, Landon Jordan, Christian MacLeod, Brandon Smith and Basiel Williams as student-athletes arriving on campus straight from high school.
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Of the prep group, nine earned All-America honors following their senior seasons - Brock, Cerantola, Ginn, Jones, Jordan, Knowlton, MacLeod, Smith, Williams. The other two, Bell and Blalock, each earned all-state laurels during their final high school season.
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Halter is among the group of transfer student-athletes that also includes Tucker Childers, Jack Eagan, JP Elkins, Anthony Hickman, Tyler Spring and Colby White. That group includes one All-American (Halter), two NJCAA National Team selections (Childers & Spring), and three all-region picks (Childers, Eagan & Halter).
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Since Baseball American began ranking recruiting classes in 2000, Mississippi State has now been ranked on nine occasions. The No. 12 ranking marks the sixth time MSU has been ranked in the top 15, with its highest finish coming in 2000 (No. 3). Other top-15 rankings include 2009 (No. 8), 2011 (No. 14), 2013 (No. 9) and 2015 (No. 4).
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2018 Baseball America Top 25 Recruiting Class Rankings
1. LSU
2. Vanderbilt
3. Florida State
4. Louisville
5. Florida
6. UCLA
7. Texas A&M
8. Texas
9. Clemson
10. Miami (Fla.)
11. Virginia
12. Mississippi State
13. Arizona
14. USC
15. Alabama
16. Cal State Fullerton
17. Auburn
18. Texas Tech
19. FIU
20. TCU
21. South Carolina
22. North Carolina
23. Kentucky
24. Illinois
25. Coastal Carolina
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