NEW ORLEANS, La. - The New Orleans Privateers baseball team added eight new signees for the recruiting class of 2015 and heavily bolstered the pitching staff in the fall period announced the University Athletic Department on Monday.
Of the eight signees, five are pitchers and two more are projected to be two-way players. The coaching staff stated, "Our biggest area that we needed to address was pitching. We are losing several arms this year so we needed to bring a well-rounded group of pitchers in. Each student-athlete we have brought in has high character, competitiveness, and a will to get better each day."
Coach
Ron Maestri stated about the incoming class in total, "I feel like the coaches have done a good job and I feel good about the kids we signed."
James Skoda, a transfer from Southern Union in Alabama and Ben Koff of Newbury, Fla. are the two players the coaching staff expects to contribute both on the mound and at the plate. Skoda attended Pensacola State College where he red-shirted before transferring to Southern Union. At New Orleans, Skoda is expected to contend for a spot in the outfield along with filling a role in the back end of the bullpen.
Koff is rated in the top 100 in the state of Florida as a pitcher and is on the 2015 National Follow List. He was on the All-Area Team in 2014 and was named to the '14 Perfect Game WWBA All-Tournament Team. As an outfielder, Koff is ranked 14
th in the state of Florida.
The Privateers also signed one New Orleans area product in Jesuit's Scott Crabtree. Last season, Crabtree made All-District while hitting .356. In the summer during Legion ball, Crabtree led his team with a .429 average.
Adding to the arms for next season, the Privateers also signed Cole Gray out of Mississippi. Gray had a 1.88 ERA last season and was a first team All-District selection each of the last two years. Gray was described by the coaching staff as fitting the typical pitcher's mold at 6'3" 215 pounds.
The Privateers also went to the Sunshine State to sign Riley Hodge out of Pensacola. Hodge is currently playing for Jefferson Davis CC. At Tate HS in Cantonment, Fla., Hodge had a 0.94 ERA in his senior year and was selected to play in the North Florida All-Star Game. In the summer of 2014 he went 3-0 with a 1.83 ERA for West Palm Beach of the South Florida Collegiate League.
Also, a pair of left-handed pitchers is set to join the staff next year in Bryan Warzek and John King. A native of New York, Warzek is a three-year letter winner at Shenendehowa High School. He is undefeated as a varsity starter, going 14-0 between 2013 and 2014. Warzek also won the state playoff MVP award last season.
King is a junior college transfer from Angelina College in Lufkin, Texas and one of two pitchers who will transfer from Angelina. As a freshman, King started nine games and had an ERA of 4.14 with 34 strikeouts in 45.2 innings over nine starts. Also, coming over from Angelina is RHP Zach Wilson.
COACHING STAFF QUOTESRiley Hodge- RHP Pensacola, Fla.- "We think Riley will come in immediately and impact our weekend rotation. He is a high character team player that we are excited to have. We are looking for big things out of Riley next year. He's the type of player that makes everyone around him better."
Ben Koff- OF/RHP Newbury, Fla.- "We are turning to Ben to play both ways. His velocity has increased since this summer and we are excited to use him as a starter when he gets to campus. He has a three-pitch repertoire that will allow him to compete and do well in our conference. As an outfielder he can cover ground well enough to play CF and he might contend at 3B defensively too."
James Skoda- RHP Grand Bay, Ala.- "Jae is another guy who has the potential to play both positions as an OF/RHP. We are looking for him to fill in the back end of our bullpen. The thing we like most about Jae is that he is very aggressive in everything he does. We know he will bring a strong work-ethic in all aspects: the classroom, weight room, and baseball field."
Bryan Warzek- LHP Clifton Park, N.Y.- "Left-handed pitching was one of the areas we wanted to improve upon. The first year we got here we only had two left-handed pitchers and this year we only have three. So bringing in another LHP was a priority of ours. Bryan excels at holding runners and he has a very good pick-off move. We feel comfortable using him in any role and we are looking for him to pitch a lot of quality innings as a freshman."
Cole Gray- RHP Meridian, Miss.- "Cole fits the typical pitcher's mold at 6'3" 215. He is very raw but has tremendous upside. He has good angle to his fastball and has been the ace on every staff he has pitched on. He is a guy we project in the end to be a starter for us."
Scott Crabtree- 3B/OF New Orleans, La.- "Scott is a hometown guy. He is a physically strong kid who we are looking for to produce offensively for us. Scott had a very good summer and took his team to the American Legion Mid-South Regional. Scott is going to compete at both LF and 3B positions."
Zach Wilson- RHP Katy, Texas- "Zach is a right-handed pitcher who pounds the strike zone. He commands all of his pitches and will throw any pitch in any count. Zach is that prototypical guy you can count on in any situation. He is the type of player that can pitch well as a starter and out of the bullpen because he knows how to control a game."
John King- LHP Missouri City, Texas- "John is the second left-handed pitcher we have added. He is looking to be one of the weekend arms at Angelina College this year and we are going to look for him to be one of our weekend arms as well during his tenure here. John is a competitor who we hope can win us many games in the future."
