University of Memphis baseball head coach Daron Schoenrock has been hitting the recruiting trail hard this fall in an attempt to put the Tigers back on the right path after a dismal 13-42 season.
It's no secret that good players make good programs, and the second-year coach has already snagged six recruits for the 2007 campaign, two of which were highly coveted prospects.
Chris Kirkland, perhaps the prize of the class so far for the Tigers, was rated by Baseball America as a top 10 catcher coming out of high school in 2004. As a senior at South-Doyle High School in Knoxville, he hit .436 with nine home runs and 55 RBIs.
He signed with Alabama and hit .261 in 15 appearances in his freshman season with the Crimson Tide, but transferred to Chipola Junior College where he will play this spring before coming to Memphis in the fall of 2006.
"We went after a little bit of a higher profile type of player to fit some needs we have," said Tiger assistant coach Jerry Zulli. "(Chris is) one of the best catch-and-throw guys in the country."
The U of M also inked Gunter Delashmit, a much sought-after shortstop out of Covington High School. Delashmit earned all-state, all-area and all-region honors with the Chargers and hit .417 as a junior while leading his team to a 33-8 mark.
"Gunter is a phenomenal defensive player and a true shortstop," Zulli said. "His offensive attributes can get shortchanged sometimes because of his skills in the field."
Schoenrock said that both Kirkland and Delashmit were heavily recruited players who weren't lacking other schools with offers.
"(They) had a bunch of options," Schoenrock said. "They're two really talented kids."
Miami (Fla.), Kentucky and College of Charleston were just a few of the schools in the running for the services of Kirkland. In the end, he said it came down to the sincerity of the coaching staff at Memphis.
"They are good, genuine people," Kirkland said. "They care about me as a person as well as a ballplayer."
Schoenrock also added some left-handed bats to the lineup, something that had been missing last season, with the signings of Kyle Aldridge and Tyler Huelsing.
"We had a definite need of left-handed batters and we addressed that," Schoenrock said.
Aldridge, a likely outfielder for the Tigers, hit .413 with seven doubles at Olive Branch High School in 2004 while leading the team to a Class 5A state semifinal finish.
Huelsing, who should also play in the outfield for the Tigers, hit .458 with 28 RBIs last season at Munford High School.
Schoenrock expects Huelsing to have an immediate impact with the Tigers by providing a big bat in the middle of the lineup.
"He definitely has home run power," he said. "He's very physical."
The Tigers have not only gone after recruits that will help at the plate and in the field, they've also signed two pitchers thus far in the early signing period.
Dane Sharp, a hurler at Bartlett, posted an impressive 0.49 ERA along with 36 strikeouts and a perfect 4-0 record for the Panthers in 2005.
Sharp just celebrated his 16th birthday before the beginning of his senior year at Bartlett.
"He's a power pitcher, hard thrower and very young," Schoenrock said.
The Tigers also signed Dylan Cupples out of Dyer County High School. Cupples has a career record of 17-5 at DCHS with a 1.39 ERA.
He has also proved to have a potent bat, hitting .437 with 99 RBIs and 10 home runs through three seasons of high school.
Sharp and Cupples are not expected to have immediate impacts in 2007, according to Schoenrock, but they will see their roles grow as they get more experience at the collegiate level.
"I like the fact that they can throw pitches in the zone," he said. "But they are going to be developmental players."
Although each of the six recruits may bring different skills to the table, they all share one thing in common.
"They all had a strong desire to be Memphis Tigers," Schoenrock said. "They want to be a part of what we're doing here."
The fact that The U of M is coming off a 13-42 season didn't scare the recruits away, either.
"It's just in my nature to be an underdog," said Kirkland. "I love it. We've got nothing to lose."
