New UCLA baseball coach John Savage made a huge splash last week
before even managing his first game with the Bruins.
Savage inked 12 recruits, comprising what some recruiting
experts are calling the best 2005-2006 early signing-period class
in the nation.
“We’ve always felt very strong about what we had to
offer in the sense of a great university, a great tradition of UCLA
baseball, a very nice facility and a lot of other
intangibles,” said Savage, who coached UC Irvine the past
three years. “We feel we should be getting the top players on
the West Coast and even the national scene.”
The 12 signees represent almost a complete team in themselves.
There are three infielders, two outfielders, a catcher and six
pitchers in the incoming class. An added bonus is that many of the
players have the flexibility to play other positions.
“We concentrated on catching, pitching, middle infielders
and guys who can play center field,” Savage said. “I
think you have to build your program up the middle of the field. We
also got a lot of athletic guys who can play two ways.”
The Westwood-bound recruits boast plenty of accolades from
national recruiting agencies. Baseball America and Perfect Game USA
picked three of the Bruins’ signees in their top-100 high
school recruits, and 10 signees have at one time made TeamOne
Baseball and Rivals.com’s top-50 list.
But Savage can’t start penciling these signees into future
lineup cards because, as with all great baseball recruiting
classes, there is a high likelihood a few may be drafted into the
major leagues where they can have attractive signing bonuses.
“That goes back to doing your homework and seeing what
their future holds for them, how academic are they, how educated
they are of the benefits of going to college and playing in the
Pac-10,” Savage said.
“Realistically, when you sign a big recruiting class the
pros like them, too. We re-recruit them from now until the June
major league draft. It’s one thing to get them, and another
thing is just keeping them. I really evaluate a class when all the
kids are in school.”
The three most prominent names heading to UCLA are shortstop
Brandon Crawford, outfielder Johnny Drennen III and
pitcher/outfielder Tim Murphy.
Crawford is a left-handed hitter from Pleasanton who also excels
as the quarterback of his football team. TeamOne and Rivals.com
pegged him as the 11th best infield prospect in the nation.
Drennen is another left-hander from San Diego and was ranked
seventh among outfielders by the same two recruiting agencies.
Murphy is a lefty hurler from Vista who can throw 90 mph.
Baseball America tabbed him as the 53rd best high school
prospect.