Sept. 25, 2006
TUSCON, Ariz. -
Collegiate Baseball newspaper has rated North Carolina's 16-man freshman class sixth nationally in its annual recruiting rankings, which were released Friday. The Tar Heels, who brought in five prep All-America selections, have now posted top-six classes twice in the last four years and top-20 groups in three of the last four seasons.
The only class ranked in the top 18 comprised solely of high school talent, Carolina's newcomers rated as the No. 2 class in the Atlantic Coast Conference just behind second-rated Miami. Other ACC squads rated in the top 20 include No. 13 Florida State, No. 14 Georgia Tech and No. 16 Clemson.
Highlighting the class is Greenville, N.C., product Alex White, a 14th-round pick of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft. A projected right-hander pitcher/first baseman with the Tar Heels, White earned TPX first-team All-America honors and was named MVP of the North Carolina 3A state tournament, which D.H. Conley won. Prior to the June draft, White was rated as one of the top 30 high school prospects by Baseball America.
Middle infielder Kyle Seager (Kannapolis), outfielder Dustin Ackley (Walnut Cove) and pitchers Rob Catapano (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Matt Petition (Garden City, N.Y.) were all first-team Louisville Slugger All-America selections.
Additionally, Raleigh native B.J. Dail was drafted in the 32nd round by the Baltimore Orioles out of Millbrook High School but elected to come to Carolina.
Also included in this class are four of the nation's top 100 overall prospects, No. 31 Petition, No. 42 Drew Poulk (OF, Morehead City, N.C.), No. 74 Jared Bard (RHP/OF, Charlotte N.C.) and No. 84 Mark Fleury (C, Roswell, Ga.).
Rounding out the class are: Colin Bates (RHP, Naperville, Ill.), Kendrick Burney (OF/RHP, Jacksonville, N.C.), Tim Federoff (OF, Flagtown, N.J.), Bryant Gaines (RHP, Charlotte, N.C.), Ryan Graepel (SS, Greenville, N.C.), Brian Moran (LHP, Rye, N.C.) and Hunter Rome (RHP, Houston, Texas).
The Tar Heels also added nine in-state products, all ranked among the top 25 in North Carolina by Impact Baseball. Seager was rated No. 3 on the list, Ackley was fourth and White rated sixth.
The class features nine players from North Carolina, two from New York and one each from Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey, Tennessee and Texas.
The Tar Heels are in the midst of fall practice and open their annual Fall World Series Oct. 11.
