STARKVILLE — The University of Mississippi and the Mississippi State baseball programs had recruiting classes ranked in the top 20 nationally according to the annual survey by Collegiate Baseball newspaper.
Ole Miss earned its highest recruiting class in program history at No. 3, while MSU’s class is ranked No. 3.
The Rebels signed 16 players in the offseason, including 12 freshmen and four junior college transfers. Nine of those players were drafted in June in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player draft
“We’re excited to have these guys on campus and on our field,” Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco said. “We’re proud of the work our recruiting coordinator Carl Lafferty has done over the last year or so putting this class together. We’re proud of what he’s done and excited to have these guys as a part of our program.”
Said Lafferty, “I’m really excited to have these guys on campus. Having watched them perform over the last year or two, there is no doubt these young men will make an impact for our program both on the mound and in the field.”
It’s the third consecutive top-20 recruiting ranking for MSU, which marks the first time MSU has garnered back-to-back-to-back top-20 rankings in baseball recruiting since 2000-02.
The 2011 recruiting class includes 13 players, 10 from the prep ranks and three junior college transfers. Three of MSU’s 2010-11 high school signees, pitchers Brandon Woodruff of Wheeler, Jacob Lindgren, of Bay Saint Louis, and infielder Nick Flair, of Belle Chasse, La., were selected in the 2011 Major League Baseball First-Year Player draft.
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