Horned Frog baseball announces fall signees
11/9/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Nov. 9, 2005
FORT WORTH, Texas - TCU head baseball coach Jim Schlossnagle announced the signing of the fall class of 2006. In all, TCU signed six recruits to National Letters of Intent. The six players, which includes four high school players and two junior college transfers, will join the Horned Frogs in fall 2006. Five of the six members of the class hail from the state of Texas and the group features a player ranked 15th in the state of Texas as ranked by Texas Baseball News.
"With the majority of our 2006 team in the younger classes, signing a large number of players in the fall is not a big priority for us," remarked Schlossnagle. "However, it is very important to sign the RIGHT players to fill the few needs that we have."
Among the six signees are Metroplex natives and Keller High School teammates, Monk Kreder, a catcher, and Brett Medlin, a utility player. Joining Kreder and Medlin are fellow high schoolers Steven Maxwell, a right-handed pitcher from The Woodlands, Texas, and Tyler Lockwood, a right-handed pitcher from Kempner High School in Sugar Land, Texas. Transferring to TCU next fall are right-handed pitcher Seth Garrison, a product of Navarro Junior College, and right-handed pitcher Chris Johnson from Logan Junior College.
Kreder is the 15th-rated prospect and the top-ranked catcher in Texas by Texas Baseball News. He is a first-team all-district catcher at Keller. He was a member of the Team USA Junior National Trial Team. He was also invited to the Texas Scouts Association All-Star Game. He spent his summer playing with the Dallas Mustangs along with fellow signee, Medlin.
"Monk made the decision to attend TCU a while back. He has been in our camps since we took over at TCU and I am very excited to have him as a Horned Frog," Schlossnagle said. "He is one of the best hitters in the state of Texas, a good student and really committed to his game in every way."
Medlin has also been a standout player for Keller. He has been a three-year varsity starter and was honored as a first-team all-district performer as a sophomore.
"Brett is very athletic and can run," remarked Schlossnagle. "In time, we think he can be an effective offensive player as well as cover some ground in the outfield."
Maxwell helped lead his team to a 28-6 record and a district championship as a junior. He was 3-1 with a miniscule 1.06 ERA in 2005 at The Woodlands High School. He pitches for the Premier World Series Champions, the Houston Heat Silver.
"Steven is a very competitive pitcher from one of the premier high baseball programs in Texas," stated Schlossnagle. "He has competed on the highest level through high school and summer competition. Steven has a great arm and a projectible frame and will be one of the top pitchers in the Houston area this season."
Lockwood has been a three-year letterman at Kempner. He was a first-team all-district pitcher and a third-team all-Greater Houston selection as a junior. He was also honored as the Kempner High Pitcher of the Year. He finished the campaign with a 7-2 record and a 2.01 ERA. Lockwood also struck out 84 in 57 innings pitched. In the summer, he is a member of the Houston Kyle Chapman team.
"Tyler has the potential to be an elite college pitcher," said Schlossnagle. "He has good life to his fastball and a very effective breaking pitch. I expect him to make an immediate impact in our program."
Garrison transferred to Navarro for the 2006 season after playing in 13 games for the Arizona State College World Series team in 2005. In six Pac-10 appearances with the Sun Devils, he posted a 2.16 ERA and had one save. He is a graduate of Coppell High School where he was an all-American. He was a member of the 2003 U.S. National Team and was honored as a TPX All-American as a senior at Coppell High School.
"Seth is coming to us from a great junior college program with a tremendously successful pitching coach in Skip Johnson," remarked Schlossnagle. "He has experience at a high level playing at Arizona State as a freshman and has tremendous upside to his ability. With continued progress, we expect Seth to challenge for a spot in our rotation."
Johnson, a native of Huntington, W.Va., was recently named the No. 1 pitching prospect in the Jayhawk league by Baseball America this past summer. He has been drafted twice by the Los Angeles Dodgers, most recently in the 41st round in 2005. He is currently a sophomore at Logan.
"Chris is a big strong physical pitcher from one of the top junior colleges in the midwest," said Schlossnagle. "He had a tremendous summer in the Jayhawk League and has followed that with a dominating fall season. Chris is a mature pitcher with great mound presence and feel for the game. He will be one of the top junior college pitchers in the country this spring."
"I am very pleased with the efforts of our coaching staff on these student-athletes," raved Schlossnagle. "Led by Coach Todd Whitting, we definitely are closer to meeting our goals for the fall."
