FROM STAFF REPORTS

University of Montevallo baseball head coach Chandler Rose announced the signing of 19 recruits for the 2012 season Sept. 1.

The signing class includes three former Thompson High School baseball standouts among the 12 transfers and seven freshmen.

Former Warriors Tyler Pennington, Chad Collum and Mason Morris will play for the Falcons in the spring.

“I am thrilled with the group of young men that we have signed,” Rose said. “I know how proud they all are to be Falcons and part of this program. Coach Erik Maas deserves a tremendous amount of credit for his hard work and effort putting this class together. We really needed to improve on the mound and with our overall depth, which I feel we did. The guys coming in will create more competition at every position which will only make us better. I am excited and confident this class will keep the program moving in the right direction.”

Pennington, a catcher, will be joining the Falcons as a sophomore. Pennington spent last season at Jefferson State Community College, where he appeared in 10 games. Prior to Jefferson State, Pennington batted .318 and threw out 9-of-14 base stealers as a senior at Thompson. Pennington was also named to the UAB Fall League All-Star team.

Collum, a catcher, will join the Falcons as a freshman. Collum hit .373 as a senior with 10 doubles, two triples, four homeruns, 21 runs scored and 21 RBIs during his final season with the Warriors in 2011.

Morris, a pitcher, will be joining the Falcons as a freshman. Morris was named the American Legion Baseball Southeast Player of the Year. Morris also received the Alabama Scholarship from American Legion Baseball. Morris pitched 35 1/3 innings last season on his way to a 5-1 record with 30 strikeouts as a senior. Morris was a member of the Thompson High School student broadcasting staff and was named to the Honor Roll throughout his high school career.

The remainder of the Falcons’ signing class includes six in-state products and 12 out-of-state recruits.

Vicente Andrews, an outfielder from Phenix City, will enter the 2012 season as a junior. Andrews spent the past two seasons at Chattahoochee Valley Community College. His .367 batting average led Chattahoochee Valley last season. He also had a .505 on-base percentage through 26 games. He had seven doubles, a triple, two homeruns, 22 runs scored and 29 RBI. In 2009 he had a .309 batting average with two doubles, five homeruns, 19 runs scored and 14 RBI. Prior to Chattahoochee Valley, Andrews prepped at Central High School where he was named Second Team All Bi-City. He also was selected to the 2007 Alabama All-Star Weekend.

Bryce Bubley, a catcher/infielder from Fort Myers, Fla., will join the Falcons as a redshirt freshman. Bubley spent last season at Daytona State College, where he redshirted. Prior to Daytona State, he prepped at Fort Myers High School where he was a Gold Glove winner his freshman, junior and senior seasons. He served as the team captain as a senior and also competed for the Fort Myers wrestling team.

Chase Cameron, a pitcher from Demopolis, will join the Falcons as a freshman. Cameron prepped at Demopolis High School, where he was named to the North/South All-Star game. He was also named to the East/West All-Star game. He was a three-time West Alabama Player of the Week award winner. He pitched 59 innings in 16 appearances last season. He pitched five complete games, including a pair of shutouts. His record was 8-3 with an ERA of 2.81.

Nathan Flanagan, a pitcher from Tupelo, Miss., will join the Falcons as a junior. Flanagan competed for two seasons at Itawamba Community College where he split time between third base and pitcher. His sophomore season he broke out as a pitcher being named First Team All-Conference and being named to the All-American team. He had a 2.52 ERA and compiled a 6-3 record. As a batter he hit .259 with six doubles, a homerun, 17 runs scored and 23 RBI. Prior to Itawamba, he prepped at Tupelo High School.

Bill Hamrick, an infielder from Eufaula, will enter the 2012 season as a junior. He spent the last two seasons at Jefferson Davis Community College. Last year he had a .313 batting average with eight doubles, 35 runs scored and 18 RBI through 49 games. He also was second on the team in stolen bases with 16. His freshman season he hit .204 with a pair of triples, nine runs scored and four RBI. Prior to Jefferson Davis, he prepped at Eufaula High School. While at Eufaula, he was the football and baseball team captain. He was selected to compete in the Alabama All-Star game and received Excellence Awards in both science and English.

Kameron Heiser, a pitcher from Collinsville, Miss., will join the Falcons as a junior. Heiser spent the last two seasons at East Mississippi Community College, where he was named All-State and led the team in ERA. Last season he appeared in 18 games with a 2.60 ERA. He had 35 strikeouts and just 13 walks. He compiled a record of 3-3 with three saves. In 2010, he appeared in 23 games with 30.1 innings pitched and 23 strikeouts. He compiled a record of 5-2 with an ERA of 7.12. Prior to East Mississippi, he prepped at West Lauderdale High School where he was named All-District and helped lead the team to the 2009 MHSAA State Championship.

D.J. Hess, a catcher from Brandon, Fla., will join the Falcons as a freshman. Hess prepped at Bloomingdale High School where he had a career batting average of .348. He also was nearly flawless behind the plate with a fielding percentage of .998. He was a four-year varsity letterman and excelled both on the field and off. He was a member of the National Honor Society, the Spanish Honor Society and the Rho Kappa Honor Society. He received the Sheriff’s Rising Star Leadership Award and was named the P.E. Student of the Year twice.

T.J. Hoelzer, an infielder from Nashville, Tenn., will join the Falcons as a junior. Hoelzer spent the last two seasons at Lipscomb University, where he started 43 games as a sophomore and 19 as a freshman. This past season he hit .276 with five doubles, 28 runs scored and 17 RBI. He was tied for third on the team in walks with 18. As a freshman he hit .366 with three extra-base hits, 12 RBI and 14 runs scored in 71 at-bats. He went 3-for-6 with a home run and 4 RBI in his collegiate debut against Middle Tennessee State University. Prior to Lipscomb, Hoelzer prepped at David Lipscomb High School where he was named All-District, All-Region and Tennessean Third Team All-Midstate as a senior. As a junior he was named All-District, All-Region, Tennessean First Team All-Midstate and Class 2A All-State by Tennessee Sports Writers Association. He also batted .483 with 64 RBI, 68 hits, seven home runs, 12 doubles and 11 triples as a junior. He was also named All-District as a junior.

Kincaid Koehler, a pitcher from Vero Beach, Fla., who will be joining the Falcons as a junior. Koehler spent the last two seasons at the United States Air Force Academy. As a sophomore, he appeared in 10 games with two starts. He pitched 15.0 innings picking up four strikeouts. As a freshman, he pitched in 18 games while making nine starts. He was third on the team in starts and pitched 42 innings while striking out 25. He tied for the team lead with three wins. Prior to Air Force, Koehler prepped at Vero Beach High School where he lettered three years in baseball and two in football. He had a 2.90 ERA with 55 strikeouts in 50.2 innings pitched as a senior. He was named Second Team All-Area and Second Team All-Conference as a junior. He was rated as the 98th best player from the state of Florida and graduated with honors.

Ulises Marrero, a catcher from Toa Baja, Puerto Rico,will enter the 2012 season as a junior. Marrero spent the last two seasons at New Mexico Military Institute. Last season he batted .301 with seven doubles, a triple, a homerun, 24 runs scored and 19 RBI. In 2009 he hit .289 with three doubles, two triples, 21 runs scored and 21 RBI. Prior to NMMI, Marrero prepped at Universal Christian Academy in Kissimmee, Florida.

Hunter Stevens, a pitcher from Houston, Texas, will join the Falcons as a redshirt sophomore. Stevens spent his first season out of high school at Lamar University, where he redshirted before transferring to Marion Military Institute. Stevens led Marion Military Institute in innings pitched and wins. He threw 46.2 innings last season in 10 appearances while compiling a 2-5 record. He had a 5.79 ERA with 37 strikeouts and just 15 walks. Prior to MMI, he prepped at St. Pius X High School where he was the winning pitcher in the State Championship. He was named Second Team All-State and was First Team All-District.

Cody White, an infielder from Cocoa, Fla., will come to Montevallo as a freshman. White prepped at Cocoa High School, where he was named the Class of 2011 Salutatorian. He was a four-year varsity player at Cocoa and was named the team captain. He helped lead his team to the baseball Final Four in Florida. He was also a three-time State Championship football player at Cocoa, where he was named Second Team All-Conference as a punter. In the classroom he was a member of the National Honor Society. He was a FHSAA Scholar Athlete and received the David Logan Scholarship from Bright House Sports Network.

Zack Willoughby, an outfielder from Boaz, will join the Falcons as a freshman. Willoughby prepped at Boaz High School, where he was ranked sixth in his class of 152 students. He had a .354 batting average with nine doubles, four triples, six homeruns, 42 runs scored and 27 RBI as a senior. He was a member of Mu Alpha Theta and was named a Distinguished Scholar. He was also named a US Army Reserve Scholar Athlete.

C.T. Wood, an outfielder from Morris, will be joining the team as a freshman. Wood prepped at Mortimer Jordan High School, where he was a three-year letterman in baseball. He was named First Team All-Jefferson County, the North Jefferson News Most Valuable Player and the North Jefferson News Male Athlete of the Year his senior season. He was named the Offensive Player of the Year at Mortimer Jordan and set numerous records his senior year. He holds the record for most walks in a season as a batter (40) and the least walks allowed as a pitcher (3). He also set the record for fewest hits allowed (12) and most runs scored (48). He had a .439 batting average his senior season with 11 doubles, a triple, four homeruns and 47 RBI. He also led the team in stolen bases with six.

Jeffrey Workman, a pitcher/outfielder from Talladega, will be joining the Falcons as a junior. Workman spent one season at Talladega College before transferring to the University of West Georgia, where he has missed the last two seasons due to injury. Prior to Talladega, Workman prepped at Victory Christian School, where he pitched 24.1 innings with 35 strikeouts and a 1.73 ERA his senior year. At the plate he had a .405 batting average. He was given the Christian Leadership Award his senior season.

Ryan York, a catcher/outfielder from Alva, Fla., will be joining the Falcons as a redshirt sophomore. York played one season at Nova Southeastern University before redshirting. He appeared in 12 games for Nova Southeastern and had a .346 batting average with three doubles, two homeruns and three RBI. He was flawless on the field making 54 putouts and four assists without an error. Prior to Nova Southeaster, he prepped at Bishop Verot High School where he was named All-County as well as an Area All-Star his senior year.  He hit .360 as a senior with three homeruns and 24 RBI.