COLLEGE PARK, Md. – The University of Maryland baseball team's recruiting class received the highest ranking in school history when D1Baseball.com rated it 17th in its 2015 recruiting rankings released Tuesday.
“This class is a testament to the hard work our assistant coaches put day in and day out,” head coach John Szefc said. “We're very excited about the talent coming into our program and look forward to seeing this group's contributions in the coming years.”
Maryland's class boasts 13 true freshmen and two junior college transfers. Two members of the class, pitchers Hunter Parsons and Andrew Miller, were selected in the 2015 MLB Draft. RHP John Murphy is also a touted arm at the top of the class.
Incoming freshman Nick Dunn was named a top prospect from the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball, while fellow freshman Nick Browne earned plaudits as a top prospect from the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League. Both of these honors came from Perfect Game.
Baseball America named Marty Costes a top prospect in the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League. LSU-Eunice transfer Madison Nickens helped his team win the 2015 NJCAA Division II National Championships with a .289 average with six home runs and 37 RBIs. Nickens' 38 stolen bases ranked fifth in the nation.
Fellow JUCO transfer Brandon Smith (Harford County Community College) slashed .420/.510/.663 to help his squad win the Maryland JUCO Championship.
The class also boasts two-time Washington DC Gatorade Player of the Year AJ Lee along with the 2015 Baltimore Sun Metro Player of the Year Truman Thomas.
The Terps set a school record for wins last season with 42 and advanced to their second consecutive NCAA Super Regional. The squad returns first-team All-American Mike Shawaryn and freshman All-American Kevin Smith.
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