SAN ANTONIO ? UTSA head baseball coach Sherman Corbett announced Monday the signing of five student-athletes to National Letters ofIntent. Joining the Roadrunners for the 2010 season will be Ryan Dalton (Sugar Land, Texas/Austin HS), Ransom LaLonde (Tulsa, Okla./Cascia Hall Prep), R.J. Perucki (Tomball, Texas/Tomball HS), Daniel Rockett (Sugar Land, Texas/Austin HS) and Jake Wood (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville HS).
"I am once again very excited about our early signing class," Corbett said. "Coach (Jason) Marshall has done an outstanding job of identifying student-athletes who will continue to move our program forward. The talent of this group reaches a new level that I expect will push this program to a higher level. The fact that we were able to recruit successfully within and outside the state is a credit to the recent successes of our past teams and the recognition of UTSA baseball."
Below is a breakdown of this year's early-signing class.
Ryan Dalton ? INF/C ? Sugar Land, Texas (Austin HS)
Plays for Randy Ursery at Austin High School and Mike Rutledge of Kyle Chapman in the summer ... three-year letterwinner ... 2008 first-team all-district selection and team Most Valuable Player ... 2008 high school stats: .452 BA, 5 HR, 22 RBIs ... selected to the Texas Scouts Association workout ... named to the Major League scouts team in Fall 2008 ... helped lead Kyle Chapman to the Premier World Series semifinals this past summer in Joplin, Mo.
Ransom LaLonde ? INF/P ? Tulsa, Okla. (Cascia Hall Prep)
Plays for David Warburton at Cascia Hall Prep ... three-year letterwinner ... second-team All-Tulsa Metro shortstop ... an all-conference performer the last two seasons ... 2008 high school stats: .516 BA, .709 OBP, 4 HR, 33 RBIs, 5-2 W-L, 54 IP, 1.81 ERA, 13 BB, 68 K ... a member of the Oklahoma Gold summer squad that played in the Junior Sunbelt Series in McAlester, Okla., this year ... played on Cascia Hall's Oklahoma 2A State Champion football team as a junior ... ranked as the No. 6 linebacker in Tulsa area by the Tulsa World heading into his senior campaign.
R.J. Perucki ? INF/P ? Tomball, Texas (Tomball HS)
Plays for Rick Lynch at Tomball High School and David Clyde of the Houston Miracles in the summer ... 2008 high school stats: .355 BA, 3 HR, 19 RBIs ... 2008 summer stats: .485 BA, 6 HR, 23 RBIs ... helped lead the Miracles to this summer's Connie Mack World Series in Farmington, N.M. ... played shortstop and was the squad's closer.
Daniel Rockett ? OF ? Sugar Land, Texas (Austin HS)
Plays for Randy Ursery at Austin High School and Phil Cross of the Houston Heat in the summer ... 2008 high school stats: .311 BA, 21 R, 10 2B, 18 RBIs ... a two-time academic all-district selection ... brother of current Roadrunner and 2008 second-team All-American and Southland Conference Player of the Year Michael Rockett ... nephew of former Atlanta Braves shortstop, Pat Rockett ... one of the top multi-sport athletes in the Houston area ... a six-time letterwinner in baseball, basketball (point guard) and football (quarterback) ... recruited to play football in addition to baseball.
Jake Wood ? 1B ? Noblesville, Ind. (Noblesville HS)
Three-year letterwinner ... earned all-state honors as a junior ... an all-conference performer who helped lead Noblesville High School to a fourth-place finish at the state tournament as a sophomore ... hit .380 with eight doubles and four home runs for the Indiana Bulls this past summer ... also plays fullback and defensive line for Noblesville's football team ... team captain who was named Team Most Valuable Player as a senior and all-state a year earlier ... comes from an athletic family ... brother (football) and sister (softball) currently play for the University of St. Francis in Fort Wayne, Ind.
