University Southern California Trojans
USC Announces Enrollees For 2008 Season
September 07, 2007 | Baseball
Sept. 7, 2007
LOS ANGELES -- A total of 11 freshmen and three transfers have enrolled at USC and will be eligible to play in the 2008 baseball season, head coach Chad Kreuter announced today.
The freshmen are: left-handed pitcher Daniel Beck (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista HS), right-handed pitcher Ryan Cabral (Norwalk/Don Bosco Tech HS), infielder/utility Joe De Pinto (Sunland/St. Francis HS), right-handed pitcher Jeff Grijalva (San Clemente/San Clemente HS), right-handed pitcher/first baseman Jordan Hershiser (Dallas, Texas/St. Mark's School), outfielder Garrett Houts (Fort Collins, Colo./Fort Collins HS), catcher Alex Kurland (Calabasas/Calabasas HS), right-handed pitcher Chris McCaffery (Hillsborough/St. Ignatius HS), right-handed pitcher Chris Mezger (Boulder, Colo./Fairview HS), right-handed pitcher/outfielder Vinnie St. John (Newport Beach/Corona del Mar HS) and right-handed pitcher Andrew Triggs (Nashville, Tenn./Montgomery Bell Academy).
The three transfers are right-handed pitcher Daniel Cooper (Rice), infielder Billy Pinkerton (Cal State Fullerton) and first baseman Mike Roskopf (North Carolina State).
Roskopf batted .316 for the Wolfpack last season with 13 home runs and 42 RBI.
"We are very excited about the young arms we brought in," said Kreuter. "We have a lot of strong, projectable bodies with plus velocities. In addition to this group of freshmen, we have three transfers that we believe can help us. Mike Roskopf adds a dimension of power to our lineup while we expect Billy Pinkerton to compete for a starting position. Daniel Cooper had to battle injuries in the past, but we feel he can add some experience to our bullpen."
USC is seeing immediate dividends with the addition of new assistant coach Tom House, who is handling the pitching staff.
"In the first week, the pitching staff has responded well especially on the mental side. The pitchers have been overwhelmed with how much they have learned in such a short time with Tom. Our conditioning this fall will also be at a heightened level."
Here is the list of USC's enrollees:
FreshmenPlayer Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown (School)Daniel Beck LHP 6-2 195 Highlands Ranch, Colo. (Mountain Vista HS)Ryan Cabral RHP 6-2 200 Norwalk (Don Bosco Tech HS)Joe De Pinto IF 6-1 180 Sunland (St. Francis HS)Jeff Grijalva RHP 6-2 190 San Clemente (San Clemente HS)Jordan Hershiser RHP/1B 6-8 230 Dallas, Tex. (St. Mark's School)Garrett Houts OF 6-0 185 Fort Collins, Colo. (Fort Collins HS)Alex Kurland C 6-2 195 Calabasas (Calabasas HS)Chris McCaffrey RHP 6-3 195 Hillsborough (St. Ignatius HS)Chris Mezger RHP 6-10 220 Boulder, Colo. (Fairview HS)Vinnie St. John RHP/OF 6-2 180 Newport Beach (Corona del Mar HS)Andrew Triggs RHP 6-3 210 Nashville, Tenn. (Montgomery Bell Academy)
TransfersPlayer Pos. Ht. Wt. Class Hometown (School)Daniel Cooper RHP 6-3 210 Jr. Costa Mesa (Orange Coast College/Rice)Billy Pinkerton IF 6-0 190 So. San Marino (Arcadia HS/Cal State Fullerton)Mike Roskopf 1B 6-7 215 Sr. Prescott, Ariz. (Yavapai College/North Carolina State)
USC will open the 2008 season on Feb. 22 at Florida International.
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