LA JOLLA, Calif. - The UC San Diego baseball team has signed three student-athletes to National Letters of Intent during the early signing period, head coach
Dan O'Brien announced on Thursday. The class consists of high school standouts Jack Heidelman (Claremont High School) and Scott Zeman (Buena High School), along with Junior College transfer
Tony York (Arizona Western College).
"With these three student-athletes we feel we have addressed a few immediate needs for the 2011 season," O'Brien said. "Each student-athlete brings baseball intelligence and the will to compete and win at a national championship level. We are very excited to add them to our program."
Heidelman, a 6-4, 220 pound first baseman is a product of the prestigious San Gabriel Valley Arsenal organization and led Claremont High School in home runs and RBI as a junior while garnering Offensive Player of the Year honors. In the fall of 2009 he was invited to play with the Boston Red Sox Scout team and like most UCSD student-athletes, he also excels in the classroom, ranking in the top 10% of his class with a 4.4 GPA while acting as Student-Body President.
"We're thrilled to add a hitter of Jack's caliber to our program," said O'Brien. "He was a kid with heavy interest from a number of Division I schools, but he fell in love with what we have going at UCSD. He's the type of guy who could be a true presence in our lineup for four years."
A highly skilled and versatile player, Zeman had a banner year for Buena High School in 2009. An Under-Armour Pre-season All American, he hit .411 with 14 doubles and three home runs on his way to MVP, Silver Slugger, and Scholar-Athlete awards following his junior season. Those accolades preceded First-Team All Channel League and First-Team All Ventura County accolades. Zeman can play any infield or outfield position, and has enough arm strength to compete for a spot on the Triton pitching staff in 2011. He ranked 10th out of 471 graduating seniors with a 4.08 GPA.
"Versatility is the first thing that comes to mind with Scott," said O'Brien. "When he came down for his visit I was extremely impressed with how he bought into some of our program's philosophies, his ability on both sides of the infield, and arm strength that could translate to mound time. He has the kind of hand-eye coordination that will lead to consistency at the collegiate level and I'm excited to see how he's going to help us in 2011."
York followed up a solid prep career at Escondido High School with a move to Yuma, Ariz. for his first two years of college. Armed with an array of pitches, York's best offerings are a tailing fastball and a true 12-6 curveball. He played for the North County Waves of the San Diego Collegiate League last summer, totaling more than a strikeout per inning and helping lead the team to Wichita for the NBC World Series. A solid student at Arizona Western, York will come to UCSD with a 3.5 GPA and a wealth of experience.
"The state of Arizona has some of the best JUCO Baseball in the country and I'm pumped to get an experienced pitcher from a quality program," said O'Brien. "Tony's stuff should allow him to compete right away and with a few minor adjustments I could see him being a top arm in the CCAA. I'm glad to be bringing him back to San Diego to compete for a Championship."
The UC San Diego baseball team opens the 2010 season at home on February 1 when it takes on San Diego Christian College.
