Baseball Players Hold First Team Meeting
Aug. 24, 2005
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (www.hurricanesports.com) – The first team meeting of the year for the University of Miami baseball team carries a bit of anticipation with it various reasons. It was no different when the 2006 Hurricanes baseball team met Wednesday afternoon at Mark Light Field, following the first day of classes for the fall semester.
“We lost a lot of our starting players (from 2005),” head coach Jim Morris said. “I think there are a lot of wide-open positions on the pitching staff and among the position players… This is probably as good an opportunity as any time I’ve been at Miami (for a rookie) to come in and win a position.”
The incoming recruiting class has big shoes to fill with the likes of former Hurricane stars Ryan Braun, Cesar Carrillo, Paco Figueroa and others heading to professional baseball. Wednesday afternoon offered a peek at who will try to do so in the 2006 season.
Miami’s incoming class includes: Yonder Alonso (Miami/Coral Gables HS/INF), Christopher Borgognoni (MiamiFlorida Christian HS/OF-SS), Nick Freitas Jr. (Honolulu, Hawaii/Kamehameha HS/OF), Chris Gawenda (Burr Ridge, Ill./Lyon Township HS/1B), Teddy Kaufman (Miami/Killian HS/P), Harrison Lam (Cooper City/Cooper City HS/Miami-Dade CC/1B), Gus Menendez (Coral Gables/St. Brendan/Miami-Dade CC), Joseph Paniagua (Miami/Coral Park HS/OF), Anthony Perez (Hialeah/Monsignor Pace HS/P), Ruben Perez (Miami/Coral Gables HSS/SS), Chris Petralli (El Dorado Hills, Calif./Oak Ridge HS/Sacramento City JC/1B-OF), Dennis Raben (Hollywood/St. Thomas Aquinas/1B-OF), Blake Tekotte (Columbia, Missouri/Hickman HS/CF), Ben Vazquez (Miami/Coral Gables HS/C) and Jemile Weeks (Altamonte Springs/Lake Brantley/IF).
First-year Major League Draft picks, who usually compose part of Miami’s recruiting classes, have the option of signing with the team that selected them prior to attending class. Luckily, for the Hurricanes, three picks in the 2005 MLB Draft were at classes Wednesday.
Jemile Weeks, an eighth round pick of the Milwaukee Brewers, turned down a chance to play in the same organization as his brother, starting second baseman Rickie Weeks.
“He turned down a lot of money to come to school,” head coach Jim Morris said. “His brother went to college and was a number one pick. That was a good influence for him to come to school. I think that was the best decision for him and I think he has a chance to be a very good player.”
Alonso (Minnesota Twins, 16th round) and Raben (Seattle Mariners, 49th round) were the team’s other draftees who chose Miami over Major League Baseball.
“We’ve got some good players coming in and they’re going to have to play,” Morris said. “We have some good athletes and guys who can swing the bat. We had a lot of hitters who turned pro. (The freshman) are going to have to come in and get it done.”
Miami finished the 2005 season with a 41-19-1 record and were eliminated from College World Series contention with a loss to Nebraska in the Lincoln Super Regional.
