Baseball's Recruiting Class Earns Second No. 1 Ranking

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The standard was set a long time ago.

If you play baseball for the Miami Hurricanes, you expect to be in Omaha every single year.

The Canes appeared destined to make their 26^th trip to the College World Series in 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic led to a canceled season for one of the most talented teams in program history.

But Miami has reloaded its roster ahead of the 2021 season, as Collegiate Baseball named the Hurricanes’ 2020 recruiting class the best in the country.

“It’s a deep class across the board. The talent that we have coming in touches everything,” Miami recruiting coordinator Norberto Lopez said. “We’ve got great arms and big-time position players. We were able to land some of the top recruits in the country. These are top 100 guys and that’s what will make you have the number one class in the country.”

This is the Hurricanes’ fourth national recruiting title by Collegiate Baseball with other top-ranked classes coming in 1993, 1991 and 1988. It is the first time in 17 years that a team from the Atlantic Coast Conference has landed the top class. Collegiate Baseball has been evaluating NCAA Division I recruiting classes for 38 years.

“When someone ranks your class high like this, it means that basically, on paper, we should be a very, very good program for now and moving forward in the future, but that’s just on paper and you don’t play on paper,” head coach Gino DiMare said. “The proof will always be in how they develop as players, how they are willing to develop as a person and how hard they’re willing to work and be coached. The true ranking will be three years from now when you look at where these guys are at. Where are these incoming freshmen compared to when they got here?”

The Hurricanes landed three top-100 recruits and five top-200 players among Baseball America’s individual player rankings, leading the nation in both categories.

“It starts with recruiting, there’s no doubt about it. You’ve got to have players,” DiMare said. “If you don’t, then you really don’t have a chance, and this means we have a chance to be great. But that’s all that means. It doesn’t mean we’re going to be great. We have the potential to be great and now we have to back it up and live up to that potential. I’ll tell the players it would be a disappointment if we don’t have very successful seasons moving forward with this class. It’s a very good class and a very talented class.”

Right-handed pitcher Victor Mederos is Miami’s top-rated recruit according to Baseball America, coming in at No. 59 overall. Fellow right-hander Alejandro Rosario (60) and shortstop Yohandy Morales (77) give the Canes a trio of top-100 prospects.

Catcher Carlos Perez (137) and right-handed pitcher Jake Smith (146) round out the top-200 prospects, while outfielder/first baseman CJ Kayfus (344) gives Miami six of the top 350 prospects in the 2020 MLB Draft class, according to Baseball America.

“To have guys like Alejandro Rosario, Victor Mederos, Yohandy Morales, Jake Smith and Carlos Perez come to school is huge for this class and for our program,” Lopez said. “Those are guys that could have gone pro but wanted to come here and get better and develop and improve as players, as well as get an education. It was only a five-round draft, but everybody had to deal with the five-round draft. We were very fortunate to get so many talented guys to come to school this year.”

For a player like Mederos, who was a three-time All-America in high school, being part of the top-ranked recruiting class in America is a source of motivation. Instead of taking a victory lap, he is determined to work even harder to fulfill the expectations that come with the No. 1 ranking.

“I love expectations, just because you have pressure on yourself,” Mederos said. “Yeah, we have this great class, but so what? Those are just rankings and people’s opinions. What matters is what we do about it. We have to do what we are supposed to do. We have to work hard. It’s an expectation that we do great things. Now we need to put in the work to make sure that we accomplish what we set out to do.”

Smith, who is expected to compete for a spot in the Hurricanes’ starting rotation, is motivated to be a leader in this recruiting class’ success at Miami.

“The expectations here at Miami are to go to Omaha every year. Gino, J.D. [Arteaga], Lopes and everyone makes sure we know that every day,” Smith said. “It’s awesome knowing that we’ve got a great team and a great shot of getting there, but we know we have to work for it.

“It’s a winning program here and I’m just honored to be a part of it,” Smith added. “It’s an honor to be able to wear a Miami baseball t-shirt, but I know I have to work hard to live up to the tradition of success here. All my family and my buddies back home know Miami is one of those top programs, so it’s amazing to be part of it now. But just being here isn’t enough. I want to make a difference and help this team get to Omaha and win a championship.”

Ben Wanger is another impact addition in the 2020 recruiting class. The two-way standout came to Miami as a graduate transfer after earning Second Team All-America honors from Collegiate Baseball while at USC a season ago. Wanger, who began his collegiate career at Yale, is eager to join the tradition-rich Hurricanes.

“The first time I heard about Miami was back in 2015 before I was going to start at Yale,” Wanger said. “When Columbia came down here and they actually stole a game from Miami during that regional. Miami went on to win the regional, but I remember these people making a huge deal out about how Columbia just beat Miami, who was like a god to them. And I realized that was special because of the reputation that Miami has. They’re expected to win whenever they step on the field, so that’s something I want to be a part of and I’m excited to be a part of that culture.”

While Lopez is the recruiting coordinator who leads Miami’s efforts in acquiring new talent, he knows the formation of every recruiting class is a team effort.

“Gino, J.D. and the whole coaching staff did a heck of a job to help us bring this group together,” Lopez said. “You don’t get a number one class by just one person working at it. The amount of working hours that we all put in says a lot about the whole program with Gino running it. The recruiting mind that Gino has from so many years as a recruiting coordinator before he was a head coach has really mentored me in many ways to get to this position that I’m at. For us to be able to bring in the number one class took a lot of work from all of us.”

With Miami bringing back nearly its entire starting lineup from a year ago, the Hurricanes are primed to be a contender again when college baseball returns in 2021. While there are a lot of veterans on the roster, the talented newcomers give Miami depth across the board and will be expected to contribute to the team’s success.

“This class is strong in all areas. We brought in athletic guys that can really defend, we brought in big-time arms that can really pitch and we brought in some guys that can be middle of the order bats that can be impact hitters,” Lopez said. “We are very fortunate and very happy that these guys are here. We gave them good information and developed strong relationships with them where they wanted to be here and play for the Canes.”