Tuesday links

June 29, 2009

By Drew Champlin

HERE is the baseball notebook I referred to earlier in the day on the blog.

Also, another coach with Troy ties was named head coach, this time at Slocomb as James Wise will take over the reigns there.

Some baseball notes

By Drew Champlin

Troy head coach Bobby Pierce is still waiting on word if pitchers Jason Walls and Chris Sorce will sign with the pro teams that drafted them or come back to Troy for their senior years. Pierce said that Walls, a weekend starter who was drafted in the 19th round by the Giants, wanted a better offer and if the Giants didn’t up their offer, he would come back to Troy. Sorce, the team’s closer who was picked in the 26th round by the Mariners, is also a wait-and-see deal. The Mariners will watch him pitch this summer in the Valley League, determine how much money they have left and if Sorce’s worth the money he’s asking for, and make an offer.

Sorce is 2-0 with an 0.77 ERA and two saves this summer for the Harrisonburg (Va.) Turks.

Troy will always contend for a league title and regional berth with this coaching staff here, but having Sorce and Walls back would make that possibility in 2010 much more realistic.

Pierce said that his son, Logan, would join the team next year after hitting .416 as a freshman at Shelton State Community College. He didn’t get everyday at-bats, but the kid has hit all his life and should be able to fit in with the Troy program well. He’ll play 1B, 3B or DH. Logan Pierce was an all-state pick as a senior at Charles Henderson in 2008.

“He’ll get to make out the lineup card,“ Bobby Pierce joked. “I think our players know our program is about treating people the right way. If anybody has to work harder, it would be my son.“

Bobby Pierce last coached Logan in rec ball growing up.

Many Trojans are in town, taking summer classes to ensure eligibility for the year. NCAA changed the rules saying you have to be eligible by the fall to be able to play in the spring. Sorce is in the Valley League, outfielder Steven Rosado is playing in a league in Vermont, and several more players are playing in the Montgomery Metro Baseball League. In the MMBL, which Pierce is impressed with, players take classes and work out during the week and play games on the weekend.

Sun Belt Freshman of the Year Tyler Ray isn’t pitching this summer, but “is working out in Hoover with a bunch of elite athletes” to work on strength.

Troy lands quarterback commitment

June 27, 2009

By Drew Champlin

Luke Barnes, a 6-foot-3, 190-pound quarterback from Fort Walton Beach, Fla., committed to Troy Saturday. I got the confirmation from him just a minute ago. More coming.

Barnes committed to Troy Saturday night. He went to a system camp there a week ago, he said. Fort Walton Beach runs the same spread offense that Troy runs.

When I said, “are you just a thrower, or can you run a little bit too?“ he said “oh yeah, I can run.“ Barnes said he runs a 4.6 in the 40.

“I felt like I had a good connection with the coaches,“ Barnes said. “It seemed like the right time to commit. I was going to go ahead and do it early.“

Barnes said he was finished with recruiting and wanted to get it over with to relieve the pressure before his season started.

Barnes said he had recruiting interest from Southern Miss, South Florida, Alabama and Auburn.

Still trying to find out complete stats from junior year, but at one point late last season, Barnes had 1,924 yards and 20 touchdowns with just three interceptions.

Looking up some links, Barnes had a big spring game, from the NW Florida Daily News.

HERE is Barnes’ scout.com profile.

2010 Troy commitments
Luke Barnes (QB, Fort Walton Beach, Fla.)
Dalton Bennett (OL, Marianna, Fla.)
Tommy Stephens (DL, Marianna, Fla.)
Teavis Durgin (OL, Coffeyville CC, Kan.)
Talris Brown (LB, Coffeyville CC, Kan.)
Aaron Ward (DB, Hutchinson CC, Kan.)

2009 Signing Class update

By Drew Champlin

Talked to both coordinators Friday night about the newest set of Trojans who are on campus, and some that are still waiting.

Four players enrolled in summer one - DB Caleb Massey, DB Willard Ross, OL Cody Jenkins and DE Antonio Harper

Several more have enrolled for the second summer session - RB Shawn Southward, WR Anthony Williams, WR Jamel Johnson, WR Sam Haskins, OL Jay Stansberry, DL Shermane Teart, DL Aaron Williams, DB Barry Valcin, DB Mike Robinson and DB Sergio Perez.

Of that group, Haskins is a definite grayshirt, meaning he just can’t enroll full time until Jan. 2010. Other grayshirts include DE John Clark and DT Dontavious Pyron. Now, one more grayshirt could be added to that list, or one of these guys could be told to go ahead and enroll in the fall. Pyron, a highly-regarded signee according to the recruiting sites, won’t be here until next January as he completes high school course work. That’s actually welcome news, as he was thought to be headed to JUCO. To be quite honest, I’m not sure if Clark is on campus yet, but he, Pyron and Haskins all know they’re slated to grayshirt.

Some guys aren’t enrolled yet. JUCO transfers Eugene Kinlaw (DT), Jonathan Massaquoi (DE) and Nate Newland (OL) are completing course work to be eligible for the fall. High school RB Greg Pratt is doing the same and DB Bradley Wallace is waiting on a test score.

The signees who didn’t qualify are DT Vinson Bass, WR Dominique Bonman, DE Daymond Brinson, DB Tony Gray, ATH Dezman Ivory, DT Anthony Payne and OL Jeremy Simmons. The plan is for them to go to JUCO if they’ve done enough to qualify for that (i.e. graduate, pass exit exams, etc)

Dates to remember - this is tentative, but July 30 is reporting day and the first practice is Sunday, Aug. 2. If I hear different on that, I’ll let you know, but Rowell said Aug. 2 and wasn’t fazed when I mentioned that was a Sunday.

Around the Sun Belt, June 26

June 26, 2009

By Drew Champlin

Some of these news bits are a few days old, but just catching up some that might have missed it…

FIU eliminated its cheerleading squad to save money because the state’s budget is in the tank. The school has already gotten rid of its band and will have high school bands playing at its home games. (Miami Herald)

After a couple of assault arrests, Middle Tennessee booted its top receiver from a year ago. MTSU returns a lot of depth there, but it’s still a tough blow. (DNJ)

It’s been a busy week at the Dothan Eagle, thanks to the neverending Future Masters golf tournament, but I’ll have some Troy stuff in the paper next week, at least a Q and A.