November 15, 2007
Case Cochran of Paducah, Ky., Drew Evans of Dallas, and Geoff Shaw of Edmond, Okla., have signed national letters-of-intent to play college golf at Texas A&M, Head Coach J.T. Higgins said Thursday.
?This class excites me because they all come from not just good high school programs but great ones,? Higgins said. ?They all know what it takes to win championships and they want to continue that at the collegiate level. They possess outstanding leadership skills, are great students, are strong fundamentally, and are physically and mentally tough. They will fit in well with our current players and are so eager to be a part of this program and this university. I believe Geoff, Drew and Case will leave their mark on this program.?
Cochran won the Kentucky state high school championship in 2005 and 2006 and was named Kentucky?â„¢s ?Mr. Golf? in 2005. He led St. Mary?â„¢s High School to the state title in 2005 and a runner-up finish in 2006. The son of PGA Tour veteran Russ Cochran, he has won two regional titles and is in his sixth year on the varsity under Coach Kurt Averill.
?Case is a really intriguing player,? Higgins said. ?He is extremely athletic with tremendous power and length off the tee. He is still a little raw and reminds me a lot of other big hitters we have had here such as Andrew Parr and John Hurley. The upside and his future are very exciting because I think he is going to do nothing but get better with time.
?At times, he has dominated golf in Kentucky and we are thrilled he is coming to Aggieland,? Higgins added. ?He made his varsity golf team as a seventh grader and has led his team in scoring average ?- which is under par ?- the last four years. On top of all his success on the course, Case is an outstanding student who scored extremely high on the ACT.?
Evans is rated No. 107 nationally in the class of 2008 by Golfweek. A four-time all-district pick, he helped Highland Park High School to consecutive state championships in 2004 and 2005. He is the team captain as a senior and has lettered four years for coaches Jeff Lloyd and Art Spencer. Evans is a two-time on the Texas Legends Junior Golf Tour and placed seventh at Optimist International at PGA National. An Eagle Scout, he has also had a pair of top 10 AJGA finishes.
?Drew comes to us from one of the premier high school golf programs in Texas and possibly the country,? Higgins said. ?Highland Park has produced so many great players over the years and I think Drew is cut from the same cloth. He has had great training from Randy Smith at Royal Oaks Country Club and I believe his best golf is ahead of him. He is a terrific competitor with tremendous experience and a wonderful short game. He is one of the best layers in Texas but he has also played in some really big national events as well. Drew is a terrific student and a great addition to our team.?
Shaw earned honorable mention AJGA All-America honors in 2007. He is rated No. 30 nationally in the class of 2008 by Junior Golf Scoreboard and is ranked No. 46 by Golfweek. A four-year letterman for Edmond North High School under coach Jeff Doherty, Shaw was the runner-up at the 2007 Oklahoma state high school tournament and played on three state championship teams.
He won the 2006 Red River Shootout and has posted top 20 finishes in four major AJGA tournaments -- Rolex TOC, HP Boys Championship, PING Invitational and Footjoy Boys Junior. Shaw has had six Top 5 Finishes in AJGA open events, including runner up finishes at The OSSO Junior and The Wildcat Golf Junior Championships. He also qualified for 2007 U.S. Junior Amateur.
?Geoff also plays for one of the top high school programs in the nation at Edmond North,? Higgins said. ?He has been part of three straight state championship teams and was the individual runner-up as a junior last season. Geoff is a bulldog. He is a fierce competitor with great fundamentals, a strong short game and plays with a lot of heart. He has extensive national experience competing against the best players and in the best tournaments across the country. Geoff is also an outstanding student with a nearly perfect GPA and a very high ACT score.?