Aggie Baseball Signs 11 to National Letters of Intent
Nov 18, 2010 | Baseball
Nov. 18, 2010
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The Texas A&M baseball staff announced on Wednesday that 11 student-athletes had signed letters of intent to join the program next fall.
Chance Bolcerek (Brenham), Jason Jester (Halsville/Tyler JC), Matthew Kent (Waco), Cole Lankford (Houston), Daniel Mengden (Houston), Mitchell Nau (Houston), Corey Ray (Houston), Mikey Reynolds (Glendale, Ariz./Paradise Valley CC), Ty Schlottmann (Brenham), Gandy Stubblefield (Lufkin) and Dillon Thomas (Houston) comprise the 2011 signing class.
"This class may be one of the most talented classes we have put together here at Texas A&M," head coach Matt Deggs worked very hard to assemble this group of not only talented baseball players but quality young men. We have very good balance in this class with five position players and five pitchers along with a very special two-way player in Daniel Mengden. On the pitching side we were able to sign two very talented left handed pitchers in Ty and Matt and three right handed pitchers in Corey, Gandy and Jason that we feel like all have a chance to come in and make an immediate impact. Positionally, we feel like we signed two of the best catchers in the state in Cole and Mitchell. Our other two in-state kids we signed we feel are two of the most talented left handed bats in the state of Texas in Chance and Dillon. We also signed a very talented junior college infielder as well in Mikey who will give us some added stability in the middle infield next year."
10 of the 11 players are products of the Lone Star State while Reynolds represents the only non-Texas player in the class, hailing from Glendale, Ariz.
Chance Bolcerek, an outfielder from Brenham High School, was an All-Greater Houston selection and batted .549, had 19 doubles, 10 home runs and 28 stolen bases for head coach Jim Long. Bolcerek was voted the District 18-4A Most Valuable Player and All-Brazos Valley Most Valuable Player in addition to being named an All-American by Baseball America.
Matthew Kent was a second team All-State outfielder by THSBCA and a third-team pitcher by the Texas Sports Writers Association under head coach Paul Offill at Waco Midway High School. Kent also was a first team Super Cen-Tex pitcher and a District 16-4A Player of the Year selection after batting .380 with five home runs, eight doubles, six triples and 24 RBI during the 2010 campaign. On the mound, he compiled a 9-3 record with a sparkling 1.52 earned run average and 131 strikeouts in 97 innings of work.
Cole Lankford batted a staggering .541 as a catcher and infielder while posting 10 home runs and 68 RBI for head coach Mike McGilvray at Lamar High School. Lankford was an All-Greater Houston selection as well as being voted a first team Catcher by the THSBCA and the Houston 5A Hitter of the Year.
Daniel Mengden, a hybrid pitcher-catcher athlete, was an Aflac All-American and the 2010 District 20-5A Most Valuable Player. Offensively, Mengden posted a .375 batting average with four home runs and 25 RBI for head coach Abe Arguello at Westside High School. On the mound, Mengden racked up 45 strikeouts in 35 innings and posted a 2.04 ERA.
Mitchell Nau was the 2010 District 12-5A Newcomer of the Year at the catcher position at Klein High School where he played for head coach Barry Smith, father of current A&M baseball player Adam Smith. He was also selected as a TSWA honorable-mention All-State catcher and was voted to the Class 5A All-State Tournament Team. During the 2010 campaign, he maintained a blistering .435 batting average while collecting 21 extra base hits, including 19 doubles. Additionally, Nau proved to be a run producer for KHS as he piled up 30 RBI as well as scored 42 runs of his own.
Corey Ray was a 2010 District 13-5A first team selection as a right-handed pitcher at Klein High School. Under head coach Barry Smith, Ray was a member of the 2010 5A state tournament runner-up team and a member of the 2010 13-5A District champion team. In 42.2 innings pitched last spring, Ray put together a 5-1 record with a 3.28 ERA and struck out 59 batters while only allowing 18 walks.
Ty Schlottmann was a member of the 2010 4A State Championship team at Brenham High School under head coach Jim Long. As a left-handed pitcher, Schlottmann went 9-2 in his senior year with a 2.20 ERA, 93 strikeouts, 69.2 innings pitched and only 16 walks. He was also a member of the District 18-4A first team and the Class 4A All-State Tournament team.
Gandy Stubblefield, a right-handed pitcher a Lufkin High School, was a 2010 District 14-A second-team selection for head coach Clay Berry. He finished the 2010 season with a 4-2 record while recording a 2.83 ERA and posting 32 strikeouts.
Dillon Thomas played outfield and first base and batted .494 with 12 home runs, 11 doubles, three triples and 39 RBIs under head coach Ricky Watkins at Westbury Christian High School. During his prep career, Thomas was honored as a TAPPS All-State and All-Houston selection for his outstanding play on the diamond.
One of two junior college transfer additions, Jason Jester is a right-hander from Tyler Junior College. He posted a 2-0 record with three saves and had 21 strikeouts in 19 innings pitched, while holding opponents to a .135 batting average. He was a TXNMJC All-Star selection and a NJCAA World Series finalist at Tyler.
The final junior college transfer student-athlete is Mikey Reynolds, a shortstop from Paradise Valley Junior College. At Glendale High School, Reynolds kept a .512 average in the batter's box, posted five home runs and had 21 stolen bases. He was a member of the All-Desert Valley League and an All-Area Arizona selection by ESPN Rise. Reynolds also started 43 games as a freshman for St. Mary's.
A&M opens its 2011 season on Feb. 18 when the team welcomes Le Moyne to Olsen Field.
Name Pos Ht Wt B/T Cl-Exp Hometown (High School)
Chance Bolcerek OF 5-10 185 L/L Fr-HS Brenham, Texas (Brenham)
Jason Jester RHP 5-10 185 R/R Jr-TR Hallsville, Texas (Tyler JC)
Matthew Kent LHP/OF 6-0 160 L/L Fr-HS Waco, Texas (Midway)
Cole Lankford C/INF 6-0 190 L/R Fr-HS Houston, Texas (Lamar)
Daniel Mengden RHP/C 6-2 190 R/R Fr-HS Houston, Texas (Westside)
Mitchell Nau C 5-10 195 R/R Fr-HS Houston, Texas (Klein)
Corey Ray RHP 6-3 180 R/R Fr-HS Houston, Texas (Klein)
Mikey Reynolds SS 5-9 170 S/R Jr-TR Glendale, Ariz. (Paradise Valley CC)
Ty Schlottmann LHP 6-1 185 L/L Fr-HS Brenham, Texas (Brenham)
Gandy Stubblefield RHP 6-4 190 R/R Fr-HS Lufkin, Texas (Lufkin)
Dillon Thomas OF/1B 6-2 195 R/R Fr-HS Houston, Texas (Westbury Christian)
