On Tuesday, September 25th, Collegiate Baseball News released its list of the top 40 recruiting classes in all of college baseball, and UCSB came in at #18. In total the class features twenty-five new Gauchos, nineteen freshman and six junior college transfers.
Three of those nineteen freshman (Andrew Calica, Connor Baits, and Davon Gradford) were selected in the June Major League Baseball Amateur Draft and ultimately decided to turn down professional contract offers and enroll at UCSB.
With the #18 ranking UCSB narrowly missed having the top rated recruiting class in the Big West Conference, with defending champion Cal State Fullerton checking in at #17. The Gauchos were rated above several other Big West schools who received votes in the poll, including UC Irvine, Cal Poly, Long Beach State, and new conference members San Diego State and Hawaii.
These newcomers will join returning Gauchos such as Brandon Trinkwon, who was a Second Team All-Big West selection in 2012, along with Greg Mahle and Andrew Vasquez, who were both named Freshman All-Americans last season.
In order to get your first look at the new recruits and the rest of this years team, make sure you save the date for this years Baseball Alumni Weekend, which will be held January 18-20, 2013.
