Diverse Group Of Pitchers And Stellar Catcher Provides Strong Foundation For UW's Future
November 25, 2015 | Baseball
SEATTLE – The Washington Baseball coaches assembled one of the country's finest and deepest recruiting classes earlier this month, earning a ranking of 19th in the nation by baseball publication Perfect Game. Among the 17-player class are eight outstanding pitchers and one of the nation's top catchers, forming a solid battery that will lay the foundation for the Huskies' future.
“This is an incredibly dynamic group but what sets them apart is their competitiveness,” Associate Head Coach and Recruiting Coordinator Jason Kelly said. “The entire group can command the fastball and they are not afraid to challenge hitters. As they continue to get stronger, this group has a chance to be very good.”
As good as the arms are, they will be throwing to one of the nation's top-rated catchers. Area Code participant Nick Kahle, a 5-11 senior at Chaminade Prep in Simi Valley, Calif., is the lone scholarship catcher that signed a letter of intent to join the Huskies' next fall. Kahle is the No. 2 ranked catcher in the state of California this year and falls just outside of the top-100 rankings off all players nationally, checking in at 116th according to Perfect Game. He hit .421 as a junior with two home runs and 23 RBI and is a member of the USA Baseball U17 National Team Development Program. Besides obvious talent with the bat, Kahle brings an impeccable work ethic and toughness behind the plate that UW Coach Lindsay Meggs likes.
“He has all the intangibles you want behind the plate,” said Meggs. “While Nick is a talented catch and throw guy who can also swing the bat, it's his approach to the game that really gets your attention. He is exactly what we wanted (at catcher), a consistent performer who makes everyone around him better.”
When Kahle arrives on campus, he will have a chance to develop with eight pitchers – five right handers and three left handers. The group of arms assembled by the coaching staff is not only deep, but also versatile. Meggs has a collection of arms that includes future starters, middle relievers and closers that will be added to an already young and talented group of arms on campus. An added bonus is that the coaches put a stranglehold on Northwest talent as half of the arms they added to the class are from Washington state and another hails from just north in British Columbia.
“That was our goal from the beginning,” Kelly said of bringing local talent to Washington. “We started relationships with this class very early. In fact, we had most of them on campus before they even played a varsity baseball game. With most of them growing up within 50 miles of campus, it was important for us to keep them here. That will continue to be our goal.”
The highest rated of the local pitcher is 6-foot-2, 185 pound righty Jordan Jones out of Kentwood HS. Jones was the MVP of the SPSL 4A Northeast, named Washington 4A First Team All-State, an Area Code participant and helped the Conquerors to the semifinals of the 2015 Washington 4A State Championship. He is the No. 1 ranked right-handed pitcher in the state after going 8-0 with a 1.55 ERA and recording 64 strikeouts as a junior. In his first three years for the Conquerors, Jones has recorded a 17-2 record, 1.52 ERA and struck out 115 batters in 129 innings.
“Jordan is just scratching the surface of who he will be,” said Kelly. “His ability to locate three pitches is as good as anyone on the west coast. He comes from a baseball family so he has a confidence about him. He understands how to attack hitters, how to execute a plan. The velocity is continuing to get better and there is plenty more in the tank.”
Joining Jones on the Washington 4A First Team All-State list is fellow signee Brendan Ecklebarger. The 6-foot-2, 190-pounder out of Redmond HS is the No. 2 ranked left-handed pitcher in the state of Washington for the class of 2016. He was 5-1 as a junior and 2-1 as a sophomore and played in the 2015 Area Code Games for the Kansas City Royals.
Another lefty joining the fray from the state is Chris Micheles, who earned Second Team Washington 4A All-State after his junior season at Puyallup HS. He was 7-0 with a 0.85 ERA, striking out 60 batters in 57 1/3 innings last year for the Vikings. He helped Puyallup to the semifinals of the 2015 Washington 4A State Championship and was also on the team in 2014 that won the state title.
The final addition to the team that hails from the state is right-handed pitcher Harrison Goonewardene. He captained a Mercer Island team that won the Washington 3A State Championship in 2015, posting a 3-0 record with a 1.70 ERA.
“Harrison has the ability to throw a very good sinker,” said Kelly. “That is a pitch that is very hard to teach and very hard to hit. As he continues to get stronger and develop, that sinker is going to continue to get better and better.”
Meggs adds to Kelly's sentiment by saying he thinks that Goonewardene could be the surprise of the group.
“Before it's all over, we may look back and say that Harrison was the sleeper in our 2016 recruiting class. I see Harrison as a bigger version of Tyler Davis.”
While Goonewardene may be the sleeper in the class, the Huskies went north of the border to dig up perhaps the hidden gem of the group. They grabbed right-handed pitcher Josh Burgmann from Vauxhall Baseball Academy, where he has quietly developed his skills while also a member of the Team Canada Junior National Team since 2014. He already hits the 90s on the radar gun and commands a plus slider and change, but it is his proven ability to win big games that is intriguing.
“Josh is a great competitor with proven stuff who has already won on the national stage as a member of Team Canada,” said Meggs of Burgmann, who pitched at the 2015 Area Code Games and was the winning pitcher for Team Canada in a win over Chinese Taipei at the 18U World Cup.
“While we love Josh's stuff for obvious reasons, it's his makeup and toughness that sets him apart. Josh will do whatever it takes to get that third out.”
Rounding out the 2016 recruiting class of pitchers are three players that hail from California.
Right-hander Leo Nierenberg – another Area Code participant – from Oakland's Bishop O'Dowd HS is the highest rated of the three pitchers at No. 472 overall in the nation. He posted a 6-2 record with a 0.61 ERA as a junior and is 15-6, 0.88 overall in his high school career. He mixes a fastball, slider and change to get hitters out and has the ability to start or come out of the bullpen.
“Leo is an incredible competitor,” said Kelly. “He pitches with a lot of confidence and expects to win every time he takes the mound. Like Jordan, he can really command three pitches and that is going to help be factor right away.”
Joining Nierenberg from California is a pair of southern Californians: Tommy Costello and Noah Bode. Costello is a left-hander that hails from Chaminade Prep, the same school as Kahle. He is a Perfect Game Underclass All-American that is a legitimate two-way prospect on the baseball field. He was 1-1 with a 1.83 ERA on the mound and also hit .297 with 14 RBI. Costello is also the quarterback for the football team.
“Tommy is 86-88 (mph) off the mound with a plus left-handed breaking ball, and he is a relentless competitor on the mound,” noted Meggs. “That being said Tommy is also capable of being an everyday left-handed hitter in our program. He can hit in the middle of the batting order and drive in runs, and he has no fear.”
Last but not least, Bode is a hard-throwing right-hander out of Los Osos HS in Rancho Cucamonga that has a 6-foot-3, 185-pound frame. Right now, he is a classic right-handed fastball, slider pitcher that sits in the upper 80's. With added bulk in his frame, Meggs expects him to reach new levels that he is just beginning to tap into.
“The exciting thing about Noah is we know there is much more in the tank,” he said. “When Noah adds more strength to his 6-foot-2 frame, we expect that fastball to top out at 92-93 mph. Combine that with the plus slider he already throws and this guy has a chance to make a difference for us early. Keep your eye on Noah.”
In fact, keep your eye on the whole 2016 class and what they are going to add to the Huskies. With a great core of youth and talent on the current UW roster, the addition of these eight pitchers and one catcher next season will raise expectations and already has the baseball world buzzing about the Washington Huskies.
Check back next week on GoHuskies.com for a breakdown of the infielders and outfielder that signed for 2016.
