12/11/09 article on LSU's baseball recruiting class

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LSU SIGNS ANOTHER STRONG CLASS
Jim Ecker

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"Winning the national championship, it didn't have a huge positive impact in recruiting," said Grewe, who oversees the recruiting efforts for LSU head coach Paul Mainieri. "It actually made it a little more difficult in trying to convince kids there would be an opportunity here. It made it a little more challenging, because they saw the talent we had on the field."

Don't cry for the Tigers, of course. They signed a strong 15-man class this fall that includes three Aflac All-Americans and five players who are ranked in the top-51 in the Class of 2010 by Perfect Game. The Tigers are scheduled to get another talented player in the Class of 2010 when Zach Lee, also an LSU football recruit, joins the program. Lee plans to sign a national letter-of-intent in football this February and play both sports at LSU.

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The three Aflac All-Americans in LSU's new class are Kevin Gausman, a 6-foot-4 pitcher from Centennial, Colo.; Cameron Bedrosian, a 6-foot pitcher from Senoia, Ga.; and Jacoby Jones, a 6-foot-3 infielder from Richton, Miss. Gausman and Bedrosian are blessed with 95 mph fastballs and Jones is considered one of the top high school shortstops in the country. Bedrosian's father, Steve, won the National League Cy Young Award with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1987.

All 14 of LSU's high school recruits (including Lee) are ranked in the top-350 in the United States by Perfect Game USA. The Tigers also signed a pair of junior college transfers in Lucas LeBlanc, an outfielder from Delgado Community College, and Mitchell Hopkins, a pitcher from LSU-Eunice.

LSU also signed Garin Cecchini, a shortstop from Lake Charles, La., who is ranked 32nd in the country, and Austin Southall, an outfielder from Baton Rouge, La., who is ranked 51st. They'll be joined by Lee, a first baseman/pitcher from McKinney, Texas; Ryan Eades, a pitcher from Slidell, La.; Marcus Davis, an outfielder from Cincinnati; Joe Broussard, a pitcher from Gretna, La.; Nicholas Rumbelow, a pitcher from Bullard, Texas; Kevin Koziol, a shortstop from Orland Park, Ill.; Tyler Ross, a catcher from Naples, Fla.; Kurt McCune, a pitcher from Destrehan, La.; and Joshua Burris, an outfielder/pitcher from Baton Rouge.

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