The boys of spring step forward
The American Family preseason All-USA baseball team is chosen by USA TODAY Sports’ Jim Halley in consultation with high school coaches and national scouting services. All players are seniors, except those noted with an asterisk, who are juniors. All statistics are from last season.
*Cory Acton, IF, 6-0, 165, American Heritage, Plantation, Fla.
Florida commit hit .500 with 26 RBI and 18 doubles in 80 atbats at Westminster Academy (Fort Lauderdale). Jordon Adell, OF-RHP, 6-3, 205, Ballard, Louisville
Louisville commit hit .449 with 11 home runs, 44 RBI, 10 doubles, 44 runs and 25 walks. He also was 1-0 with a 1.55 ERA and 56 strikeouts in 312⁄ innings. 3
Shane Baz, IF- OF-RHP, 6-3, 190, Concordia Lutheran, Tomball, Texas
Texas Christian commit hit .443 with three homers and 23 RBI. His ERA was 1.06, and he had 46 strikeouts in 23 innings. Nick Brueser, IF, 6-2, 190, Hamilton, Chandler, Ariz.
Stanford commit led his team to the state Division I title, hitting .442 with nine home runs, 32 runs and 47 RBI. Jordan Butler, IF-LHP, 6-2, 195, Alonso, Tampa
Florida commit led team to 9A state semifinals, going 11-1 with 102 strikeouts in 78 innings and a 0.58 ERA. He also hit .407 with 27 RBI. Hans Crouse, RHP, 6-4, 185, Dana Hills, Dana Point, Calif.
Southern California signee had 96 strikeouts in 73 innings and a 1.15 ERA. He pitched the USA’s Under-18 team to a gold medal defeat of Cuba in the COPABE Pan American AAA championship. Hagen Danner, IF-RHP, 6-2, 195, Huntington Beach, Calif.
UCLA commit hit .423 with 29 RBI and six homers. He rested his arm last season but still had 20 strikeouts in 31 innings. Blayne Enlow, RHP, 6-3,
180, St. Amant, La.
LSU commit had 93 strikeouts in 622⁄ innings. He allowed no 3 earned runs in 13 innings for Team USA in the COPABE Pan American AAA championship. C.J. Van Eyk, IF-RHP, 6-2, 185, Steinbrenner, Lutz, Fla.
Florida State commit led team to the 8A state title, going 12-1 with a 0.77 ERA. He hit .340.
*Jonathan Gates, IF-LHP, 6-2, 189, Nature Coast, Brooksville, Fla.
Junior hit .486 with 43 RBI and 14 doubles. He went 6-0 with a 0.56 ERA and 98 strikeouts in 62 innings, including a no-hitter in the playoffs.
Hunter Greene, IF-RHP, 6-4, 205, Notre Dame, Sherman Oaks, Calif.
UCLA signee hit .419 with 20 runs, 20 RBI and five homers. He had a 1.63 ERA and 5-3 record in 552⁄ innings. 3 D.L. Hall, LHP- OF, 6-2, 170, Valdosta, Ga.
Florida State commit led Houston County (Warner Robins) to Georgia AAAAA championship last season. He was 6-1 with an ERA of 1.81 and 89 strike- outs in 58 innings. He led the team with 40 hits and had a .339 batting average.
Quentin Holmes, OF, 6-1, 175, Monsignor McClancy, Queens, N.Y.
Mississippi State signee hit .400 with seven home runs and 64 RBI and stole 52 bases. Royce Lewis, IF- OF, 6-2, 188, Junipero Serra, San Juan
Capistrano, Calif.
UC Irvine signee hit .429 with 42 hits, four homers and nine doubles. Owen Lovell, OF-RHP, 6-4, 225, Cullman, Ala.
Mississippi State commit led the state with 14 homers and 64 RBI while hitting .392. He stole 24 bases and went 7-1 with 63 strikeouts in 51 innings and a
1.51 ERA.
M.J. Melendez, C, 6-0, 170, Westminster Christian, Palmetto Bay, Fla.
Florida International commit hit .413 with 43 RBI and seven home runs at St. James (Montgomery, Ala.) and is the son of new FIU coach Mervyl Melendez.
Calvin Mitchell, OF, 6-1, 200, Rancho Bernardo, San Diego
UCLA commit hit .371 with 26 runs, 41 RBI, six doubles, three triples and 12 homers. Brady McConnell, IF, 6-3, 175, Merritt Island, Fla.
Florida signee hit .490 with 42 runs, 32 RBI, 15 stolen bases and three homers. Jason Rooks, OF, 6-3, 200, Walton, Marietta, Ga.
Georgia Tech commit helped his team win the AAAAAA state title, hitting .383 with 12 doubles, nine homers and 49 RBI. Trevor Rogers, IF-LHP, 6-5, 190, Carlsbad, N.M.
Texas Tech signee led his team to the 6A state championship, going 9-2 with a 0.70 ERA and 122 strikeouts in 692⁄ innings. He hit 3 .338 with 22 RBI.