Kent Inks Ten To Join Highlanders

RADFORD, Va. -- Radford University Baseball coach Lew Kent has announced the signing of ten players to national Letters of Intent or Grant-In-Aid agreements during the late signing period. Josh Hammonds, Alex Gregory, John Lloyd, Steven Ellis, Jeff Cooper, Tyren Rivers, Will Naylor, Rocky Weiss, Raphael Turner, and J.B. Blixt will all join the Highlanders as freshman in the fall of 2005.

The list includes three pitchers, two catchers, three players with outfield experience and five players with infield experience.

“We a bringing in a good group of players that have the potential to immediately help us in certain areas,” Kent said. “We lost a great group of seniors to graduation, but hopefully the strength of this recruiting class will help offset the loss of those players.”

Hammonds is a 6-1, 175-pound pitcher from Herndon, Va. He played both baseball and football at Herndon High School, pitching for Hornets coach Al McCullock.

At 6-2, 195 pounds, Gregory can play either corner base. A native of Great Falls, Va., he played high school ball at Paul IV earning All-State and All-Conference awards as a junior and All-Conference as a sophomore.

Lloyd, a 6-2, 190-pound pitcher, was named All-Concord District and Honorable Mention All-Norther Region as a junior. The Oak Hill, Va. native played for coach Chuck Welch at Westfield High School.

Ellis , a 5-10, 160-pound outfielder, was Lloyd’s teammate at Westfield. The Centreville native was named Concord District Honorable Mention after batting .353 and posting a perfect 8-of-8 stolen base attempts.

A Suffolk, Va. native, Cooper will be able to play both third base and catcher for the Highlanders. The 6-0, 185-pound graduate of Nansemond Suffolk Academy was named All-Conference as a junior. He has a career batting average of .420 and was voted most athletic at Nansemond Suffolk Academy.

Rivers can play both the outfield and in the infield. A native of Suffolk, Va., the 5-9, 155-pound Rivers was named to the Southeastern District First Team as a senior and to the Southeastern District Second Team as a junior.

Turner earned Gatorade Baseball Rookie of the Year as a sophomore and was named baseball MVP as a junior. The 5-10, 190-pound Washington, D.C. native can play outfield or catcher for Radford.

A Forest Park High School standout, the 6-3, 215-pound Blixt will join Radford’s pitching staff. The Montcalir, Va. native played for coach Jerry Mobley.

Weiss is a 6-1, 170-pound shortstop from Lynchburg, Va. He was a First Team Infielder as a senior and was honorable mention All-Region. He was also a Second Team infielder as a junior. He graduated from Brookville High School with honors.

Naylor, a second baseman, was Second Team All-WCAC and was nominated for VISBA All-State honors. The 5-7, 170-pound Falls Church, Va. native also was an American Legion All-Star.

Radford was 15-40 overall in 2005, 8-16 in the Big South. RU won its first Big South Tournament game in 10 years in 2005.