Oct. 4, 2002

WACO, Texas - With 14 freshmen joining the program, many ranked among the nation's top prospects, the Baylor baseball incoming class of 2002-2003 was named the 13th best recruiting haul in the country by Collegiate Baseball, the publication announced Friday.

Eight of the Bears' 14 newcomers were named to the Baseball America/Perfect Game Top 400 Prospects for the Class of 2002, led by three freshmen who were ranked among the 25 best prospects in the state by Texas Baseball News: right-handed pitchers Mark McCormick, Zach Golden and Ryan LaMotta. McCormick (11th round, Baltimore Orioles) and shortstop Kyle Reynolds (50th round, Arizona Diamondbacks) were selected during the amateur draft in June but elected not to sign.

Among Big 12 Conference teams, Baylor's class was outranked by only Texas; the Longhorns' signing class was rated sixth nationally. Two other conference foes made the top 30: Oklahoma State (22nd) and Nebraska (23rd).

Georgia Tech claimed the top honor, followed by Cal State Fullerton and LSU. Florida State and Clemson rounded out the top five. Aside from the Longhorns, Cowboys and Huskers, the Bears will also face Arizona (10th best class), Southern California (12th), Rice (17th), California-Irvine (24th) and Long Beach State (28th) during the 2003 season.

The Bears are currently in the midst of their annual Fall Practice, a series of 15 intrasquad games. The series continues through Oct. 20. Baylor begins the 2003 season Feb. 4 at home against Southwest Texas.

For a complete listing of the top 30 ranking, please visit the Collegiate Baseball website at www.BaseballNews.com.