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Aggie Baseball Picks Up 11 Commitments
The Texas A&M baseball staff announced on Wednesday they had received the commitments of 11 student-athletes to join the Aggies for the fall of 2012.

COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The Texas A&M baseball staff announced on Wednesday they had received the commitments of 11 student-athletes to join the Aggies for the fall of 2012.

"We're really excited about this class and the talent that we're bringing into our program," head coach Rob Childress said. "Justin Seely and Andy Sawyers have worked tirelessly to bring in these guys who not only have the talent to compete at a high level and push for playing time immediately but the character we look for from guys in our program."

Ten of the 11 players are products of the Lone Star State, while Holst represents the only non-Texan in the class, hailing from Missouri. Additionally, Brooks is the only student-athlete in the class to come from the junior college ranks.

Eric Brooks will join the Aggies after playing this season for Coach Pete Mejia at McLennan Community College in Waco, Texas, following his transfer from the University of Houston where he played as a freshman. At UH, Brooks threw 55.1 innings for the Cougars during the 2010 campaign before leaving the program. He was named first team All-State at Taylor High School following both his junior and senior seasons, the last of which he finished with an 11-1 record with a 0.89 ERA on the mound.

Drew Featherston, a product of Taylor High School where he plays for Coach Cory Bowyer, is a 5-foot-10 middle infielder who garnered unanimous first team All-District 19-5A honors last spring as a utility player. He was also selected first team All-Houston 5A after hitting .450 with 10 doubles and five triples.

Rex Hill is a 6-foor-3 left-handed pitcher who hails from Tomball, Texas, where he plays for Coach Doug Rush. The southpaw was a pre-season All-Houston 5A selection at pitcher prior to last season and was also selected as one of Perfect Game USA's top 500 prospects nationally.

Danny Holst, a combo infielder/outfielder, is the lone non-native Texan of the class as he will come to Aggieland from the St. Louis, Mo. metro area. Playing for Parkway South High School and Coach Adam Stahl. Holst earned Co-Suburban Player of the Year and Missouri Sportswriters All-State selections following the 2011 season, during which he batted .488 with three home runs and 21 stolen bases.

Grayson Long is a right-handed pitcher who plays for Coach David Denny at Barbers Hill High School in Baytown, Texas and stands an imposing 6-foot-6 on the mound. Following last season, Long was selected as a first team All-District 19-4A pitcher along with being recognized as a member of the Texas Rangers Area Code Team. Additionally, he was named the 189th best prospect in the country by Perfect Game USA.

Hunter Melton is a combination right-handed pitcher/infielder from Dawson, Texas, who was honored as a second team All-State selection at third base last season. Hunter plays for Coach Heath Autrey at Corsicana High School. Melton was also selected as a first team All-District and Offensive Player of the Year in District 15-4A after batting .573 with 10 home runs, 16 doubles and 41 RBI. On the mound, he compiled a 13-2 record with a 1.17 ERA a season ago.

The first of two high school teammates from Brook Hill Academy in Bullard, Tx in the 2012 signing class, A.J. Minter is a left-handed pitcher and outfielder. On the mound Minter produced a sterling 8-0 record and 1.67 ERA with 76 strikeouts in 42 innings pitched a season ago, while also contributing at the plate where he hit .561 with 18 doubles and six home runs. Minter was ranked as the #338 prospect nationally by Perfect Game USA.

Another product of Coach Terry Pirtle and Brook Hill Academy, J.B. Moss is an outfielder who has garnered three All-State selections already during his prep career. Moss was a force at the plate last spring, when he batted .530 with 12 doubles and five home runs en route to earning District Offensive Player of the Year accolades. The centerfielder was ranked as the No. 366 prospect in the country by Perfect Game USA.

With a name familiar to Texas A&M baseball fans, Cory Raley will join the Aggies in 2012 as a middle infielder out of Uvalde, Texas. The younger brother of former Texas A&M All-American Brooks Raley (2008-09), Cory is a two-time All-District 28-4A selection at shortstop in addition to earning Uvalde's Team MVP honors each of the last two seasons during which he hit .417 with 55 RBI and 40 stolen bases combined for Coach Tim Bertholf.

Ryan Rand is an outfielder/first base prospect who hails from Langham Creek High School, where he plays under Armando Sedeno. A second team All-District 17-5A selection at first base, he hit .356 with 26 RBI and 23 runs a season ago before being recognized as a Top 500 National Player by Perfect Game USA and receiving an invitation to the South Area Code games.

Rounding out the 2012 Texas A&M baseball class is Andrew Vinson. A right-handed pitcher/infielder from Flower Mound High School where he plays for Coach Martin Amrine, Vinson earned first team All-District honors as a pitcher last season when he compiled a 6-1 record with four saves on the mound. At the plate, he batted .387 with 16 stolen bases en route to being recognized by Perfect Game USA as the 389th best prospect nationally.

A&M opens its 2012 season on Feb. 17 when the Aggies officially christen the newly-remodeled Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park by hosting Illinois-Chicago in the opener of a three-game series.

Name Pos Ht Wt B/T Cl-Exp Hometown (High School/JC)

Eric Brooks RHP 6-2 195 R/R Katy, Texas (Taylor/Houston/McLennan CC)

Drew Featherston INF 5-10 175 L/R Houston, Texas (Taylor)

Rex Hill LHP 6-3 180 R/L Magnolia, Texas (Tomball)

Danny Holst OF/INF 6-1 185 L/R Ballwin, Mo. (Parkway South)

Grayson Long RHP 6-6 210 R/R Baytown, Texas (Barbers Hill)

Hunter Melton RHP/INF 6-2 220 R/R Dawson, Texas (Corsicana)

A.J. Minter LHP/OF 6-0 195 L/L Whitehouse, Texas (Brook Hill Academy)

J.B. Moss OF 6-0 185 R/R Tyler, Texas (Brook Hill Academy)

Cory Raley INF 6-2 185 R/R Uvalde, Texas (Uvalde)

Ryan Rand OF/1B 6-4 185 R/L Houston, Texas (Langham Creek)

Andrew Vinson RHP/INF 6-0 160 R/R Flower Mound, Texas (Flower Mound)

www.aggiebaseball.net

Great first SEC class

Can't wait to see these guys hoisting an SEC trophy

I thought Andrew Brown from AMC was signing also?

Andrew Brown is a member of the 2011 class. He is already enrolled

How does this class stack up nationally?

as we know the ranking of baseball signing classes is tricky, because the group you sign typically is not the group that makes it to campus.

Last year...I don't know where the Ags recruiting class ranked but 10 of the 11 signees made it to campus which should have pushed it ahead of other classes that took heavy draft losses (like the horns did)

IS anyone in this class considered a draft risk? Who are the recruits that the coaching staff thinks can make an immediate impact? All the numbers, etc from high school are basically meaningless as we all well know.

Looks like gabe posted a nice writeup last night. Looks like a potentially great class, and it's impressive when you look at the list of schools we beat out for some of the recruits.

Barber's Hill isn't in Baytown, Texas. Barber's Hill is in Mont Belvieu, Texas. That's East of Baytown, but isn't anymore Baytown than Hearne is Bryan.

All Houston 5A? Is this the Houston 5A baseball website's list?

A lot of kids that go to Barbers Hill ISD live in Baytown TX mailing address but outside city limits. That's why it can be confusing on where they are actually from -- if info was gathered just on address (see Ross Hales). But yeah, the BHISD is located in Mont Belvieu TX.