2007 Aggie Baseball Recruiting

2008 Aggie Baseball Recruiting News

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

New Recruit for 2008

The Class of 2008 grew again with the verbal commitment from SS/P Adam Smith from Klein High School. Smith is a legacy recruit, his father Coach Barry Smith, from El Campo High School, received his bachelor's degree in physical education from Texas A&M in 1987 where he was a four year letterman, and voted captain of the team his senior year. He was also a member of the 1986 SWC Baseball Championship team.

Adam was honorable mention All-District behind an All-State senior shortstop this past year. He follows Klein High's P/SS Austin Creps to Aggieland as well as Klein ISD's SS Eric Schindewolf, P/SS Kevin Cravey and 2008 SS Scott Arthur.

Monday, August 27, 2007

Local Product Commits to Aggies

INF Wes Schill 5-9, 185, R/R, Fr-HS College Station, TX (A&M Consolidated)

Named All-Brazos Valley First Team by the B/CS Eagle as a junior and honorable mention as a sophomore. Schill developed into one of Consol's leaders as a junior. The second baseman hit .419 with three home runs and 31 RBIs and a .956 fielding percentage. First Team 13-5A All District and Consol Co-Defensive POY. Batted second in the lineup. Should start at Shortstop as a senior. Played summer ball for the Brazos Valley Renegades. Hit .388-0-11 in earning second team All-District honors as a sophomore. Despite not practicing football in the spring or participating in 7-on-7 games during the summer, Schill is expected to start at wingback for Consol.

Monday, July 30, 2007

Two Recruits on Board for Class of 2008

Here are the first two members of the 2008 recruiting class.

LHP/1B Ross Hales (6-3, 170) from Barbers Hill is one of the top two-way players in the state. He was 2007 Class 4A third team all-state at first base and honorable mention as a LHP. He was 2006 All-SE Texas Sophomore of the Year. He choose Texas A&M over offers from LSU and Houston. He went 11-4, 0.93 ERA, 1 SV, 75 IP, 123 Ks, 19 BBs, 51 Hs, 18 R, 10 ER. At the plate he hit .474 (46-97), 40 R, 17 2Bs, 2 HRs, 31 RBI, 8 SBs, 19 BBs, .559 OBA, .711 SL, .972 FA for 28-8-1 team. In his career, on the mound he is 19-7, 1.02 ERA, 1 SV, 187.2 IP, 232 Ks, 44 BBs, 84 Hs, 35 R, 20 ER. His career batting numbers are .422 (65-154), 56 R, 19 2Bs, 2 HRs, 41 RBIs, 9 SBs, 32 BBs, .521 OBA, .584 SL, .962 FA.

SS Scott Arthur (5-11, 175) is a slick throwing shortstop from Klein Oak High and had the second fastest 60 time (6.57 seconds) of all the players that tried out for the Texas Ranger Area Code team this summer. He follows two former Klein ISD shortstops, turned Aggie pitchers, Austin Creps (Klein High) and Kevin Cravey (Klein Oak) to Aggieland. Arthur played shortstop two years ago when Cravey was pitching and was the starter all year as a junior. He hit .429-1-17 with 33 runs scored. He also led the team with 17 stolen bases. He was named 16-5A honorable mention shortstop behind a senior Rice signee Rick Hague. Team won an Area Championship despite moving up from 4A and not ranking in the top four teams going into the season.

2007 Aggie Baseball Recruiting News

Ten Top High School Players already Committed
By: Scott Clendenin

The ten high school players that have given verbal commitments to Texas A&M baseball coach Rob Childress provide an excellent foundation for the future. These players not only have the ability to excel at the college level but they have told the coaches that they want to be in college, and with several sure to attract the attention of major league scouts, signability is just as important as playing ability when you recruit high school players. Coaches have to get a read on a player and their families desire to go to college as well as how they would fit into the type of ballclub that they are forming.

Four of these players will rank in the top 13 in the state of Texas as composed by Jason Becker's Insideprep Baseball website. Will Middlebrooks was number 13, Drake Britton was number 12 and I fully expect Eric Eiland and Kevin Ahrens to rank in the top 11 as well. Off his pre-summer prospect list of the top 68 players in Texas, eight of the ten current commitments were listed. This class would address needs across the board with three players being able to play in the outfield, three in the infield, multiple players on the mound and a big, strong catcher for them to throw too.

Last year, out of the 12 high school players that were signed, Kevin Angelle, Clayton Kershaw, Kevin Cravey and Clayton Ehlert were the highest rated players out the class on signing day. Two of those four players made it to campus but Nick Papasan, Zach Britton and Matt Sulentic joined Angelle and Kershaw in forgoing their college careers and going straight into pro baseball (or the junior college for a year like Kevin Angelle). Identifying rising talent is a great skill and Childress is one of the top evaluators in the country. So are Matt Deggs and Jeremy Talbot and those three coaches put in countless hours bringing the type of players to campus that they think will give them a chance to reach the College World Series. Finding talent before the pro scouts do also brings on situations where the Aggies must have several top recruits turn down the professional scouts and make Texas A&M a school like Rice, Stanford and Georgia Tech. Those schools academic and baseball reputations scare scouts away and most of their signees are drafted multiple rounds below where other players with the same talent level are taken. When that happens in Aggieland, hopefully starting with this recruiting class, A&M will keep players like those that signed last year in the fold. Having a third round talent drafted in the twentieth round gets those players to campus since they know a three year investment in college will give them a chance to mature and improve their draft stock.

Here is rundown of players in the class of 2007 that have committed to the Aggies:

Pitchers

With the start of the 2008 baseball season moving back to the end of February and the College World Series not moving from mid-June, the season will be compressed. To continue to play 56 games, all teams will be forced to play five games a week at least four times during the season. At Texas A&M, coach Childress will play games on both Tuesday and Wednesday to get up to 56 games and that means the Aggies must have three more pitchers (the number that normally pitch in mid-week games) developed and ready to go in 2008. This class addresses the situation with three players that will be primarily pitchers. Aaron Daab, Barret Loux and Britton are all tall, talented pitchers. Pitchers, not just players with arm-strength and after listening and watching Coach Childress for the past year, he is looking for players that will stay away from the walk more than someone who can throw in the mid-nineties. These players also have easy arm actions that they can repeat and that consistency will have them ready to help in 2008.

Two-way players

As with most high school teams, these players provide help on the mound and in the field and the Aggie coaches may have them specialize but they may have them contribute pitching and playing in the field as well. With only 25 players on a Big 12 Weekend roster, any player that can play, not just fill in, at another position is in a good spot to travel, even if you are not a starter. Most people consider Ahrens as an infielder first and foremost but he is a very good pitcher at Memorial High in Houston. Along with Middlebrooks (a slick moving shortstop and pitcher that led his team to a state championship in 2006), these players can go both ways but removing a key infielder to pitch in a game is one thing that coaches wonder about unless the player that takes over defensively has great skills. Some evaluators like both Nick Fleece and Brooks Raley as pitchers and others prefer them in the field, so the Aggie coaches will find their best spots when they get to campus.

Position Players

The Aggie coaches have already put together and incredible outfield class. David Alleman patrolled centerfield for national champion and supremely talented Woodlands High. Playing centerfield and batting leadoff for that team shows me how much his coaches think of him on the diamond. Eric Eiland is a left-handed version of current Aggie Kyle Colligan and is ready to blossom once he is concentrating solely on baseball. He is as athletic as any high school outfielder in the state and was a star at the Area Code games. Andrew Nettune might have missed the cut to make the Area Code roster but he is as good as any catcher in the state and the Aggie coaches are thrilled to have someone with his talent level. He is big and strong, and blast the ball when he makes contact.

Here are photos of Aggie players signing their National Letter of Intent with the A&M program.

Top Row Lt to Rt:
Gary Joeseph - Katy HS Athletic Director, Mike Langan - Assistant Head Baseball Coach, Bubba Fife - Katy ISD Assistant AD, Debbie Decker - Katy ISD Assistant AD, Tom MacPherson - Head Baseball Coach

Seated Lt to Rt: Rick Daab, LHP Aaron Daab, Linda Daab, 2006 State 5A Championship Runner Up Trophy

Dr. Bob Nettune, Catcher Andrew Nettune, and Jane Nettune Link to Tyler Newspaper Story

RHP Barrett Loux signs with the Aggies

OF Eric Eiland signs with the Aggies

SS Kevin Ahrens, along with parents Kay and Ken, signs with Texas A&M

Top Row: Head Coach - Sam Booker, Principal - Terry Houston Bottom Row: Amy Fleece, Nickolas Fleece, Nick Fleece

Will Middlebrooks and family after signing with Texas A&M

Texarkana Newspaper Story on Will Middlebrooks Signing with Texas A&M

10/05/06

Aggies pick up All-American with Commitment #10

The Aggies have picked up the commitment from one of the top left hand pitchers in the nation in Tomball’s Drake Britton. He chose the Aggies over the Baylor Bears and he joins Mitch Nelson and Blake Rampy as Tomball Cougars that are toeing the rubber in Aggieland.

Here is the bio that was written about Britton before pitching an inning this summer in the Aflac All-American All Star game, held in San Diego this past summer.

22 • Drake Britton • LHP Tomball (Texas) HS Bats: L Throws: L Height: 6-2 Weight: 200

Drake Britton is one of top pitching prospects in the class of 2007. He is very advanced for his age but is also projected and when you combine that with his low-90s fastball and filthy breaking ball he is a solid prospect. As a junior, Drake helped Tomball High to a national ranking during the season. He went 9-2 with a 1.34 ERA, 84 strikeouts and 37 walks in 60 innings. He spent his summer playing with the Columbia Angels travel team. As a sophomore, Drake made two appearances for a talented Tomball, winning both times to the mound.

He participated in USA Baseball's Junior Olympics in Phoenix and was one of 36 players invited to youth national team trials in Scottsdale, Arizona. Drake is the second left-handed pitcher from Tomball High to be honored as an Aflac All-American, joining 2003 Aflac West member Troy Patton, who now plays in the Astros organization. He has a number of different superstitions, including wearing his socks inside-out. Drake played defensive end on the Tomball football team as a freshman. He has also has spent time working with special-needs children in his community.

9/28/06

Houston Outfielder Commits to Texas A&M

Texas A&M has picked up their ninth commitment from one of the top athletes in the state of Texas when Houston Lamar's OF Eric Eiland gave the Aggie coaches a verbal pledge. He was on campus for his official visit when the football team hosted Louisiana-Lafayette. With the athletic outfielder on board, A&M has commitments from two top outfielders and this more than makes up for the decommitment of Klein's Chad Mozingo to Rice earlier this summer.

OF Eric Eiland 6-1, 200, L-L Houston, TX (Lamar) Summer: Houston Kyle Chapman Blue

#4 Prospect at 2006 Area Code Games; #64 Player in the Class of 2007 by Prospects Plus, November 2006; 31.5 inch vertical leap; 3.67 in 30 yard sprint at the Area Code Workouts; 4.53 40 yard dash at Texas A&M Nike Camp; District 21-5A All-District Outfielder

9/4/2006

Aggies Grab DFW Prospect from the Class of 2007

The Aggies picked up another commitment this past weekend from RHP/1B Nick Fleece from Ft. Worth Boswell High. He visited campus for the Aggie football game against the Citadel and is now the Aggies' eighth commitment. He was the #183 rated prospect on Baseball America's Class of 2007 and #15 in the state of Texas before his junior season and the was named District 4-5A sophomore of the year in 2005, All-District first baseman in 2006 he has a powerful bat and on the mound he has good velocity. At the area code tryout he was: 85-87 MPH fastball; 73-74 MPH curveball; 77 MPH changeup. His fastball has some late life at the plate and his breaking ball is a quality pitch. He played in the same district as Nick Papasan, Zach Britton and Jordan Walden. He hit seven homeruns, tied for fourth in the area, and had a 0.86 ERA over 24.1 innings pitched. He played first base, when not pitching, and batted cleanup for the DBAT 17 team that went to the Connie Mack World Series. He went 4-for-12 with two doubles, one homerun and three RBI while pitching 1.1 innings.

8/31/2006

Aggies now at Seven Commitments

OF Chad Mozingo has changed his commitment to Rice and will not be an Aggie.

The Aggies will have recruits in the first two weekends of the football season for official recruiting visits. It will be a mixture of players that have already committed to the coaches and players that are recruiting targets.

08/07/2006

Aggies get commitment number eight!

LHP/OF Brooks Raley
L/L, 6-1, 150
Uvalde, TX High
THSBCA All-State second team in Class 4A as a pitcher
Express-News Class 4A/Private 6A team as a pitcher
District 28-4A All-District first-team selection as a pitcher/outfielder

The Aggies have their eighth commitment from the class of 2007 and he is a player very familiar to the Big 12. Brooks Raley, younger brother of Oklahoma two-time All-Big 12 honoree Russell Raley (a current New York Yankee farmhand). With eight commitments already this summer, the Aggies look to build on the tremendous recruiting class of 2006 and the talent level is growing with each commitment this summer. His brother started the last 20 games of the 2003 season and was a fixture in the Oklahoma lineup for the next three years. Son of Terry and Dee Anna Raley, his father played at St. Mary's University and then for the Toronto Blue Jays from 1980-83. Brooks was also named third team All-State by the TSWA after going 12-2 as a junior. His only losses were to Smithson Valley in a playoff warm up game and Calallen in the Regional semifinals.

He posted a pitching record of 12-2 and picked up one save, and had an earned run average of 2.26 (was a 1.35 ERA before his last game against Calallen.) He pitched 73.2 innings, gave up 58 hits, walked 38 batters, and struck out 78 batters. He has an advanced pitching repertoire (already with command of four pitches) after being tutored by his father and coaches growing up. Raley batted leadoff and hit for a .398 average, including six doubles and two triples. He drove in a total of 14 runs and stole 21 bases in 26 attempts. Defensively, he had a .988 fielding average with only one error in 79 chances for an error while mainly playing outfield.

Diamond Kings Report (7/25/05):
Evenly proportioned, athletic build. Lean arms & legs. Long, slender look. Lots of room for added development. Narrow shoulders and waist. 3/4 delivery. Ability to change speeds and keep hitters off balance. Added velocity will raise stock. Ball comes out clean. Proper landing, good extension over front side. Tall, compact delivery. Anticipates well, proper routes, gets to ball in gaps. Great jumps at balls hit his direction. Instinctive 1st step in outfield. Opens shoulders correctly getting in good fielding position. Reads balls well off the bat. Brooks is a solid LHP prospect that needs to be followed closely. Calm, quiet player. Mature for age. Solid baseball instincts, hard worker.

7/27/2006

Two more Recruits Commit to Texas A&M

The Texas A&M coaching staff has sprinted out of the gates in recruiting seven top players so far this summer. Just as importantly, all of the players play in two of their priority recruiting regions (the Greater Houston Area and East Texas). The Aggie picked up pledges from their sixth and seventh recruits this week and both come from Houston. Chad Mozingo is one of the top outfield prospects in the state and RHP Barret Loux has rebounded from an injury plagued junior season to play well the second half of district play and during the summer with the Houston Heat Silver. He is the fourth player to commit from that summer team (along with Kevin Ahrens, David Alleman and Aaron Daab) and Mozingo is a top player for Houston Kyle Chapman Blue.

OF Chad Mozingo
L-L, 5-11, 180
Spring, TX (Klein HS)
Houston Kyle Chapman 17U
2006 Texas Rangers Area Code Team
District 14-5A All-District DH (2006 State Champion Woodlands' District)

Klein's Chad Mozingo (9) steals second base (Photo by Allison Slomowitz)

Insideprepbaseball.com says: Another speedy, athletic centerfield type guy, Chad is a great ballplayer. He has great hand speed and he centers the ball as a hitter, he has terrific range and above-average arm strength as a defensive player, and he is an all-out hustle guy. He plays the game like he loves it.

StudentSportsBaseball.com rates the players in several categories and Mozingo had the second highest rating at the Team One Baseball West showcase in Arizona with a 67.78 score.

Baseball factory bio

http://www.baseballfactory.com/aboutus/press.asp?pk_news_press=%7B09B67BA9-B09A-4798-B97B-A745B387EC99%7D&year=2006&month=2

Baseball factory Video of Chad working out

http://video.baseballfactory.com/BATS%2006%20-%20Houston%20AM/ChadMozingovid.wmv

Barret Loux
R-R, 6-4, 200
Houston, TX (Stratford HS)
Houston Heat Silver
2006 Honors- 2006 All-District 18-5A

photo courtesy of http://www.houston5abaseball.com/

In 2006, Barret was named All-District in 18-5A and he returned from injury to throw a seven-inning no-hitter with 10 strikeouts against Aldine Eisenhower and nine days later a shutout against Aldine Nimitz. He throws in the upper eighties and has a good breaking ball. Read more about Barret at Houston 5A Baseball.com.

Alleman bound for Aggieland
By: Joel Weckerly, Assistant Sports Editor (07/22/2006)

http://www.hcnonline.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16956417&BRD=1574&PAG=461&dept_id=532228&rfi=6

The Woodlands' David Alleman said he chose to commit to Texas A&M because the Aggies' baseball philosophy fits him 'to a T.' Staff photo by Jerry Baker

The Woodlands center fielder David Alleman had seven legitimate collegiate programs courting him, but ended up choosing the one that had almost the exact same baseball philosophy as his.

This week the Highlanders' soon-to-be senior gave his verbal commitment to play for Rob Childress's Texas A&M Aggies. He chose them over a host of schools including TCU, West Point, Air Force, Arizona State, Kansas State and Louisiana-Lafayette.

"I thought A&M was the best," Alleman said. "They told me their philosophy on the offense and it just fit me to a T. I went up there for Junior Day and I just loved all the houses and everything they had up there."

Alleman said the Aggie coaches had scouted him since the fall, and first watched him in an early-season tournament. Though he didn't have his best performance, they still seemed to like what they saw.

"The first time they saw me it was one of the worst tournaments of my life," Alleman said. "But they liked how I competed. I would walk and work the count, and I fouled off 10 or 11 pitches on one at-bat. They liked how I hustled. I'm one of those players where it takes me more than one game to show what I bring to the table."

The coaches even got to see Alleman play in their own backyard, when the Highlanders met Klein in the Region II-5A Semifinals this year at A&M's Olsen Field. In that park he displayed the defense and hitting that allowed him to finish his junior season with a 1.000 fielding percentage, a .404 batting average and 38 runs scored.

TWHS head coach Ron Eastman said he was pleased with his leadoff hitter's decision.

"I talked to the A&M coaches, and they're starting a new program there and they want guys who play baseball," Eastman said. "He's a ballplayer, and he'll fit in real well with their new system there. I couldn't be more happy for him."

Alleman said he liked the vibe he got from Childress, who went 25-30-1 in his first season at the helm.

"He's a good guy; he's real straightforward," he said. "He's not going to try to give you bad deals or go behind your back and all that. They didn't have that good of a year last year, but he went out and recruited some really good players."

Joining Alleman at A&M will be Memorial infielder Kevin Ahrens (.433, 27 RBI as a junior) and Katy pitcher Aaron Daab.

With the early commitment out of the way, Alleman said he can now focus on having another successful season as a senior without added pressure.

"I can just relax and play and not try to impress everybody," he said. "It's a good feeling to get it all off your chest. I've been going forward since high school started and now I'm here."

Joel Weckerly can be reached at jweckerly@hcnonline.com

Tyler All Saints Andrew Nettune Commits to Aggies (7-19-06)

Jason Becker at Insideprepbaseball.com is reporting that A&M has secured a commitment from another member of the Class of 2007. Catcher Andrew Nettune from Athens committed earlier this month to A&M after visiting the campus for the area code tryouts. Read more about Nettune and keep up with Texas high school baseball and all the recruiting across the state at www.insideprepbaseball.com

Andrew Nettune, Catcher, 6-1, 200, Fr-HS Athens, TX (Tyler All Saints)
TAPPS All State 2005 and 2006
TAPPS All State tournament 2006
TAPPS 3-4A Offensive POY
Baseball America #272 Player in Class of 2007
Baseball America #3 Catcher in Texas

Nettune posted a pop time of 2.05 and ran the 60 in 7.42 seconds, which was the third best 60 time of all the catchers. At the plate, Nettune exhibited some pop in his bat and was able to drive the ball to all fields. (Student Sports Area Code Report)

Present strength, good catcher's body, nice speed for position, strong arm, quick release, online and accurate throws, smooth blocking skills, handles pitchers, bat speed, line drive hitter, explodes on ball, leverage at contact, good looking young hitter, hits CB, ball jumps off bat, upside, good student as well. (Perfect Games 2006 Spring Top Prospect Report)

Liberty-Eylau’s pitcher commits to A&M

http://www.texarkanagazette.com/articles/2006/07/13/local_news/sports/sports02.txt

photo courtesy of David Deardorff

Thursday, July 13, 2006 9:47 AM CDT By Johnny Green

Junior shortstop/pitcher Will Middlebrooks was named Class 3A Player of the Year and Rick Fowler the Coach of the Year in balloting by the Texas Sports Writers Association.

Middlebrooks, who made the first team all-state at both pitcher and shortstop, finished the season with a 15-2 record on the mound, including 5-0 in the postseason. He was the winning pitcher in L-E’s state semifinal win over top-ranked Bridge City. In 78 innings, he struck out 136 batters and his earned run average was just over one per game.

As a hitter, Middlebrooks batted .464 with seven home runs and 33 RBIs. Three of the home runs, two triples and seven doubles came in the playoffs, during he reached base in 37 of 45 at-bats. He was named 3rd team all state punter by TSWA, 2nd team all state punter by AP, 1st team place kicker and punter in district 14-3A, and second team quarterback

Sports Director

Now that Will Middlebrooks has made a decision on his future, Liberty-Eylau’s two-sport star can relax.

Balancing the merits of football vs. baseball, Middlebrooks followed his heart last Monday when he made a verbal commitment to Texas A&M University to join the Aggies’ baseball program upon graduation next year.

“It’s been a dream of mine since my freshman year,” said Middlebrooks, who led L-E to the Class 3A state championship last month and was named player of the year. “I went down there my freshman year for a quarterback camp and fell in love with Kyle Field (football) and Olson Field (baseball). It’s an awesome place, and I wanted to go there.”

So, Middlebrooks and his family were given a tour of the College Station school and its athletic facilities by head baseball coach Rob Childress on Monday. Childress is a former assistant and head coach at Texarkana College.

“I love the coaching staff (which also includes former TC coach Matt Deggs), at A&M,” Middlebrooks said. “The first time I talked to them was at a camp, and they treated me just like I was one of their players.”

Middlebrooks, a first-team all-stater at shortstop and pitcher, will primarily play the infield at A&M, but pitching is not out of the question.

“They told me I would play shortstop and pitch as a closer whenever they needed me,” he said. “That’s what I want to do, but shortstop is my first love. I love hitting and playing the field, but if they need me to pitch, I will.”

And football?

“We talked about me possibly punting at A&M,” he said. “I can’t as a freshman because I will be on a baseball scholarship, and I won’t be allowed to play football. But I’m going to try to work it out my junior and senior years. They said they’ve had a guy do it before. But there will be no quarterbacking. That will take away too much time from baseball, and will make it a lot harder to stay healthy.”

Until Middlebrooks made his decision Monday, it appeared Arkansas and former TC head coach Dave Van Horn was in the running for his talents.

“I have talked to Arkansas, but you’re obviously going to pick the place you want to go the most,” he said. “For me, that’s Texas A&M.”

Daab committs to Aggies
by Jenny Dial
Sports Editor

http://www.katytimes.com/articles/2006/07/07/sports/02daab.txt

Friday, July 7, 2006 12:50 PM CDT

Katy senior Aaron Daab will attend Texas A&M University in two years. The pitcher committed to the Aggies following his junior season, after helping lead the Tigers to the state tournament. He will be back at Katy High for one more season. (Times photo/ Nick Georgandis)

Katy pitcher Aaron Daab hasn't had a dull moment in a couple of months.

The soon-to-be senior, who was a key in the Tigers' run to the state title game recently committed to play at Texas A&M University.

Daab's months of excitement started when the Tigers were turning heads in the post season.

After finishing second in District 19-5A, Katy High excelled in the tough obstacles the playoffs had to offer.

Around that time, all-district teams were released.

Daab was on the second team.

“When I made second team, it was just another reminder that I had to step things up,” Daab said. “I was happy to make the team, but I wanted our team to go far and I knew had to get better.”

Daab's stock continued to rise throughout the playoffs.

As Katy advanced to state, Daab progressed as a pitcher.

“It wasn't just me,” Daab said. “It was the whole team. We kept getting better the farther we went.”

The highlight of the post season for Daab came a few weeks ago, when he pitched the entire state semi-final game against Corpus Christi Moody. Moody was known for it's powerful hitting headed into the state tournament, but Daab's poise and control gave the Tigers the 2-0 win.

“I liked the pressure,” Daab said following the game. “I liked having to be at my best for my team.”

In that game, Daab only allowed three hits. The Tigers advanced to the state title game where they fell to The Woodlands 5-3.

A week later, Daab made First Team All-State.

“Making All-State was really exciting since I made second team all district,” he said. “It showed that I did make some improvements. I really couldn't have improved without my team, though.”

With baseball season at its end, Daab committed to play at Texas A&M.

“I've always liked A&M and its a real honor that I will be playing there,” Daab said.

Despite all the excitement surrounding him right now, Daab's focus remains on the season in front of him.

Daab has had a taste of state and wants to get back there with the Tigers next season.

Aggies pick up first Player for the Class of 2007

The first player in the 2007 recruiting class to commit to Texas A&M is one of the best infielders in the state and a player that will have to turn down the professional money to enroll in Aggieland. Memorial shortstop Kevin Ahrens has been on every recruiter and scouts list in the state of Texas since his sophomore season and last year he cemented his spot as one of the best players in the class of 2007 after making the Area Code games as just a junior. He entered the summer as the #7 player on www.Insideprepbaseball.com's Texas Top 25 list and might have even moved higher after his performance this summer. He is considered by many to be the best hitter in the state of Texas this year and he would jump start the Aggie offense if he convinces the pro scouts of his desire to attend Texas A&M. Reminds me of another offensive shortstop that signed with A&M in Round Rock Westwood's Kelly Johnson.

Kevin Ahrens, IF,
6-2, 190, S/R, Fr-HS
Houston Memorial,
Texas Rangers Area Code Roster 2005 and 2006
Baseball America #68 Player Class of 2007
TSWA Class 5A Second Team All-State Shortstop

InsidePrepBaseball.com Notes: Arguably the most advanced hitter in the class, and he is just as crisp from either side of the plate. Great hand speed and power potential. He has terrific pitch selection, maturity and patience. He sits back and waits for the one he wants, and then he explodes on it. Kevin is smooth on the infield as well. He has great hands and plus arm strength. His footwork is terrific, but his foot speed will likely call for a move to third base at the next level (professional). Tremendous upside. He's a ballplayer.