Spring Recruits For Boys of Summer
Four junior college players join six high school players as BYU's spring baseball signees.
"I'm very pleased with the quality of recruits we were able to sign," said BYU Coach Vance Law. "They give us more depth to help us contend for the title next year."
Kory Knell and Blair Lucas tied for MVP honors at Saddleback Junior College and were first-team All-Orange Empire Conference.
Knell, 6-0, 190, is an outfielder/first baseman from Cottonwood High in Salt Lake City. Knell batted a team leading .431 and hit 15 doubles, three triples and seven homers. Knell, who was recruited by Richmond, Cal Berkeley, Washington State and South Carolina, played quarterback on the Saddleback football team before his Church mission to Illinois.
Lucas, 5-10, 185, is a third baseman from Lake Forest, Calif.Lucas. He was recruited by UCLA, Utah and Hawaii and served a Church mission to Brazil, batted .391 with 21 doubles and 11 homers, leading Saddleback with 64 runs scored.
Michel Bergeron, 6-2, 195, is a right-handed pitcher from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada who played at St. Petersburg College in Florida. He was recruited by Florida, Stetson, Charleston College and Northeastern. He was second-team All-Sun Coast Conference with a 3-0 record, three saves and a 3.14 earned run average. He is currently playing with Cougar shortstop Ranger Wiens in Newport, R.I., where he is helping that semi-pro team defend the New England Collegiate Baseball League title he helped them win last year.
Brock Jacobsen, 6-2, 195, is an outfielder/first baseman from Dixie College. Jacobsen, whose hometown is Santa Clara, Utah, finished third in the Scenic West Conference in runs and home runs and second in triples. He was a member of the Juco World Series All-Tourney Team and an all region player two years ago. He was recruited by Arizona, Nevada and Southern Utah and was drafted in the 44th round by the St. Louis Cardinals.
Luke Beck, 6-2, 205, is a third baseman, right-handed pitcher from Malibu High School, the same prep program as BYU's Cameron Coughlan. He batted .491 as team captain and throws a 92 mph fastball. Beck was first-team All-Frontier League and was recruited by San Francisco, Loyola Marymount and St. Mary's.
Thomas Bills, 6-4, 175, is first-baseman and younger brother of current Cougar Kevin Bills. He is from Reno, Nevada and was second-team All Sierra League as a designated hitter. He was academic all-state with a 4.0 GPA. He batted .350 and is playing in the Arizona summer college league with his brother. He is following in the footsteps of his grandfather (`48-`51) and father (`73-`74) playing BYU baseball.
Kenneth Graveley, a 6-0, 185 left-handed pitcher, is from Millikan High in Long Beach, Calif., the same high school as the Fernley brothers who signed in previous seasons with BYU. He was recruited by Long Beach State, Cal State Fullerton, San Diego State and the Air Force Academy. Graveley had a 1.40 earned run average with a 10-2 record and 96 strikeouts. He was team MVP, first-team All-Moore League and a member of the Irvine Big West Tournament Select Team. He is a first cousin to former BYU defensive lineman Byron Frisch.
Adam Hanselman, 6-2, 195, is an outfielder who prepped at Governor Thomas Johnson High in Frederick, Md., where it won the state 4-A title. He was recruited by Georgia, East Carolina and Maryland. He was All Central Maryland Conference, all-area by two newspapers and selected as Player of the Year in Central and Western Maryland by the Frederick News Post. He batted .478 and set a school record with 44 hits. He was also selected to the Crown All-Star Game at Camden Yard.
Chris Johnson, 5-11, 175, is an infielder from Laguna Hills, Calif. Johnson was two-time All-Sea View League and was second team All-CIF. He was the most valuable offensive player on his team and was recruited by USC, UC Irvine and Long Beach State. Johnson also quarterbacked Laguna Hills High's football team the past two years.
Trever Viliamu Kuresa, 6-3, 215, is a first and third baseman from Roseville, Calif., where he was All-CIF for Del Campo High. Kuresa was recruited by Oregon State, Cal-Berkeley, Fresno State, San Jose State, Arizona State and Hawaii. He captained the Seattle Mariners' Area Code Team that played in Australia during the Christmas holidays. He has a .360 batting average and is now playing in the NBC tournament for Los Angeles Bay Sharks and will be playing for the Samoa International Baseball Team this August in Canada. Last summer he received the title of high chief in Samoa and is a cousin of former BYU defensive lineman Setema Gali.
Last November BYU also announced the signings of southpaw pitchers Clayton Barnes, 6-1, 180, from Provo High School and Tyler Coon, 6-1, 210, from Silverado High in Las Vegas.
