Earlier this week, head coach Andy Lopez announced that 17 student-athletes have signed National Letters of Intent, binding them to Arizona’s baseball program upon their completion of high school if they don’t enter the professional ranks.
The signings represent one of the Wildcats’ most highly regarded classes in program history and comprises three top-100 players: Michael Kopech, Darius Day and Cole Tucker.
Arizona’s signing class is ranked No. 11 in the nation by Perfect Game USA and includes two catchers, 10 pitchers and five players in other positions. Signees hailed from seven different states, with seven from California, three from Arizona, two apiece from Louisiana and Texas, and one each from Illinois, Hawaii and Pennsylvania.
Kopech, a right-handed pitcher and Mount Pleasant, Texas native, is currently ranked as the No. 35 high school prospect in the country by Baseball America and has participated in the Perfect Game All-American Classic and the Under Armour All-American Game. He was additionally tabbed as the third-best player in Texas by Perfect Game.
Day is an outfielder from Chicago and was named the No. 2 player in the state by Perfect Game. According to Perfect Game, the 5-foot-11, 180-pound slugger possesses big power and a smooth swing, has clocked a 94 mph throw from the outfield and has compiled a 6.52 second 60-yard dash.
Tucker, who is from Phoenix, will enter his senior season at Mountain Pointe High School ranked as the second-best player in the state. The 6-foot-3, 175-pound shortstop helped team USA 18U to a gold medal finish in Taiwan at the IBAF World Cup and will be expected to contribute depth to the Wildcats’ defense with his strong arm. The recruiting class is deep in pitching, Lopez said.
“This a marvelous recruiting class. It is a deep and talented group of players that we are excited to bring into our program next year,” Lopez said. “Our fans should be excited for the future, and I know each of these players will represent the standards of our program both on and off the field.”
Lopez added that Arizona was able to acquire a prestigious class due to an all-around group effort between Arizona’s coaching staff.
“I give credit to Shaun Cole and Matt Siegel on our coaching staff. They put in a lot of hard work the last couple of years building the relationships with these players and their families,” Lopez said.
“We have one of the best facilities in the nation to recruit to, and our fans have been outstanding at Hi Corbett Field. We feel like we can go after the best players in the country each year.”
— Follow Evan Rosenfeld @EvanRosenfeld17
