WRAL Sports Fan

Baseball

NC State, UNC land top 25 baseball recruiting classes

Oct 20, 2011

Durham, N.C. — Vanderbilt topped Baseball America's annual recruiting class rankings for the first time since 2005, when Pedro Alvarez, Ryan Flaherty and Brett Jacobson headlined a hallmark class.

The Commodores landed the nation's top recruit in unsigned first-round pick Tyler Beede, a bona fide ace with premium stuff, command and makeup. The early enrollment of power-hitting catcher Chris Harvey gives Vanderbilt a second marquee recruit. Athletic outfielder John Norwood and high-upside pitchers Adam Ravenelle and Philip Pfeifer join Beede and Harvey as the core of a very deep class.

Texas brought in the No. 2 class, its eighth top-10 class since the BA recruiting rankings started in the fall of 2000. Southern Mississippi welcomed its best class ever, landing in the recruiting rankings for the first time at No. 3. North Carolina State checks in at No. 4, surpassing its previous high ranking of 11th in 2009. Mississippi rounds out the top five with its highest-ranked class ever, marking the Rebels' seventh appearance in the 12-year history of the recruiting rankings.

The Southeastern Conference placed eight teams in the Top 25 for the second year in a row, leading all conferences once again. The Pacific-12 Conference followed with four teams in the Top 25, and the Atlantic Coast Conference produced three ranked classes. Nine different conferences appeared in the rankings.

Four-year transfers were not considered for BA's rankings, except graduate transfers who are immediately eligible.

2011 RECRUITING CLASS RANKINGS
1. Vanderbilt
2. Texas
3. Southern Mississippi
4. North Carolina State
5. Mississippi
6. South Carolina
7. Oregon State
8. Virginia
9. Oregon
10. Texas Christian
11. Southern California
12. Louisville
13. Oklahoma
14. Mississippi State
15. Florida
16. Pepperdine
17. Central Florida
18. Arizona
19. Fresno State
20. North Carolina
21. Georgia
22. Arkansas
23. Loyola Marymount
24. Alabama
25. San Diego State