Temple University Athletics
TEMPLE BASEBALL SIGNS 12 TO NATIONAL LETTERS OF INTENT
7.18.06 | Baseball
PHILADELPHIA -- Temple head baseball coach Rob Valli has announced the signing of 12 student-athletes to National Letters of Intent or financial aid agreements: Matt Blackburn, Brett Carroll, Mike Caruso, Mike Click, Adam DiMichele, Rich Gargel, Matt Heltz, Mike Kelch, Kyle Monahan, Stan Orzechowski, Ryan Thomas and Ryan Weber. The group joins three student-athletes from the early signing period and five recruited walk-ons to bring the total number of newcomers to 20.
"We're extremely excited about our recruiting class," Valli said. "The goal was to improve our team by attracting highly motivated student-athletes from winning baseball programs. We have, without a doubt, assembled an extremely talented class.
"We've added several players that have competed for state and national championships on a yearly basis," he continued. "The class includes professional prospects and leaders, and we expect competition at every position on the field."
Blackburn, a right-handed pitcher from nearby Gloucester Catholic (N.J.) High School, was named to the New Jersey All-Non Public third team after going 6-2 with a 2.20 ERA for the Rams. A three-time All-South Jersey Non-Public selection by the Courier-Post, Blackburn went 9-1 with a 0.91 ERA as a junior and earned American Legion Mid-Atlantic Regional Tournament MVP honors after leading Brooklawn Post 72 to the World Series.
Carroll, a left-handed pitcher from River Dell (N.J.) High School, was named to the New Jersey All-Group II second team after going 7-2 with a 1.41 ERA. He struck out 89 batters in earning second team All-North Jersey Group II and All-Bergen County honors. A two-time first team all-league selection, Carroll compiled an 18-4 record during his varsity career.
Caruso, a right-handed pitcher from Gloucester (N.J.) CC, will return to the Atlantic 10 Conference after spending his freshman year at La Salle. As a sophomore at GCC, he went 5-1 with a 2.74 ERA and helped the Roadrunners to a second place finish at the NJCAA Division III World Series. As a senior at Cherry Hill West (N.J.) High School, Caruso was a third team all-state, first team All-South Jersey and first team all-conference selection.
Click, a right-handed pitcher from Penncrest (Pa.) High School, posted a 4-1 record and a 4.30 ERA with 30 strikeouts in 27 2/3 innings as a senior. He was named to the Delaware County Carpenter Cup team and was ranked #67 in Perfect Game's Northeast Player rankings.
DiMichele, a pitcher and outfielder from Okaloosa-Walton (Fla.) CC, batted .364 with 22 RBI as a sophomore and was drafted in the 38th round (1,136th overall) of the 2005 Major League Draft by the Toronto Blue Jays. A tremendous all-around athlete, he was the first player ever named to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Fabulous 22 in football, Fabulous 5 in basketball and all-area in baseball and was the Associated Press Pennsylvania Player of the Year in football (Class A) and basketball (Class AA). He batted .551 with seven home runs and 27 RBI as a senior at Sto-Rox and went 4-3 on the mound. A two-time Post-Gazette and Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Male Athlete of the Year, DiMichele will also play football at Temple and will compete for the starting spot at quarterback.
Gargel, a left-handed pitcher from Holy Spirit (N.J.) High School, was a three-time all-league and two-time All-South Jersey Non-Public selection.
Heltz, a middle infielder from St. Charles Catholic (La.) High School, was an Honorable Mention Class 2A All-State pick after batting .422 with six homers and 39 RBI. A three-time all-district and two-time all-parish selection, he led his team to the district championship in 2003, 2005 and 2006. A four-year starter, Heltz was named to the Clarion Herald Elite team and played in the state all-star game.
Kelch, an infielder from Chesapeake (Md.) JC, was a two-time all-region pick and led the Skipjacks to the 2005 NJCAA Division II World Series. He batted .353 with 31 RBI this spring.
Monahan, a right-handed pitcher from Cherokee (N.J.) High School, was a second-team all-league selection after recording eight wins on the mound. He helped lead Cherokee to a 23-4 record and the Olympic American title as a senior.
Orzechowski, an outfielder from Gloucester (N.J.) CC, led the Roadrunners to consecutive appearances in the NJCAA Division III World Series, including the 2005 National Championship. He batted .355 with five triples, 30 RBI and scored a team-high 51 runs as a sophomore. As a freshman, he played for Valli at GCC and hit .359 with 14 doubles and 48 RBI.
Thomas, a right-handed pitcher from Center (Pa.) High School, went 6-1 with two saves and a 2.47 ERA as a senior to earn first team all-section honors from the Beaver County Times. Selected to play in the WPIAL All-Star game, Thomas also was a standout basketball player, averaging 21.7 ppg. to earn first team all-section citations from the Beaver County Times and Pittsburgh Post Gazette.
Weber, a middle infielder from Eastfield (Texas) JC, was named to the all-tournament team after leading his team to the NJCAA Division III National Championship. A two-time first team all-conference and all-region selection at Eastfield, Weber was a two-year starter at Cy-Fair High School in Cypress, Texas.
This group joins three players who signed National Letters of Intent during the early signing period in November: Sean Barksdale, Rob Chamra and Matt Mongiardini.
Barksdale, an outfielder from Gloucester (N.J.) CC, batted .298 and drove in a team-high 44 runs to lead the Roadrunners to second place at the NJCAA Division III World Series.
Chamra was a second team all-conference, third-team all-county and third team all-North Jersey Group II selection. He went 5-2 with a 1.86 ERA with 52 strikeouts and batted .381 with four homers to help Cranford to the Watchung Conference Championship.
Mongiardini went 3-2 and allowed just 25 hits in 39 innings, while sporting a 3.45 ERA at Gloucester CC. He stuck out 25 batters and walked just 10.
