Eight Baseball Newcomers Arrive on Campus
Aug 30, 2011 | Baseball
Aug. 30, 2011
NEW ORLEANS - When classes opened on Monday, August 29 on the Uptown campus, head coach Rick Jones and the Tulane baseball program welcomed eight newcomers for their first season wearing the legendary sluggerbird across their chests.
Tulane welcomed eight newcomers to campus on Monday (August 29), with three of them arriving at the college level for the first time. Jordan Gross, Alex Massey and Cameron Neal all joined the program after decorated prep careers. Roaming campus is nothing new for the five transfer student-athletes, with Tyler Mapes, Troy McCartney, Tucker Oakley, Sean Potkay and Andrew Reeves coming to campus with academic and athletic experience at the college level.
A left-handed pitcher from Don Bosco Prep (N.J.), Gross was picked in the 40th round by the Boston Red Sox. He helped the Ironmen win the Bergen County Championship for the first time since 2008 during his senior campaign, leading DBP to a 25-1 record. Don Bosco Prep finished the season ranked 30th in the Perfect Game National High School Poll and Gross was ranked as the 11th best prospect in the state of New Jersey by Perfect Game.
Massey was a 27th round pick of the Boston Red Sox after helping Baton Rouge Catholic (La.) High School to back-to-back Louisiana High School Athletic Association 5A State Final Four appearances last May, wtih a 2010 State Championship on his resume. The right handed pitcher was an All-State 5A pick in 2010 and will reunite with former high school teammate Alex Facundus when he arrives on campus.
One of the top players on the field for the St. Johns School over the last three seasons, Neal earned All-Southwest Preparatory Conference accolades during each of his three varsity seasons. The outfielder was a 2011 All-Region First Team pick after earning Underclassmen All-American High Honorable Mentions in 2010. The right-handed hitter posted a .468 batting average and scored 55 runs last season for the Mavericks, who posted a 20-14 record in 2011.
Mapes helped Navarro College to the Junior College National Championship last season and was a 49th round selection of the New York Yankees in the Major League Baseball draft. The right-hander earned Third Team All-American honors from the NJCAA after posting an 11-2 overall record on the mound. Mapes added two saves to his resume to go along with a 1.81 ERA and 89 strikeouts in 99.2 innings of work. The Plano, Texas native started his career at the U.S. Naval Academy, where he appeared in 15 games in 2010.
An infielder from McLennan Community College, McCartney played in 112 games over the past two seasons for the Highlanders. The Celina, Texas native hit .369 in 52 games played last season, reaching base at a .432 clip, to go along with 20 extra base hits and 38 RBI's. He began his career by playing 60 games for the Highlanders and hitting .322 with 20 RBI's.
Oakley spent the past two seasons at Weatherford College and helped them to a 75-43 over the past two seasons. The pitcher/infielder hit .302 in 2011 with seven home runs and 46 RBI's and appeared in 14 games with a 5-5 record and 68 strikeouts on the mound for the Coyotes. In his first season at Weatherford, the pitcher/first baseman set a school single-season record for home runs with 16 and hit .355 with nine doubles and 42 RBI's. He earned Northern Texas Junior College Athletic Association honors as a designated hitter and was selected to the Texas Collegiate League All-Star Team during the summer of 2010.
Potkay has made two stops before coming to the Uptown campus, starting his college career at Oregon before transferring to Western Nevada College. Potkay's .322 batting average ranked third on the team and he reached base at a .424 clip. In 56 games last season, the right-handed hitter drove in 41 RBI's, scored 37 runs and was 12 of 13 in stolen bases. While at Oregon, he played in 11 games with seven starts, batting .250 with two RBI's.
The final - alphabetically - addition to the 2012 roster is Reeves, who played the past two seasons at LSU-Eunice. The right-handed pitcher was 9-4 last season with a 2.59 ERA in 83.1 innings of work. He fanned 71 batters and walked just 37, limiting opponents to a .260 batting average and allowing only eight extra base hits. He pitched out of the bullpen in 2010 for the NJCAA National Championship team, which posted a 52-13 record, and then helped the Bengals to a 45-15 overall mark.
--www.TulaneGreenWave.com--
