Baseball team signs players from 5 states, coach: ‘not afraid to play freshmen’
Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 1:49AM By David Thackham
thackhamd@mytjnow.com
The Winthrop Eagles baseball squad is likely to have a youthful look in this upcoming 2011 season. First-year head coach Tom Riginos announced an early signing class of eight high school and junior college prospects in December, which he believes will make “an immediate impact” on the team. The signees, which will begin play in 2012, consist of five pitchers, one infielder/outfielder, one catcher/first baseman and an infielder, and claim hometowns in Pennsylvania, Florida, South Carolina, Texas and Georgia.
“We go where there are the best players possible,” said Riginos, speaking on the pervasive nature of the recruitment. Pitchers Michael Gilroy, Stephen Howell, Patrick O’Leary, Preston Johnson and Josh Strong, along with fielders,Elliott Caldwell, Clay Altman and Patrick McLendon, have been brought to the Eagles in order to improve on last year’s disappointing 6th place finish in the Big South standings. Six out of eight of the new signees are ranked among the top 1000 prospects in America, with four of those being within the top 40 players in their respective states.
“I’m very happy with [the class],” Riginos said. “All of them will have an impact in the program; they have a chance to come in and compete.” To help speed up the improvement, the former Clemson University recruiting coordinator is willing to do what it takes to win: even if it means breaking in his new talent early.
“I’m not afraid to play freshmen,” Riginos said. “You build [a program] with continuity and a lot of time. If you have freshmen, you have them for about 3 years, so you have chemistry that will build continuity [and] experience.” The team will need its out-of-state talent to provide better luck for road games. In the 2010 season, the Eagles were 7-18 away from the Winthrop Ballpark. However, Riginos can look forward to getting off to a good start with his new recruits. Winthrop was the victor in the first six games of the season for the last two years.
The Eagles’ head coach has had much success on the recruiting trail. His work in the Atlantic Sun Conference as a recruiting coordinator with Stetson University translated into a lucrative opportunity in the same position in the ACC with Clemson University in 2002. His 2009 incoming class was ranked 9th best in the country by baseballnews.com, while his 2010 Tiger class was billed as 20th in all Division I squads. Despite his move to Rock Hill, his commitment to a solid team has stays constant.
“It’s about relationships,” said Riginos, after what he described as a “clean” scrimmage on Saturday. “If you’re recruiting the right guys, you don’t have to recruit the best [players]. You get to know the kids, the parents and how they are.”
The incoming class, which will consist mostly of freshmen, will bring a wellspring of youth to a Winthrop team with 15 players in either their junior or senior year.
Yet, the Winthrop head coach expects his new talent to meld “right away” with the rest of his squad. “I’m very happy with [the class],” Riginos said. “We were a little behind track after the coaching changes [the addition of pitching coach Clint Chrysler], but we hit the road running and evaluated a lot of guys.”
The Eagles travel to San Diego, C.A. to take on the Aztecs of San Diego State University on Feb. 18. Their first home game is against Wagner College on the 25th.
