Nov. 26, 2014
THE FLATS – Georgia Tech baseball head coach Danny Hall announced that 11 top prospects from the state of Georgia have signed their National Letters of Intent to play for the reigning ACC Champion Yellow Jackets and comprise the nation’s 11th-best incoming class.
The class features eight right-handed pitchers, a pair of catchers, two power bats and an athletic middle infielder. Two signees are rated among Baseball America’s Top 100 prospects, while Perfect Game ranked the class 11th nationally. It represents the third time since 2011 that Tech has signed a class ranked 11th or higher.
The class includes (alphabetically): Joey Bart (C, Buford), Micah Carpenter (RHP/OF, Jefferson), Burton Dulaney (RHP, Rome/Darlington), Tristin English (RHP, Zubulon/Pike County), Bobby Gauvreau, RHP, Marietta/Sprayberry), Keyton Gibson (RHP, Buford), Carter Hall (MIF, Peachtree Corners/Wesleyan), Jonathan Hughes (RHP, Flowery Branch), James Lee (RHP, Brooks/Whitewater), Brandt Stallings (OF, Alpharetta/Kings Ridge), Tyler Stephenson (RHP/C/1B, Kennesaw Mountain).
“This is a highly-ranked class that we’re very excited about,” said Hall. “To have another class ranked this high speaks to the great work that our coaching staff has done in identifying the top talent in our state and getting them here to Georgia Tech. We wanted to bring in pitchers to add depth to our bullpen, and we did that. We needed some catching behind Arden (Pabst) and Grant (Wruble), and Joey Bart and Tyler Stevenson will certainly bring that. Brandt Stallings brings some power, as does Bart, and Carter Hall brings athleticism in the infield.”
This is the second consecutive year that every member of Tech’s incoming class hails from Georgia.
“There are great high school coaches in Georgia, and there are great summer programs in this state,” said Hall. “We always want to focus on keeping homegrown talent in that state. If we can take a Georgia player over an out-of-state guy, it’s always been our philosophy to do that, and it’s been a good formula for us.”
Signee Bios (all rankings reflect Perfect Game ratings, except where noted):
Joey Bart – 6-2, 215, C – Buford, Ga./Buford
2014 and 2013 Underclass High Honorable Mention All-America… No. 12 catcher nationally… No. 16 player in Georgia… No. 2 catcher in Georgia
Coach Hall on Bart: “We’re really excited to have a guy like Joey in this class. He’s an outstanding catcher and a great hitter with power. He’ll be an impact hitter in our lineup and can step in immediately and catch. Joey is another guy that stands out to me in terms of his competitiveness and his will to win. His brother, Mikey, is a defensive lineman at North Carolina.”
Micah Carpenter – 6-0, 185, RHP/OF – Jefferson, Ga./Jefferson
2014 Underclass High Honorable Mention All-America… No. 83-ranked player in Georgia
Coach Hall on Carpenter: “A talented two-way guy – outfielder and pitcher – that is a valuable addition to this class. I like his competitiveness and he comes from a very good high school program in Jefferson. I like his make-up and look for him to be very competitive from the start.”
Burton Dulaney – 6-0, 170, RHP – Rome, Ga./Darlington
2014 Underclass High Honorable Mention All-America… No. 93-ranked player in Georgia
Coach Hall on Dulaney: “Burton’s a very good pitcher. He may not have the velocity of some of the other guys in the class, but can really pitch. He uses all three pitches – fastball, curve and change – and he has really rebounded well this summer after coming off a shoulder injury.”
Tristin English — 6-2, 180, RHP – Williamson, Ga./Pike County
2014 Underclass Second Team All-America… No. 47-ranked player nationally… No. 14-ranked RHP nationally… No. 3-ranked RHP in Georgia… No. 9-ranked player in Georgia
Coach Hall on English: “Tristin’s a very talented right-handed pitcher that is among the top-ranked players in this class nationally. He’s just a very good baseball player overall that also has the ability to catch if we needed him to do that. Both he and Hughes have the ability to come in and freshmen and make an immediate impact on our rotation.”
Bobby Gauvreau – 6-0, 205, RHP – Marietta, Ga./Sprayberry
2014 Underclass Second Team All-America No. 8-ranked RHP in Georgia… No. 34-ranked player in Georgia… No. 118-ranked RHP nationally
Coach Hall on Gauvreau: “Bobby’s a big-arm, right-handed pitcher with a hard slider. I probably started watching him when he was 12-years old and he’s always had a great arm. He’s been in the East Cobb program a long time and was high-school teammates with Michael Chavis at Sprayberry (26th overall pick in last year’s draft).
Keyton Gibson – 6-3, 205, RHP – Buford, Ga./Buford
2014 Underclass High Honorable Mention All-America… No. 18-ranked RHP in Georgia… No. 61-ranked player in Georgia
Coach Hall on Gibson: “Keyton probably has the biggest upside of anyone in this class. He’s just a very good athlete that also plays basketball at Buford. He’s tall, with a fastball in the 90’s and a very good breaking ball. I really like how he projects. He’s a guy that made a lot of strides this summer in the East Cobb program and should continue to get better.”
Carter Hall – 6-1, 185, MIF – Alpharetta, Ga./Wesleyan
2014 Underclass Second Team All-America… No. 5-ranked shortstop in Georgia… No. 29-ranked player in Georgia… No. 31-ranked shortstop nationally
Coach Hall on Hall: “Carter is probably the best athlete among the guys in this class. He’s a shortstop and will come in immediately as our fastest player, and may see some time in the outfield because of that. He’s very instinctive player that can play all three infield positions.”
Jonathan Hughes – 6-1, 185, RHP – Flowery Branch, Ga./Flowery Branch
2014 Underclass First Team All-America… No. 4-ranked RHP in Georgia… No. 13-ranked player in Georgia… No. 34-ranked RHP nationally
Coach Hall on Hughes: “One of the best right-handed pitchers in our state. I’ve been able to watch him for two or three years and he wants to win at everything he does. He’s got a very good fastball, a good breaking ball. Jonathan is competitive, a good athlete and a guy that brings an elite level of pitching talent to this class.”
James Lee – 6-0, 180, RHP – Brooks, Ga./Whitewater
2014 Underclass High Honorable Mention All-America… No. 99-ranked player in Georgia
Coach Hall on Lee: “What James doesn’t have in size, he makes up for on the mound with his ability to pitch effectively. I like his make-up and is someone that has pitched in a lot of big games for the Roadrunners summer team in the national tournament. He also took Whitewater High School deep in the state playoffs last year.”
Brandt Stallings – 6-4, 220, OF – Buford, Ga./Kings Ridge Christian
2014 Underclass First Team All-America… No. 3-ranked 1B nationally… No. 38-ranked player nationally… No. 1-ranked 1B in Georgia… No. 6-ranked player in Georgia… Won the Home Run Challenge at the Perfect Game All-American Classic at Petco Park
Coach Hall on Stallings: “Brandt is another highly-ranked player in this class and someone that’s got a lot of similarities to a guy in our current freshmen class, Kel Johnson. He’s got major power, and for his size, can really run. We’ll probably look to make him an outfielder because of his speed. But he’s a guy that can turn a game around in a hurry with his power. Brandt has been around championship baseball in the Perfect Game system and helping Kings Ridge win a state title.”
Tyler Stevenson – 6-4, 210, RHP/C/1B – Kennesaw, Ga./Kennesaw Mountain
2014 Underclass High Honorable Mention All-America… No. 1-ranked catcher in Georgia… No. 9-ranked catcher nationally… No. 12-ranked player in Georgia… No. 99-ranked player nationally by Baseball America
Coach Hall on Stevenson: “Tyler is an excellent baseball player and athlete in this class that can play three different positions – catcher, first baseball and pitcher. Not to make comparisons, but he reminds me of Matt Wieters in terms of his ability to help us in different ways, but it may take us a little while to figure out what he might be best at. I’ve seen him throw 90 off the mound with a hard slider and he’s a very good hitter.”
