Juan Villa / Collegian File Photo

Incoming Bulldogs are best recruits in school history

Those aluminum bats are back making noise nationally, even in the offseason.

Collegiate Baseball Magazine has recognized the baseball program̢۪s recruiting class with a No. 10 national ranking. Head coach Mike Batesole̢۪s 2009 incoming class is not only the highest ranked recruiting class in Batesole̢۪s tenure, but the highest in school history.

“I feel real good about these guys coming in,â€Â Batesole said. “We feel that we were able to recruit some of the top athletes in California.â€Â

Coming off the national championship season, the Bulldogs lost 12 players to either graduation or the Major League draft. Batesole was quick to add 17 freshmen and six transfers to the 2009 roster.
After losing some key position players and a majority of the pitching staff, the coaches emphasized the importance of recruiting pitchers.

Batesole said the highlight of this class was the four recruits drafted by professional organizations — the most drafted players to ever come on campus.

Twelve of 23 total incoming recruits are pitchers.

“The future of our pitching staff looks bright,â€Â Batesole said.

The top four recruits for the Bulldogs include Josh Poytress (Fowler High School), Charlie Robertson (Bella Vista High School), Derek Benny (Roseville High School) and Terrance Buchanan (Mt. Carmel High School).

Left-hander Poytress was drafted in the 16th round, right-handed pitcher Robertson was drafted in the 29th, the other right-hander Benny went in the 45th, and Buchanan, a shortstop, was drafted in the 48th round.

Batesole feels confident that this group will help secure the future of the program.

“This group will allow us to continue to compete at the national level,â€Â Batesole said. “However, these young guys haven’t been through the wars and will need to learn how to fail and get back up before they make an impact in Division I ball.â€Â

Batesole has put together quite a resume in his time here as a Bulldog, with six consecutive Top 20 recruiting classes, three straight conference championships and a national championship.

Batesole was also recognized twice in 2008 with National Coach of the Year honors. It looks like Batesole̢۪s future recruiting classes might only get better.

“We’ve had our ‘09 class signed since last year,â€Â Batesole said. “The effect of last year’s national championship win will reflect in the 2010 recruiting class.â€Â

The Bulldogs seem to always focus on top local talent, and it shows with 12 of Batesole̢۪s recruits coming from San Joaquin Valley high schools or community colleges.

Batesole said he feels that there is no reason to recruit out of state.

“We hit the Valley and then the rest of California,â€Â Batesole said. “California is one of the top baseball states to recruit from and has great talent all over.â€Â

The Bulldogs have had a good baseball program for a while, but Batesole said he is not satisfied and is committed to making Bulldog baseball an elite program nationally.

In addition, Batesole and his staff recently received a contract extension through 2014.

“My staff and I are not going anywhere anytime soon,â€Â Batesole said. “We will be a good team this year, but it’ll be tough to repeat the success we had a year ago. However, 2010 and 2011 look very promising.â€Â

Overall, the Bulldog baseball program is headed in the right direction as Batesole̢۪s recruiting class this year ranked above many powerhouse baseball programs, such as Cal State Fullerton, Stanford, USC, Oregon State and many others.

Brand New ̢۪Dogs

Coach Mike Batesole brought in some of the best prospects in California to play for the Bulldogs this season. Here are some drafted players who will play for Fresno State in 2009:

̢ۢ Josh Poytress (Houston Astros)
̢ۢ Derek Benny (Oakland A̢۪s)
̢ۢ Charlie Robertson (Texas Rangers)
̢ۢ Terrance Buchanan (Kansas City Royals)