By Staff
From Staff Reports
OXFORD Ole Miss has signed right-handed pitcher Kyle Bateman, of Flagstaff, Ariz., outfielder Bryce Morrison, of Austin, Texas, right-handed pitcher J.R. Pickens, of Liberty, Texas., and third baseman Jon Rodgriguez, of Plantation, Fla., to national letters of intent to play baseball, head coach Mike Bianco announced Wednesday.
The Rebels have now signed eight players during the early fall signing period.
Bateman, 6-foot-3, 200 pounds, was 2-0 with one save and a 2.90 ERA in 14 appearances last season to help Central Arizona Community College to a regional championship. He played high school baseball at Conconino High School in Flagstaff, Ariz., where he posted a 10-3 record his senior year with a 2.40 ERA and struck out 130 in 92 innings pitched.
Morrison, 6-foot-5, 235 pounds, batted .330 with four home runs and 45 RBIs last season as a freshman for Tyler Junior College in Tyler, Texas. As a senior at Leander High School, Morrison hit .359 with five home runs and 24 RBIs.
Pickens, 6-foot-1, 210 pounds, registered a 9-4 mark with three saves and a 3.80 ERA in 16 appearances this past spring at Blinn Community College in Brenham, Texas. In a four-year high school career at Liberty High School, Pickens was a three-time All-State selection, recording a 51-12 mark with a 1.20 ERA and struck out 453 in 461 innings pitched.
Rodgriguez, 6-feet-4, 210 pounds, hit .506 in 33 games last season as a high school junior at Westminster Academy. He also had seven homeruns and 35 RBIs to earn All-County honors from the Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel and Miami Herald.
Southern Miss signs five in basketball: Southern Miss basketball Head Coach James Green and his staff took care of most of their recruiting chores on the opening day of the fall signing period Wednesday with five quality signees.
The list includes guard/forward Jasper Johnson of Hollandale, center Ben Lambert of Mobile, Ala., point guard James Pattman of Lilburn, Ga., center Carey Rigsby of Houston, Texas, and guard Dante Stiggers of Alief-Hastings High School in Houston, Texas.
Johnson (6-foot-7, 230), plays at Simmons High School in Hollandale, where he averaged 28 points, 12 rebounds and five assists as a junior.
Lambert, a 6-foot-9, 240-pounder, played at Leflore High School in Mobile, Ala., and currently is a member of the Okaloosa-Walton Community College team where he has averaged 11 points, 14 rebounds and two blocks through three games.
Pattman, a 6-foot-1, 191-pound point guard, plays at Berkman High School in Lilburn, Ga., where, in addition to being an outstanding player, he has put together a 3.28 grade point average.
Rigsby, a 6-foot-9, 230-pound, center who played high school basketball at Willow Ridge High in Houston, Texas, and will join Southern Miss from Western Oklahoma Junior College, where he averaged 16 points, 12 rebounds, and one block a game through three games.
Stiggers, a 6-foot-2, 160-pound guard from Houston, averaged 10.0 points and nine assists while earning second team all-district honors as a junior.