Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Softball Signs Four in Early Signing Period
11/10/2016 3:06:00 PM | Softball
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The Middle Tennessee softball program announced the signing of four student-athletes to National Letters of Intent on Wednesday, the first day of the NCAA Early Signing Period.
Becoming members of the MT softball program are Ryan King, a catcher from Huntington Beach, Calif.; Amber Baldwin, a pitcher from Huntington Beach, Calif.; Jocelynn De La Cruz, an infielder from Lake Elsinore, Calif.; and Claire Smith, an infielder from Lebanon, Tenn. Baldwin, King and De La Cruz are all members of the same prestigious travel team, the Firecrackers Lutterloh out of South Orange County, Calif.
"First off, Jocelynn De La Cruz, Amber Baldwin and Ryan King all come from the same travel ball team, Firecrackers Lutterloh, out of Southern California," said Assistant Coach Tony Foti. "This past year I think they finished ninth in the national championships and in another one, the Triple Crown Sports, they were runners up in the country and it was on ESPN and all that. So those are three kids that come from an extremely high level club program. They're not just a typical Southern California team, they are of that top echelon of the California teams. So that makes a difference with the experience these kids will bring and of what they play on a daily basis, so that's something to be said about the three of them.
"All these kids are of great quality from quality families. We go out, we watch them and see that they can play, but our number one criteria in recruiting athletes is their character and to keep improving the culture of our team, and we've found that with these four. We're really excited. It's rare that when you recruit a group of athletes and you target your top four and you get all four. And we've been really fortunate that these are the four we've targeted. And to say that we were able to get our first choice in recruiting is unheard of. It really gives us a strong, strong future for this program."
Ryan King | Catcher | 5-foot-7 | Huntington Beach, Calif./Marina HS
King is a California product out of Marina High School and the Firecrackers Lutterloh team. The catcher is a three-year letterwinner while earning many other honors during her time at Marina High School. In 2014, King earned All-Sunset League Rookie of the Year and the Marina Vikings Coaches Award. In her 2016 campaign, she was a 2016 All-Sunset League Honorable Mention as well as earning a Scholar Athlete Award.
A member of Firecrackers Lutterloh, King appeared in many national tournaments with the team. The catcher helped her team to an eighth place finish at the 14U ASA National Championships, a 17th place finish at the 14U PGF Premier National Championships, a third place finish at the TCS 16U Colorado Sparkler tournament, a second-place finish at the TCS/USA 16U Nationals and a ninth place finish at the 16U PGF Platinum tournament. King is looking to major in criminal justice while at MT.
"Ryan King is a catcher who has played a bit of third base and a bit of short-stop," said Foti. "We're looking at her to come in and catch for us. It'll be the first time since we recruited Morgan Harris that we've brought in or recruited a legitimate catcher. It's not that we haven't tried, but it's a legitimate catcher. She'll come in and she will push and compete for a starting position, absolutely. It also gives us the security of having a number 1A and number 1B catcher that we have not had the luxury of having in the past three years. Ryan comes from a great family. Her parents are great and they love this area of the country. So it was not very difficult to get them to come to Middle Tennessee, and we really out recruited some really big West Coast schools to get Ryan."
Amber Baldwin | Pitcher | 5-foot-10 | Huntington Beach, Calif./Marina HS
Baldwin is a standout pitcher from the softball rich state of California. A three-year varsity letterwinner at Marina High School, she was also named a 2016 Sunset League First Team All-League member as well as the 2016 Marina High School Defensive Player of the Year.
Baldwin is part of the Firecrackers Lutterloh, one of the top travel teams in the nation. Most recently, she was the starting pitcher for the team in the 2016 TC/USA ESPN Nationals 16U in New York. Baldwin plans to major in nursing at MT.
"Amber Baldwin is a right handed pitcher and she comes as almost the total package," said Foti. "She has won numerous awards, throws really hard and has good movement and great composure. She has played at that high level, so she knows how to pitch as opposed to just throw the ball. She is going to come in and compete and probably be a starter right off the bat as a freshman. Amber just has a lot of ability and tools. Amber and Ryan play on the same high school team, Marina High School in Huntington Beach, so they have that added experience of not just being a battery pitcher-catcher every day during the summer in travel ball, but they do it year-round in high school. So they work together a lot."
Jocelynn De La Cruz | Infielder | 5-foot-10 | Lake Elsinore, Calif./Vista Murrieta HS
Another California native, De La Cruz comes to MT with a big bat. A member of Firecrackers Lutterloh, she has been a part of many national tournaments including a third place finish at the TCS 16U Colorado Sparkler tournament, a second-place finish at the TCS/USA 16U Nationals and a ninth place finish at the 16U PGF Platinum tournament. The team was also ranked eighth in the country last season by the US Club Rankings.
De La Cruz is a three-year letterwinner in volleyball and softball at Vista Murrieta High School. She has been named Vista Murrieta High School athlete of the week and athlete of the month, as well as MVP of the Vista Murrieta team. A scholar athlete and honor roll member, De La Cruz is planning to major in public administration or management.
"Jocelynn De La Cruz is a player," Foti said. "She is the real deal, she is that five-tool player that every program wishes for. We have been fortunate enough to get a couple of them each year, and Jocelynn is going to add to that. She brings size, she brings big power, great hands on defense and intensity that just brings a demeanor on the field - it's very intimidating. She plays the game the way it is supposed to be played. She doesn't really accept anything short of winning, and that is always great for our program."
Claire Smith | Infielder | 5-foot-2 | Lebanon, Tenn./Wilson Central HS
Smith is the lone Tennessee product in the Blue Raiders' signing class this season. The infielder helped lead Wilson Central High School to the 3A state championship in 2015. The three-year letterwinner has also racked up a number of honors. Smith was named to the All-District Tournament team every season while also being selected to the All-State team her sophomore campaign and the All-Mid State second team and All-District team her junior year.
A member of the Fury Premier, Smith was a key part in the team's 13th place finish at the 16U PGF Nationals in the summer of 2016. She plans to major in sports medicine while at Middle.
"The last one is a local player by the name of Claire Smith," said Foti. "Claire is someone who has fallen through the cracks locally, and she is a legitimate top-five player in the state. She is a legitimate SEC-style player, and what she brings to us is just quality. She is another one of those five-tool players. She has above average if not exceptional speed and she can play middle infield and outfield. She's a left handed hitter who plays the short game but can also hit with power. She has great character and great family. She has two brothers who play college baseball and her dad played college baseball at Southern Miss. So she gets it, she understands what being a college athlete is going to be, the hard work it takes. She plays for the Tennessee Fury, arguably the top program over the last five years in Tennessee. They finished in the top 15 at the national championships, so Claire rounds out our class nicely."
Becoming members of the MT softball program are Ryan King, a catcher from Huntington Beach, Calif.; Amber Baldwin, a pitcher from Huntington Beach, Calif.; Jocelynn De La Cruz, an infielder from Lake Elsinore, Calif.; and Claire Smith, an infielder from Lebanon, Tenn. Baldwin, King and De La Cruz are all members of the same prestigious travel team, the Firecrackers Lutterloh out of South Orange County, Calif.
"First off, Jocelynn De La Cruz, Amber Baldwin and Ryan King all come from the same travel ball team, Firecrackers Lutterloh, out of Southern California," said Assistant Coach Tony Foti. "This past year I think they finished ninth in the national championships and in another one, the Triple Crown Sports, they were runners up in the country and it was on ESPN and all that. So those are three kids that come from an extremely high level club program. They're not just a typical Southern California team, they are of that top echelon of the California teams. So that makes a difference with the experience these kids will bring and of what they play on a daily basis, so that's something to be said about the three of them.
"All these kids are of great quality from quality families. We go out, we watch them and see that they can play, but our number one criteria in recruiting athletes is their character and to keep improving the culture of our team, and we've found that with these four. We're really excited. It's rare that when you recruit a group of athletes and you target your top four and you get all four. And we've been really fortunate that these are the four we've targeted. And to say that we were able to get our first choice in recruiting is unheard of. It really gives us a strong, strong future for this program."
Ryan King | Catcher | 5-foot-7 | Huntington Beach, Calif./Marina HS
King is a California product out of Marina High School and the Firecrackers Lutterloh team. The catcher is a three-year letterwinner while earning many other honors during her time at Marina High School. In 2014, King earned All-Sunset League Rookie of the Year and the Marina Vikings Coaches Award. In her 2016 campaign, she was a 2016 All-Sunset League Honorable Mention as well as earning a Scholar Athlete Award.
A member of Firecrackers Lutterloh, King appeared in many national tournaments with the team. The catcher helped her team to an eighth place finish at the 14U ASA National Championships, a 17th place finish at the 14U PGF Premier National Championships, a third place finish at the TCS 16U Colorado Sparkler tournament, a second-place finish at the TCS/USA 16U Nationals and a ninth place finish at the 16U PGF Platinum tournament. King is looking to major in criminal justice while at MT.
"Ryan King is a catcher who has played a bit of third base and a bit of short-stop," said Foti. "We're looking at her to come in and catch for us. It'll be the first time since we recruited Morgan Harris that we've brought in or recruited a legitimate catcher. It's not that we haven't tried, but it's a legitimate catcher. She'll come in and she will push and compete for a starting position, absolutely. It also gives us the security of having a number 1A and number 1B catcher that we have not had the luxury of having in the past three years. Ryan comes from a great family. Her parents are great and they love this area of the country. So it was not very difficult to get them to come to Middle Tennessee, and we really out recruited some really big West Coast schools to get Ryan."
Amber Baldwin | Pitcher | 5-foot-10 | Huntington Beach, Calif./Marina HS
Baldwin is a standout pitcher from the softball rich state of California. A three-year varsity letterwinner at Marina High School, she was also named a 2016 Sunset League First Team All-League member as well as the 2016 Marina High School Defensive Player of the Year.
Baldwin is part of the Firecrackers Lutterloh, one of the top travel teams in the nation. Most recently, she was the starting pitcher for the team in the 2016 TC/USA ESPN Nationals 16U in New York. Baldwin plans to major in nursing at MT.
"Amber Baldwin is a right handed pitcher and she comes as almost the total package," said Foti. "She has won numerous awards, throws really hard and has good movement and great composure. She has played at that high level, so she knows how to pitch as opposed to just throw the ball. She is going to come in and compete and probably be a starter right off the bat as a freshman. Amber just has a lot of ability and tools. Amber and Ryan play on the same high school team, Marina High School in Huntington Beach, so they have that added experience of not just being a battery pitcher-catcher every day during the summer in travel ball, but they do it year-round in high school. So they work together a lot."
Jocelynn De La Cruz | Infielder | 5-foot-10 | Lake Elsinore, Calif./Vista Murrieta HS
Another California native, De La Cruz comes to MT with a big bat. A member of Firecrackers Lutterloh, she has been a part of many national tournaments including a third place finish at the TCS 16U Colorado Sparkler tournament, a second-place finish at the TCS/USA 16U Nationals and a ninth place finish at the 16U PGF Platinum tournament. The team was also ranked eighth in the country last season by the US Club Rankings.
De La Cruz is a three-year letterwinner in volleyball and softball at Vista Murrieta High School. She has been named Vista Murrieta High School athlete of the week and athlete of the month, as well as MVP of the Vista Murrieta team. A scholar athlete and honor roll member, De La Cruz is planning to major in public administration or management.
"Jocelynn De La Cruz is a player," Foti said. "She is the real deal, she is that five-tool player that every program wishes for. We have been fortunate enough to get a couple of them each year, and Jocelynn is going to add to that. She brings size, she brings big power, great hands on defense and intensity that just brings a demeanor on the field - it's very intimidating. She plays the game the way it is supposed to be played. She doesn't really accept anything short of winning, and that is always great for our program."
Claire Smith | Infielder | 5-foot-2 | Lebanon, Tenn./Wilson Central HS
Smith is the lone Tennessee product in the Blue Raiders' signing class this season. The infielder helped lead Wilson Central High School to the 3A state championship in 2015. The three-year letterwinner has also racked up a number of honors. Smith was named to the All-District Tournament team every season while also being selected to the All-State team her sophomore campaign and the All-Mid State second team and All-District team her junior year.
A member of the Fury Premier, Smith was a key part in the team's 13th place finish at the 16U PGF Nationals in the summer of 2016. She plans to major in sports medicine while at Middle.
"The last one is a local player by the name of Claire Smith," said Foti. "Claire is someone who has fallen through the cracks locally, and she is a legitimate top-five player in the state. She is a legitimate SEC-style player, and what she brings to us is just quality. She is another one of those five-tool players. She has above average if not exceptional speed and she can play middle infield and outfield. She's a left handed hitter who plays the short game but can also hit with power. She has great character and great family. She has two brothers who play college baseball and her dad played college baseball at Southern Miss. So she gets it, she understands what being a college athlete is going to be, the hard work it takes. She plays for the Tennessee Fury, arguably the top program over the last five years in Tennessee. They finished in the top 15 at the national championships, so Claire rounds out our class nicely."
Players Mentioned
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