November 10 might seem like just any day to most people - and it certainly wouldn't have any significance to the baseball training world to the casual observer. However, it's actually a pretty big day to celebrate here at Cressey Performance.
Today, a bunch of guys in our class of 2011 sign their national letters of intent to play Division 1 baseball - and I wanted to give them a shoutout in this blog to recognize their accomplishments. Looking at this list, we have guys from three separate states - which means that a few of them travel up to two hours just to get to CP (and two hours home). Some have been with us less than a year, and others since they were in eighth grade - but I wanted to recognize them all together nonetheless. Here they are (and the universities/college to which they're headed):
1. Jordan Cote - Coastal Carolina
2. Tyler Beede - Vanderbilt
3. Adam Ravenelle - Vanderbilt
4. Barrett O'Neill - Virginia
5. Matt Luppi - Connecticut
6. Colin Egan - Wake Forest
7. Joe Napolitano - Wake Forest
8. Aaron Fossas - Wake Forest
9. Andrew Chin - Boston College
10. Devin Perry - Boston College
11. John Gorman - Boston College
12. Carl Anderson - Bryant
13. Cam Hatch - Maryland
14. Lorenzo Papa - Rhode Island
15. David St. Lawrence - Brown
16. Matt Mottola - UMASS-Lowell
There are certainly quite a few more to come as a few other guys wrap up the decision making process, but I thought I'd mention all these guys at once on the day that they sign. Congratulations, fellas; it's a party at CP!
I don't know if there is something in the water that the reporters around the country (and particularly the Massachusetts sports scene) have been drinking, but Cressey Performance's Elite Baseball Development Program has gotten a lot of love in the news this weekend.
Last week, CP athlete Tim Collins was part of a blockbuster trade, as he went from the Toronto Blue Jays to the Atlanta Braves. Tim didn't disappoint in his debut, striking out five batters in two innings pitched without allowing a walk, hit, or run. In a recent posting about Collins in the Atlanta-Journal Constitution, beat writer David O'Brien wrote the following:
"I asked [Braves Manager] Bobby Cox if he knew anything about him, and Cox started talking about seeing video of him. Said he's extremely athletic, a muscular little guy who's real aggressive. Apparently the video showed him pitching and also working out, because he made quite an impression on Cox and others with the workout portion."
Apparently, Bobby Cox is quite a fan of the EricCressey.com and Cressey Performance YouTube pages. Hello, Bobby!
Saturday night, CP athlete Kevin Youkilis had the game-tying and game winning RBIs for the Red Sox in a come-from-behind win at home against the Rangers.
These features were followed shortly by another one - this time on a talented pitching prospect from Worcester, MA, Louisville pitcher Keith Landers. The Worcester Telegram just did this feature on Keith and the training he started up about eight weeks ago at Cressey Performance as he works his way back from a shoulder surgery.
Finally, here's a blog post from ESPN.com's Brendan Hall that features a boatload of CP studs who have had great summer showings: Tyler Beede, Adam Ravenelle, Carl Anderson, Barrett O'Neill, John Gorman, Jordan Cote, Ben Smith, Matt Luppi, AJ Zarozny, and David St. Lawrence.