Nation's No. 2 prospect highlights next year's bunch of Îhigh-caliber' UA players

2002-2003 UA early baseball signees Name Pos. Hometown/School Jeff Allison RHP Peabody, Mass./Veterans Memorial HS Jason Donald SS Clovis, Calif./Buchanan HS Koley Kolberg RHP Coppell, Texas/Navarro CC Mark Malancon RHP Golden, Colo./Golden HS Adam Miller RHP McKinney, Texas/McKinney HS Matt Nachreiner RHP Cedar Park, Texas/Round Rock HS Bryan Opdyke C Tucson /Catalina Foothills HS Bill Rhinehart OF Citrus Heights, Calif./Casa Robles HS Damian Salcedo RHP El Paso, Texas/ El Paso CC Donald Veal LHP Hereford, Ariz./Buena HS Delmon Young OF/RHP Camarillo, Calif./Camarillo HS

The second year of the Andy Lopez era witnessed a giant step toward rebuilding the Wildcat baseball program after 11 recruits all signed letters-of-intent last Friday.

Lopez's class hails from Arizona, California, Colorado, Massachusetts and Texas.

"The foundation of our second recruiting class here at Arizona is in place," Lopez said. "The high-caliber players that signed with us are an indication that we're moving in the right direction toward getting Arizona baseball back on top."

Delmon Young, ranked California's top high school prospect by Baseball America, is the cornerstone of the recruiting class.

Young, who was also named the CalHi Sports 2002 Mr. Baseball State Player of the Year, is an outfielder and pitcher who hit .542 with 17 home runs and 56 RBIs after his junior season.

The right-hander from Camarillo High School, who is ranked the nation's second-overall recruit, also posted a 5-1 record with a 1.67 ERA and 51 strikeouts in 46 innings as a junior.

In the 2002 IBAF World Junior Championships, Young batted .513 with nine home runs and 18 RBIs.

Pitcher Jeff Allison signed with the Wildcats ranked as the sixth-best prospect in the country by Baseball America and the top recruit in the state of Massachusetts.

Allison was a teammate of Young's during the championships and had 17 strikeouts in 14 innings. The Peabody, Mass., native threw a complete-game four-hitter and yielded one run against Venezuela.

UA also signed Tucson local Bryan Opdyke from Catalina Foothills High School. The catcher is ranked No. 3 in Arizona and No. 65 overall in the country.

Opdyke was also on the World Junior Championship squad and went 1-for-5 with a double and a RBI.

On the mound, Arizona loaded up with Texas right-handers Matt Nachreiner and Adam Miller.

Nachreiner, from Cedar Park, finished his junior season with a 6-2 record and a 1.58 ERA and 76 strikeouts. He is listed as the state's No. 5 and the nation's No. 49 prospect by Baseball America.

Miller boasts a 1.68 ERA and had 72 strikeouts last season out of McKinney. The 6-foot-4-inch pitcher ranks No. 20 in the state and No. 170 in the country.

Pitcher Mark Malancon is the top prospect from Colorado and was given honorable mention all-state honors by the Denver Post last season.

The Wildcats also signed two pitchers out of the Texas junior-college ranks. Koley Kolberg from Navarro Community College will join Arizona next year, having been drafted each of the last two years by the Boston Red Sox in the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft.

Damian Salcedo, from El Paso Community College, went 5-2 with a 3.32 ERA and 70 strikeouts last season.