The Marshalltown Community College Baseball team recently wrapped up its recruiting class for the 2017 season and the Tigers have added depth at all positions to help fill voids from last year's successful campaign.
"As a coaching staff we are very excited about this year's incoming recruiting class," stated MCC assistant coach Tanner McLaughlin. "We lost a lot of strong pitching from last year that threw a lot of big innings, so we knew that was our primary focus coming into the recruitment process for next season."
"This year we spent countless hours on the road recruiting players from all over the Midwest and internationally. We feel that this year's group, along with a great returning class, will continue to expand on our progressive success in the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference."
The Tigers are coming off of a record-setting season, having finished the season with the program's highest national ranking, coming in at No. 19 in the final NJCAA Division I poll. MCC won a program-best 34 games in 2016 among multiple team and individual records.
Among the solid group of recruits, the Tigers reached within its alumni pipelines to add depth to the roster. Cole Baker, a right-handed pitcher from Grimes, IA, is the brother of former MCC Softball standout Holli Baker who helped guide the Tigers to a program-record 33 wins in 2014. Right-handed pitcher Gage Ryder is the brother of former Tiger hurler Ben Ryder who pitched in 17 games from 2012-2013. Ben Ryder was also a two-time recipient of the NJCAA Exemplary Academic Achievement award.
Here is a look at the players that will join the Tigers for the 2017 season:
Name │ Position │ Bats/Throws │ Height │ Weight │ Hometown (High School)
Cole Baker │ RHP │ R/R │ 6-4 │ 215 │ Grimes, IA (Dallas Center-Grimes)
Adam Barrett │ OF/LHP │ R/L │ 5-10 │ 175 │ Council Bluffs, IA (Abraham Lincoln)
Isander Benitez │ INF │ R/R │ 5-9 │ 165 │ Carolina, Puerto Rico (CEDEA)
Callen Bertrand │ OF │ R/R │ 5-9 │ 150 │ Dallas Center, IA (Dallas Center-Grimes)
Preston Blount │ RHP/UT │ L/R │ 6-0 │ 175 │ Lake St. Louis, MO (Timberland)
Hunter Cowan │ UTL │ R/R │ 6-2 │ 175 │ Centerville, IA (Centerville)
Tryston Durham │ LHP │ L/L │ 5-11 │ 150 │ Carlisle, IA (Carlisle)
Carter Eldridge │ Catcher │ R/R │ 5-11 │ 175 │ West Des Moines, IA (Waukee)
Greg Glass │ INF │ R/R │ 6-5 │ 245 │ Waterloo, IA (Waterloo Columbus)
Raymond Guerrero │ OF │ L/R │ 6-0 │ 170 │ Santiago, Dominican Republic (CENAPEC)
Frailyn Liriano │ RHP │ R/R │ 6-2 │ 200 │ Santiago, Dominican Republic (Juan Bosch)
Ronald Liriano │ INF │ R/R │5-10 │ 190 │ Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (Republic of Hati HS)
Tyler Maddison │ LHP/OF │ L/L │ 5-10 │ 160 │ Albia, IA (Albia)
Anderson Martinez │ OF │ R/R │ 6-4 │ 180 │ Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (Hermanas Mirabal)
Max McCay │ Catcher │ L/R │ 5-8 │ 185 │ Carlisle, IA (Carlisle)
Jose Mieses │ INF/OF │ S/R │ 5-8 │ 155 │ Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (Centro Educativo Mons)
Joseph Monosmith │ UTL │ R/R │ 6-0 │ 175 │ Ankeny, IA (Ankeny Centennial)
Jordan Pierce │ INF │ R/R │ 5-9 │ 170 │ Carlisle, IA (Carlisle)
Gage Ryder │ RHP │ R/R │ 6-6 │ 210 │ Ottumwa, IA (Ottumwa)
Hecnuel Serrano │ INF │ R/R │ 5-8 │ 165 │ Carolina, Puerto Rico (Luz America Calderon)
Duncan Snider │ RHP │ R/R │ 6-6 │ 215 │ Muscatine, IA (Muscatine)
Peyton Stephens │ OF/RHP │ R/R │ 5-10 │ 195 │ Carlisle, IA (Carlisle)
Caden Stuart │ RHP │ R/R │ 6-2 │ 190 │ Traer, IA (North Tama)
Jhon Vargas │ RHP │ R/R │ 6-2 │ 165 │ San Juan, Puerto Rico (Aspira)
