Jan. 11, 2005
The Lobo baseball program continued to upgrade its talent with the addition of 11 signees in the early signing period during the fall. Head coach Rich Alday and his staff assessed nearly every team need with the recruits while landing top-notch talent from around the country. The following is a list of the 11 signees that will be eligible for the 2005-06 season along with a short bio.
Aaron Bates RHP Frisco, Texas (Frisco High School)
Bates compiled a 6-3 record as a junior with a 1.69 ERA…named a first-team all-district pitcher…recorded 61 strikeouts in 58 innings…eight complete games…went 5-2 on the mound as a sophomore with a 2.03 ERA…fanned 39 batters in 39 innings…named a second-team all-district pitcher.
Kris Cichoski RHP Las Vegas, Nev. (Duragno High School)
Cichoski is a two-year letterwinner out of Durango High School in Las Vegas…went 6-4 with a 3.48 record on the mound his junior year…struck out 56 batters in 60.1 innings of work…posted an impressive 10-3 record over the summer of 2004 with a 3.42 ERA…fanned 72 batters in 92 innings…had a 4-5 record with a 3.16 ERA his sophomore season…went 5-6 with a 4.26 ERA in the summer of 2003…slammed seven homers, 10 triples and 31 doubles while hitting .431 and driving in 58 runs in the summer of 2004…hit .342 with three homers and 21 RBI as a junior…hit .358 with two homers and 42 RBI in the summer of 2003…five homers and 30 RBI with a .432 batting average his sophomore season.
Brent Fisher LHP/OF Goodyear, Ariz. (Tolleson High School)
Fisher is a two-year letterwinner out of Tolleson High School…hit .423 as a junior with 11 home runs…in his two seasons on varsity, he owns a .392 average with 12 homers and 68 RBI…Fisher is equally impressive on the mound with a 21-8 career record and 206 strikeouts…collected a 12-2 record with a 1.80 ERA as a sophomore…went 9-6 with a 2.21 ERA as a junior…chose UNM over several top Division I programs, including Arizona State.
Jared Hood OF Marshall, Texas (Marshall High School)
Drew Kendrick OF/RHP Forney, Texas (Forney High School)
Kendrick is a three-year letterwinner out of Forney High School…first-team all-district outfielder as a sophomore, batting .340…also went 4-0 with a 0.70 ERA on the mound…repeat first-team all-district outfielder as a junior, hitting .305…collected an 8-3 record with a 1.80 ERA.
Chace Lankford RHP/OF Forney, Texas (Forney High School)
Lankford is a three-year letterwinner out of Forney High School…first-team all-state pitcher as a junior, going 9-1 with a 0.90 ERA…also hit .365…as a sophomore, earned first-team all-district honors as an infielder, batting .350…went an impressive 7-1 on the mound with a 1.30 ERA…lettered his freshman season after batting .285 and going 2-0 as a pitcher with a 2.00 ERA.
Michael McClaren RHP Las Vegas, Nev. (Durango High School)
David Phillips RHP Houston, Texas (El Paso Community College)
Phillips played in 2004 for former El Paso Community College head coach Ken Jacome, who is now an assistant coach on the Lobo baseball staff…throws in the low 90’s…threw 24.0 innings on the mound in 10 games of action last season…struck out 16…was 0-1 with three saves and a 6.00 ERA…a four-year all-district player in high school…named to the all-state team as a senior…named to the All-Greater Houston second-team as a senior…played on the state championship team as a freshman…holds nine career offensive records at Houston Christian High School…son of Alan Phillips and Janet Moore.
Derek Pilkington 6-2 190 OF Sterling, Colorado (Sterling High School)
Pilkington is a three-sport standout athlete who chose to play Division I baseball at UNM after receiving numerous offers from other Division I schools to play baseball and football…three-year letterwinner in baseball…plays infield in high school, but was recruited as an outfielder…runner-up for the league MVP award and earned all-conference and honorable mention all-state accolades last season…during his junior year, the left-handed hitter set the school record for the highest batting average in a season, hitting at a .558 clip…also tied the school record for triples…as a junior, he received All-Tri-Valley Conference honors on the football field as well as being named the team’s defensive MVP…was also named the team MVP for basketball…impressive in the classroom as well with a 3.95 GPA…member of National Honors Society for past two years…has earned an academic letter three straight years.
Jordan Salazar 5-11 165 SS/2B/P R/R Las Vegas, Nev. (Centennial High School)
Salazar returns to New Mexico after growing up in Las Vegas following childhood years in Albuquerque…son of former UNM, UNLV and local high school coach Robert Salazar…was a two-sport standout for two years and will be a four-year letterman this spring (`05) in baseball…has played in AAU National Championships and the Jr. Olympics as well as Connie Mack and American Legion regional championships…has started since freshman year at Palo Verde High School and will finish high school career under Coach Charlie Cerone at Centennial High School…plays summer ball with Coach Dave Bingham’s Kansas City Sluggers…has received numerous athletic and academic awards…currently playing on St. Louis Cardinals scout team in Las Vegas…chose UNM over Centenary and Army.
Kyle Winters RHP Arvada, Colo. (Pomona High School)
Winters is rated the No. 1 prospect in the state of Colorado for the class of 2005 according to Baseball America…he is also ranked 106th nationally on Baseball America’s top prospects list of the 2005 class…Winters posted a 4-1 record with a 1.76 ERA at Pomona High School as a junior…fanned 38 batters in 39.2 innings of work, allowing only 10 earned runs and seven walks…while playing Pomona Legion A ball over the summer, he went 9-2 with 73 strikeouts in 65 innings pitched…caught the attention of several scouts after his appearance at the seventh-annual Perfect Game/Baseball America World Wood Bat Fall Championships in Fort Myers, Fla. He struck out seven without allowing a run in seven innings of action while pitching against the Houston Heat, the eventual team champion in the prestigious tournament that featured 80 teams and 1,500 players from the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.