Virginia Recruiting Class Ranked No. 8 Nationally by Baseball America
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia’s incoming recruiting class for the 2011-12 season has been rated No. 8 nationally by Baseball America in the publication’s annual recruiting rankings.
Virginia welcomed in a 13-man class for 2012. The class features 10 freshmen as well as three junior college transfers. Four players in the class were selected in the MLB Draft – Derek Fisher (sixth round, Rangers), Mike Papi (30th round, Angels), Brandon Downes (43rd round, Red Sox) and Joel Effertz (43rd round, White Sox). Effertz also was picked in the 37th round of the 2009 draft by the Dodgers.
This class is UVa’s seventh in the last eight years to earn a top-20 recruiting tag and ties the 2006 class as highest-ranked recruiting class in program history.
Virginia went 56-12 last season to set a school record for wins in a season. The Cavaliers won the ACC Championship, then captured NCAA regional and super regional titles en route to the program’s second College World Series appearance.
2012 Virginia Recruiting Class
| No. | Name | Pos. | B/T | Ht. | Wt. | Cl. | Hometown (Previous School) |
| 46 | Nathaniel Abel | LHP | L/L | 6-1 | 190 | Fr. | Haymarket, Va. (Battlefield) |
| 7 | Branden Cogswell | INF | L/R | 6-2 | 170 | Fr. | Ballston Lake, N.Y. (Shenendehowa) |
| 10 | Brandon Downes | C/OF | R/R | 6-3 | 180 | Fr. | South Plainfield, N.J. (South Plainfield) |
| 23 | Derek Fisher | OF | L/R | 6-3 | 210 | Fr. | Rexmont, Pa. (Cedar Crest) |
| 33 | Nick Howard | INF/RHP | R/R | 6-3 | 215 | Fr. | Olney, Md. (St. John’s) |
| 18 | Nate Irving | C | R/R | 6-0 | 230 | Fr. | Yonkers, N.Y. (Riverdale) |
| 42 | Brett Lisle | LHP | L/L | 6-9 | 205 | Fr. | Highlands Ranch, Colo. (ThunderRidge) |
| 21 | Barrett O’Neill | RHP | R/R | 6-1 | 206 | Fr. | Ashland, Mass. (The Dexter School) |
| 38 | Mike Papi | OF/INF | L/R | 6-3 | 190 | Fr. | Tunkhannock, Pa. (Tunkhannock) |
| 9 | Kenny Towns | INF/RHP | R/R | 5-10 | 170 | Fr. | Burke, Va. (Lake Braddock) |
| 19 | Joel Effertz | RHP | R/R | 6-3 | 240 | Jr. | Ladysmith, Wis. (Madison Area Tech. Coll.) (Ladysmith) |
| 12 | Chris Fern | LHP | L/L | 6-4 | 215 | Jr. | Zephyrhills, Fla. (St. Johns River State College) (Zephyrhills) |
| 8 | Chace Mitchell | C | R/R | 6-2 | 215 | Jr. | Auburn, Ala. (Fla St Coll at Jacksonville) (Auburn H.S.) |