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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Baseball America released its annual recruiting rankings Tuesday, and Florida State’s incoming class leads the Atlantic Coast Conference and ranks seventh nationally. The Seminoles welcome 14 newcomers to a team that is coming off a No. 6 final ranking in 2017 and its first trip to the College World Series since 2012.
Among the newcomers are six transfers and eight from high school. The entire class is listed below.
Fall practice is scheduled to start Monday, September 18, and conclude with a pair of intrasquad games October 12-13 and an exhibition game against the Ontario Blue Jays on October 16.
Tyler Ahearn, RHP – Jupiter, Fla.
Ahearn went 6-1 with a 2.30 earned run average and 58 strikeouts in 44 innings for IMG Academy in 2017. He ranked 138th in the Perfect Game rankings last season and was a third team All-American and first team All-Florida selection.
Prior to attending IMG for his senior season, Ahearn pitched for Dwyer High in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
Reese Albert, OF – Jupiter, Fla.
Albert also hails from Jupiter, playing for Jupiter High and hitting .328 with four home runs, 29 runs batted in and 24 runs scored last season. Albert ranked 88th in the Perfect Game player rankings and was a second team All-American and first team All-Florida and All-District team.
As a senior, Albert helped Jupiter reach the 9A state semifinals before falling to eventual state champion Timber Creek.
Rafael Bournigal, INF – Mulberry, Fla.
Bournigal, the son of former Seminole Rafael Bournigal, is a graduate transfer from Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn. Bournigal hit .337 for the Bruins last season, with 31 runs batted in, 30 walks and 24 strikeouts over 56 games.
Bournigal played high school ball at Lakeland Christian and played this summer in the Futures League with the Worcester Bravehearts.
Casey Cribb, C – Jacksonville, Fla.
Cribb played last season at Tallahassee Community College after spending his freshman season at Jacksonville University. Cribb hit .308 with a home run for the Eagles last year and was a three-time All-American honorable mention at Providence High School, helping lead Providence to the state championship in 2012.
Shane Drohan, LHP – Jupiter, Fla.
Drohan was taken in the 23rd Round of the 2017 MLB Draft by the Philadelphia Phillies and ranked 186th overall in the Perfect Game National Rankings. Drohan went 4-2 with a 1.90 earned run average for Cardinal Newman last season, racking up 80 strikeouts in 42 innings pitched.
Drohan was a first team All-District selection, an honorable mention All-American and chosen for the FACA All-Star Game.
Jonathan Foster, C – LaGrange, Ga.
A transfer from Chattahoochee Valley Community College in Phenix City, Ala., Foster played his freshman season at Auburn. Foster hit .330 with 10 home runs and 60 runs batted in last season, and was a first team All-Conference and All-State selection.
At Auburn, Foster made 14 starts, hit .265 with three doubles and four runs batted in. He helped lead Troup County High School to back-to-back final four appearances, hitting .385 as a junior, while also playing football for the Tigers.
Skyler Frey, OF – Sarasota, Fla.
A transfer from Polk State College in Lakeland, Frey hit .340 with 37 runs batted in, a .420 on-base percentage and 33 stolen bases last season for the Eagles. Frey was the team MVP while also earning first team All-Conference honors.
Before Polk State, Frey played at Sarasota High School.
Conor Grady, RHP – Tampa, Fla.
Coming out of Tampa Catholic, Grady was ranked No. 151 in the Perfect Game National Rankings and was a third team All-American and a first team All-Region pick. Grady had a 3.20 earned run average with 50 strikeouts in 48 innings.
Grady was the team’s Cy Young Award winner and the Tampa Catholic Male Scholar Athlete of the Year.
Gage Hutchinson, RHP – Port Orange, Fla.
Transfering from Daytona State College, Hutchinson went 6-2 with 86 strikeouts in 84 innings en route to first team All-Conference and second team All-State honors last season.
Hutchinson’s brother, Bryce, is in the Mets organization, and his father Roger was an outfielder at Marshall.
Austin Pollock, LHP – Tallahassee, Fla.
Pollock led Lincoln High to the 2017 state championship, finishing 10-3 with a 1.62 earned run average and 91 strikeouts in 77.2 innings as a senior. A 40th Round pick in last June’s MLB Draft, Pollock was an honorable mention All-American and No. 371 in the Perfect Game National Rankings.
Pollock won his final nine starts of the year, including a 4-0 win in the state semifinals. In the championship game, his two-run home run led the Trojans to the first title in school history.
Mike Salvatore, SS – Ewing, N.J.
Salvatore led Northwest Florida State College last season in hits (53), runs (39) and stolen bases (12) while hitting .293. He was taken in the 19th Round of the 2015 MLB Draft out of Ewing High in Ewing, N.J.
Jonah Scolaro, LHP/OF – Valrico, Fla.
Out of Durant High, Scolaro went 5-2 with a 1.05 earned run average with 85 strikeouts in just 45 innings pitched as a senior. His 306 career strikeouts are the most in Durant history and he was a four-time All-County selection, No. 500 in the Perfect Game rankings and an honorable mention All-American.
At the plate, Scolaro hit .385 with nine doubles, two triples and a pair of home runs.
Cooper Swanson, INF – Fort Myers, Fla.
Swanson led The Canterbury School to back-to-back 3A state championships in 2016 and 2017, hitting .420 with seven home runs as a senior. Swanson ranked No. 488 in the Perfect Game National Rankings and was an honorable mention All-American.
CJ Van Eyk, RHP – Lutz, Fla.
Van Eyk was taken in the 19th Round of the 2017 MLB Draft out of Steinbrenner High. As a senior, Van Eyk was 5-1 with a 0.73 earned run average, recording 56 strikeouts in 38.1 innings pitched. He earned first team All-American honors and was ranked No. 57 in the Perfect Game National Rankings.
Van Eyk was a gold medalist with the 18U USA National Team and led Steinbrenner to the 8A state championship in 2016.
For more information on Florida State baseball, check Seminoles.com for the latest news and scheduling information, or keep up with the team on social media through Twitter (@FSUBaseball), Facebook (/FSUBaseball), and Instagram (@NoleBaseball).
