The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Baseball adds five more in early signing period
11.11.2011 | Baseball
Nov. 11, 2011
AUSTIN, Texas -- The University of Texas Baseball program received National Letters of Intent three of the top high school student-athletes along with the paperwork for two junior college players, head coach Augie Garrido announced on Friday.
The high school signees include infielders Austin Dean (Klein Collins HS) and Spencer Edwards (Rockwall HS) and outfielder Ben Johnson (Austin Westwood HS). The junior college additions include infielder Madison Carter (Grayson County JC) and outfielder Matt Moynihan (Orange Coast College).
The group includes three infielders and two outfielders. Through three days of the early signing period, the Longhorns have added two catchers, four infielders, three outfielders and five pitchers. Moynihan and infielder C.J. Hinojosa will join the team for the 2012 season.
"This is a balanced group between our pitchers and position players," associate head coach Tommy Harmon said. "Our position players are a very special group of athletes because they are all fast, they all have strong arms, and they are all competitors. They play with their motor running full-blast all of the time. They are going to be fun to watch and fun to watch grow up. The pitchers maybe are not as hard of throwers as some classes have been here recently, but they are a very competitive group, and most of them have a very good breaking ball."
The Longhorns have until Nov. 16 to finalize paperwork on recruits for the early signing periods.
2011-12 University of Texas Baseball signing class (as of Nov. 11, 2011)
Steve Bean - C - Rockwall, Texas (Rockwall HS)
Madison Carter - IF - Sherman, Texas (Grayson College)
Ty Culbreth - LHP - Bryan, Texas (Bryan HS)
Austin Dean - IF - Spring, Texas (Klein Collins HS)
Travis Duke - LHP - Pearland, Texas (Dawson HS)
Spencer Edwards - IF - Rockwall, Texas (Rockwall HS)
Tyler Gonzales - RHP - San Antonio, Texas (Madison HS)
Courtney Hawkins - OF - Corpus Christi, Texas (Carroll HS)
Holden Helmink - RHP - Conroe, Texas (Willis HS)
Chad Hollingsworth - RHP - Waco, Texas (Robinson HS)
Ben Johnson - OF - Austin, Texas (Round Rock Westwood HS)
Wyatt Mathisen - C - Corpus Christi, Texas (Calallen HS)
Will join team in Spring 2012
C.J. Hinojosa - IF - Spring, Texas (Klein Collins HS)
Matt Moynihan - OF - Costa Mesa, Calif. (Orange Coast College)
Madison Carter - IF - Sherman, Texas (Grayson College)
- NJCAA All-Region 5 as a freshman at Grayson
- Tabbed All-North Texas Junior College Athletic Conference Second Team in 2011
- Batted .351 with five home runs, 57 RBI, 80 hits, 54 runs and a .500 slugging percentage in 57 games at Grayson in 2011
- Hit .391 with 29 runs and 23 RBI and tallied a .463 on-base percentage and .717 slugging percentage as a senior at Sherman High School
Quote from recruiting coordinator and associate head coach Tommy Harmon: Madison can play very fast, very speedy. He plays center, he plays second base, and he can play centerfield. He is going to be a very important guy for us because he will give us some versatility at a lot of positions. He has a plus throwing arm and very good speed.
Austin Dean - IF - Spring, Texas (Klein Collins HS)
- Currently ranked No. 84 in the nation among high school juniors by Perfect Game USA
- Hit .436 with 12 home runs, 44 runs, 28 RBI and a .540 on-base percentage as a junior at Klein Collins
- Named team's Defensive Player of the Year in 2011
- Named All-District 13-5A Second Team as an infielder as a junior
- Also tabbed All-Houston 5A Second Team by H5AB.com and All-Greater Houston Second Team by the Houston Chronicle
- 2011 Texas Rangers Area Code Team
- Selected as a Texas representative for the sixth annual Power Showcase International Home Run Derby
Quote from recruiting coordinator and associate head coach Tommy Harmon: Austin is a first baseman from Klein Collins. He has strong, strong power. He and (Courtney) Hawkins probably have the most power of all of the signees. Plays very hard and runs well for a big guy.
Spencer Edwards - IF - Rockwall, Texas (Rockwall HS)
- Currently ranked No. 328 in the nation among high school juniors by Perfect Game USA
- Batted .407 with nine home runs, 37 RBI, 24 stolen bases and a .797 slugging percentage as a junior at Rockwall
- Tabbed All-District 10-4A First Team as a shortstop in 2011
- Plays wide receiver and defensive back for the Rockwall football squad
Quote from recruiting coordinator and associate head coach Tommy Harmon: Spencer is a shortstop from Rockwall. He has good power and is probably the fastest of all the infielders. Once again, another great throwing arm and very good offensive player at shortstop and centerfield.
Ben Johnson - OF - Austin, Texas (Round Rock Westwood HS)
- Currently ranked No. 152 in the nation among high school juniors by Perfect Game USA
- Batted .477 with seven home runs as a junior in 2011
- Tabbed All-Central Texas First Team by the Austin American-Statesman as a junior
- All-District 16-5A First Team as a junior and sophomore
- Named Academic All-District in both football and baseball
- Nominated for 2012 U.S. Army All-American Game
- Registered 3,284 yards of total offense (2,098 passing, 1,196) and 34 TDs as a junior to earn District 16-5A MVP honors in 2010
- Passed for 626 yards and six TD, rushed for 593 yards and seven TDs on 103 carries and caught seven passes for 62 yards as a sophomore to earn second team all-district
Quote from recruiting coordinator and associate head coach Tommy Harmon: Ben is a great athlete from Austin Westwood. He fits in the mold with the rest of these guys, with a plus throwing arm and plus speed. He has thrown for 1,000 yards and ran for 1,000 yards in football this year, so that tells you what kind of athlete he is. He is a great competitor and he has a very good future in baseball.
Matt Moynihan - OF - San Diego, Calif. (Orange Coast College)
- As a sophomore at Orange Coast College he batted .452 with 34 runs, eight doubles, three triples, one home run and 10 stolen bases
- Appeared in 34 games with 15 starts as a freshman at the University of San Diego, hitting .388 with 12 runs, one double, one triple, two RBI and six stolen bases
- Batted .430 with six home runs and 28 steals to earn All-CIF and all-state honors as a senior
- As a high school sophomore he logged the second-highest single-season hit total in San Diego County history with 61 while batting .470 with 34 stolen bases
- Selected in the 37th round of the 2009 MLB First-Year Player Draft by the Atlanta Braves
Quote from recruiting coordinator and associate head coach Tommy Harmon: Matt has Division I playing experience. He has a good bat and is a versatile athlete. He will help us in the outfield.
