Strong Recruiting Classes Provide Welcome Depth for Trojans

Strong Recruiting Classes Provide Welcome Depth for Trojans

7/9/2020 4:00:00 PM | Baseball

By: Troy Athletics Communications

When Tekoah Roby signed with Troy, he became one of the most decorated pitchers ever to sign with the Trojans. The right-hander was rated as a top-50 player in the nation according to Perfect Game and was selected to the East Coast Pro Showcase in 2019.

Now, you can add third round draft pick to Roby's already impressive list of accolades.

The Pensacola, Fla., native was selected by the Texas Rangers with the 86^th pick in the 2020 MLB Draft, a draft that was significantly trimmed to just five rounds due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"At one point, he was the 35^th rated player in the country," assistant coach Shane Gierke said. "In football, he'd be considered a five-star guy, and for him to be committed to Troy and stay committed says a lot about what we're doing [at Troy]."

A recruit of Roby's caliber surly had a fair number of suitors, including a number of Power 5 programs, but he remained steadfast in his commitment to the Trojans.

"Troy was really the first school to believe in me," Roby said. "They got in on me when I was just a sophomore in high school, and I think that they truly saw what I could become. I'm a big believer in what the coaching staff is building at Troy and that really caught my attention."

The 2019 first team all-state selection pointed to Troy's campus and facilities as another reason for his commitment to the Trojans.

"The facilities at Troy are top-notch," Roby said. "The field is absolutely beautiful and the way the locker opens right into the dugout, it really gives you a big league feel."

Now that Roby has inked a deal with the Rangers, Trojan fans won't have the opportunity to see the young star in a Troy uniform. Pair that with the loss of second team All-American pitcher Levi Thomas after he was drafted by the Padres in the fourth round of the draft, and most mid-majors would be reeling.

But not Troy.

Several consecutive years of strong recruiting classes, including the pitcher-heavy 2021 class, have given the Trojans depth that the program hasn't always had the luxury of having.

"As bad as the draft might look to the public as far as us getting hurt on the mound, I think we finally have the depth we want in our program to handle something like this," Gierke said. "You're never going to replace Levi Thomas, you can't replace the best Friday night guy in the league in one year, but we have some talented arms that are ready to take that next step in the process."

Orlando Ortiz, the Saturday starter in the 2020 rotation, was a key junior college pickup for the Trojans and posted a 3.13 ERA and a 2-0 record in four starts last season. Troy returns a wealth of experienced arms behind Ortiz in guys like Lance Johnson, Max Newton, Ryan Fultz, Matt Snell, Tyson Ellis, Bay Witcher, Marquez Oates, and DJ Wilkinson who all saw considerable playing time during the shortened 2020 season and continue to develop under pitching coach Matt Hancock.

Johnson is one of the most experienced arms in the country, ranking third among active Division I players with 93 career appearances. Johnson, alongside Fultz, each made a team-high 11 appearances in 2020.

Snell became one of the most reliable options out of the bullpen for the Trojans last season. The freshman inherited eight baserunners in his nine relief appearances and only allowed one to score while retiring seven of the nine first batters he faced.

Gierke, also the recruiting coordinator, and Hancock placed a priority on pitching in the 2021 signing class with seven out of the eight signees being pitchers.

"When you lose an elite prospect like Tekoah it is a blow to the incoming class, but it doesn't lower our excitement or expectations of this incoming group," Hancock said. "We feel that this class is very deep in terms of high-level arm talent."

The Trojans also worked the transfer market and landed two high-level arms in Ryan Pettys, a transfer from Florida State, and Mason Kenny, a transfer from Furman, that will join the program in 2021.

Pettys, who still has four years of eligibility remaining, was rated as a top 150 player nationally out of high school, the 15th-best lefty in the nation and the second-best in the state of Florida according to Perfect Game. Kenny posted a 4.11 ERA with 22 strikeouts and just eight walks over 35 career innings of work at Furman while holding opponents to just a .258 batting.

Troy's high-level recruiting hasn't just been limited to the mound, the Trojans have built a more athletic and versatile squad up and down the lineup card.

"The roster balance has improved greatly since coach Gierke become the recruiting coordinator five years ago," head coach Mark Smartt said. "He has built a solid plan that includes identifying quality young players that fit into the system here at Troy. Over time, those freshman classes provide balance to our program."

Those talented recruits have had an immediate impact on the program, made evident by Troy's streak of three-straight freshman All-Americans in Rigsby Mosley (2018), Logan Cerny (2019) and William Sullivan (2020). Going back further, a Trojan has garnered freshman All-American honors in five of the last seven seasons.

With more time to develop in the program, other players recruited by the staff are beginning to turn heads on a national level as well. Sophomore Caleb Bartolero, part of the same signing class as Cerny, earned third team All-America honors and ranked sixth in the nation with nine doubles in 2020.

**Troy All-Americans Under Mark Smartt**
Joey Denison (2018) Matt Sanders (2018) Rigsby Mosley (2018) Chase Smartt (2019) Logan Cerny (2019) Levi Thomas (2020) Caleb Bartolero (2020) William Sullivan (2020)

"We've signed some really talented arms and position players, but our developmental system here to develop those guys early on in their freshman year has been really good," Gierke said.

The program made a considerable investment in player development with the addition of the high-tech, data-driven TrackMan system to Riddle-Pace Field before the 2020 season began. Troy was the second team in the Sun Belt to invest in the industry-leading technology, which employs 3D Doppler radar to measure an upwards of 27 pitching and hitting data points.

"TrackMan is a huge benefit to our program and impacts every phase of player development," Smartt said. "We are committed to helping each player improve and TrackMan sends a clear message to future Trojans that we value player development at the highest form."

"We have Rapsodo, TrackMan and Baseball Cloud, and those three things alone put us in the top of the curve technology-wise," Gierke said. "We have showed the baseball world, especially in our recruiting, that we are serious about developing young freshmen."