Liberty's staff was hot on the recruiting trail in the month of June and July has gotten off to a blazing start as well. We will take a look at what Liberty has added in the last week or so below.  We will start off with the 2 public commitments from the last several days before moving on to a new portal commitment and a new HS commitment for the 23 class.  

Mikey Tepper - Tepper is a RHP that is transferring in from Mississippi State.  Tepper had a 9.49 ERA in 17 appearances while totaling 24 2/3 IP with 29 K's and 25 BB's.  His BA against was just .269 which would lead you to believe if the Flames can help him get better control, he could be a high impact guy.  Tepper could potentially get a shot to compete for a spot in the rotation but will certainly be a factor in the pitching depth either way.  Tepper was a highly sought-after player out of high school that has flashed a lot of potential still has 2 to 3 years of eligibility remaining depending on the COVID year.  Tepper featured a 92-96 mph fastball during the 22 season.  

Reese Mooney - Mooney is a 2023 HS recruit that will be a dual sport player for both Liberty Football and Baseball.  Mooney becomes the third highest ever rated recruit for football and is a highly rated baseball player that is a 3B/SS.  Mooney was committed to Vanderbilt of the SEC before rescinding his pledge in late May.  He had recently visited UAB, Toledo, Arkansas State and Liberty since his decommitment.  Mooney could have some baseball draft interest should he continue to progress at the same rate as well.  Football wise, Liberty also has taken a commitment from fellow 3 * QB Hank Brown from Trent Dilfer's academy in Tennessee.  Mooney will count as a scholarship player for football but will only count as a roster spot in baseball just like Brylan Green.  Love the collaboration between the programs to bring in some additional high level guys that we otherwise might not have a shot at without the collaboration.  

Trey Cooper - Cooper is a LHP that is transferring in from NC State.  Cooper was a RFR this past season and pitched just 2/3 of an inning for State this year.  However, Cooper is pitching on the same summer league team as Cumming & Germanowski and has flat out dominated.  He has appeared in 5 games including 4 starts.  He went 2 and 0 with a save and didn't allow an ER in 20 IP to win the pitcher of the month in June.  He punched out 10 hitters in 5 scoreless innings against Johnson City on June 23rd for a win.  He backed that up with another 5 innings of no-hit ball and 12 K's against Pulaski.  Cooper sits 90 to 93 and could be another huge portal find for the Flames.  Cooper features 3 pitches that include a slurve and changeup in addition to the fastball.  

Josh Swink - Liberty has also received a commitment from 2023 HS LHP Josh Swink who is a 6'2 150 lb rising senior from Newton NC.  According to PBR Swink is up to 87 MPH on his fastball.  Swink is another player that is fairly easy to project to see a big bump in velocity when he's able to get into the Liberty strength training program.  

Liberty's Current 2023 Commitment List

-Ben Blair RHP LCA, Jake Moore OF/IB LHH from Chatham HS, John Simmons, 2B, SS, 3B LCA - 8.5 PG Grade - Mooney & Swink.  


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Who's In & Who's out

  When a coaching change takes place in 2024 in any sport there's going to be all kinds of roster movement.  Ian Mccaw moved about as quickly as he possibly could to make a new head coach hire in Bradley LeCroy but that didn't stop a good portion of the top returning production from entering the portal.  The Flames faired fairly well in keeping their incoming commitments together other than their top HS signee Sawyer Black.  Coach LeCroy continues to work to finalize his coaching staff and the roster and we're just a little over 3 weeks away from the start of classes.  There's always the potential for some of those that have entered the portal but have not yet committed or found a home to their liking to return.  Here's a look at below on where things stand as of late Sunday evening. Portal - Entered Todd Hudson - Hudson entered the portal and committed to Miami even before Scott Jackson had resigned Brayden Horton - Horton entered the portal after the chan...
Read more

2024 Transfers & Signings

  We're now a few weeks removed from the end of the 24 baseball season that saw the Flames go 24-34 including 11-13 in CUSA play and 2-2 in the CUSA tournament.  It's time to turn the page to see who is coming and going for the 25 version of the Flames.   First, we start with those that are in the portal. Todd Hudson - Hudson is by far the most impactful player lost in the portal.  Hudson showed flashes on the mound the last 2 years but was inconsistent.  He did however make a quite big impact in the lineup as the DH as he hit .284 with 11 HR's and 40 RBI's and .975 OPS.  He was pretty much locked into the DH spot.  Hudson has transferred to the Miami Hurricanes.   Brian Mclellin - Mclellin was a JUCO transfer that played quite a bit in the first half of the season at 1B where he played excellent defense.  His bat faded as the season wore on as he ended at .246 with 6 HR's and 24 RBI's.  He was a solid depth piece for the Fla...
Read more
  The weather has turned a bit and Opening week is here.  Liberty Baseball has been ready to turn the page for quite a while on what proved to be one of the more disappointing seasons in 2023 in the programs history.  Very little went right in 2023 other than the development of a young core that the Flames could build around along with a handful of veterans.  The offseason also saw quite a few changes including the departure of both assistant coaches in Tyler Cannon and Matt Williams.  However,  as usual the Flames reloaded with Tyler Robinson from Campbell and former Flames SS Matt Williams who had spent the last several years as a scout following a successful MILB career with the St. Louis Cardinals.  Head Coach Scott Jackson moved quickly to get his top target in each situation.  Robinson's name has really exploded onto the seen with the development of power arms like Cade Kuehler and Thomas Harrington among others.  Williams had been a sl...
Read more