Michigan Baseball Announces Five Early Signings
11/27/2000 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
The signees include (in alphabetical order) outfielder Chris Burhans (Alpharetta, Ga./Marist School), righthanded pitcher/infielder Matt Collins (Bloomfield Village, Mich./Birmingham Country Day), lefthanded pitcher Paul Hammond (Mason, Ohio/Mason HS), catcher Jeff Kunkel (Oak Forest, Ill./Oak Forest HS) and infielder Nick Rudden (Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek HS).
It was the largest signing class by Zahn in his five early signing periods. He signed three players in 1997 and 1998 and two each in 1996 and 1999.
Burhans, a member of state runner-up Marist the past two seasons, has led the War Eagles in homers and runs batted in the past two years. He tied the school record with 13 homers as a sophomore and added 11 more as a junior. He has knocked in 86 runs the past two seasons.
Collins, a three-year starter, pitched a two-hit complete game win in the district championship game in 2000 for Country Day. An all-state selection as a shortstop, Collins will serve as captain for the Yellow Jackets as a senior.
Hammond, enters his senior season for the Comets with a 20-1 career record and a 0.91 ERA, and he already holds the school strikeout record (246). Hammond was 7-0 as a junior with 97 strikeouts and a nifty 0.21 ERA. Mason, league runner-up in 1998 and 1999, captured the conference title in 2000 but lost to eventual sectional champion Cincinnati Elder, 6-5 in extra innings.
Kunkel, a defensive specialist, earned all-conference honors as a junior while throwing out 15 of 19 potential base stealers. Oak Forest captured the SICA Central championship. Kunkel doubled for the only hit for the Bengals in the sectional loss.
Rudden earned all-state honors while hitting .475 with four homers as a junior. He has played on a pair of state championship baseball teams (1998, '99) and a state championship football team as a junior cornerback. He was MVP of the state baseball tournament as a sophomore in 1999.
"I'm very pleased with these players and I'm impressed with their potential as student athletes," said Zahn. "However, as pointed out last year, you never know how good your class will really be until after the [Major League Baseball First-Year Player] Draft."
Michigan Baseball Early Signees (as of 11/27/00)
| Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | Hometown (High School) |
| Chris Burhans | OF | 5-10 | 175 | Alpharetta, Ga. (Marist School) |
| Matt Collins | RHP/IF | 6-1 | 180 | Bloomfield Village, Mich. (Country Day) |
| Paul Hammond | LHP | 6-0 | 190 | Mason, Ohio (Mason) |
| Jeff Kunkel | C | 5-11 | 175 | Oak Forest, Ill. (Oak Forest) |
| Nick Rudden | IF | 5-9 | 170 | Englewood, Colo. (Cherry Creek) |
N O T E S
Outfielder Chris Burhans was MVP of the CABA World Series in Dallas while playing for the champion East Cobb Tigers in 1999.
SS/RHP Matt Collins has hit over .500 the past two seasons and has hit a homer in his first at bat in each of the past three seasons.
LHP Paul Hammond has played the last two summers with the Midland Redskins and he will serve as captain of his high school team as a senior.
Catcher Jeff Kunkel's twin sister Heather, a shortstop, is heading to Missouri to play softball.
Nick Rudden was a high school teammate of current Wolverines IF/OF Jordan Cantalamessa (Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek HS) and RHP Bobby Wood (Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek HS) and a summer teammate of Wolverine 3B Brock Koman (Pueblo, Colo./South HS).
Rudden's brother Kevin, who earned four letters at Illinois (1996-99), hit three homers against the Wolverines in the 1998 Big Ten opener.
Contact: Jim Schneider (734) 763-4423
