Michigan Adds McLouth to 2008 Recruiting Class
11/28/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- University of Michigan head baseball coach Rich Maloney announced the signing of Jacob "Jake" McLouth (Whitehall, Mich./Whitehall HS) during the early signing period.
McLouth, a catcher, was the seventh player signed by Maloney during the early signing period, which matches the program-record seven-player class from 2005. Maloney has inked 30 players in his first five early signing periods at U-M, and 19 of the early signings have been players from the state of Michigan.
McLouth earned all-state honors at Whitehall High School as a senior catcher in 2005, before taking a year off from school. He is currently attending Grand Rapids Community College.
McLouth is the seventh member of the early signing class that also includes (in alphabetical order): OF Bryce Aspinwall (Sharpsburg, Ga./Woodward Academy), C/RHP Tyler Burgoon (Defiance, Ohio/Defiance), OF Ryan LaMarre (Jackson, Mich./Lumen Christi), RHP Travis Smith (Austin, Tex./Stephen F. Austin HS), IF Garrett Stephens (Davison, Mich./Davison HS) and RHP Kolby Wood (Berrien Springs, Mich./Berrien Springs).
"I'm still excited about our fifth group of early signees," said Maloney. "We added the seventh player in Jake McLouth. He has a plus arm and he has bat speed. He is a physical player and he will give us more depth and competition at the catching position."
McLouth earned three varsity letters as a catcher for Warren Zweigle at Whitehall High. He set a school record with17 home runs as a senior for the Vikings. McLouth comes from an athletic family that includes his father Richard, who played football and baseball at Hope College, and brother Nate, an outfielder in the Major Leagues with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Nate had signed a letter of intent to play baseball at Michigan before getting drafted and signed by the Pirates in 2000.
The Wolverines open the 2007 season in Florida, playing three games against Bethune-Cookman (Feb. 23-25) in the New York Mets spring training complex in Port St. Lucie. Michigan opens its home schedule with a four-game weekend series vs. Oakland on March 23-25, and starts Big Ten action with a four-game series at Northwestern on March 30-April1, before hosting Minnesota on April 6-8.
Michigan Baseball Signees (as of 11/28/06)
| Name | Pos. | B-T | Ht. | Wt. | Hometown (High School) |
| Bryce Aspinwall | OF | R-R | 6-0 | 175 | Sharpsburg, Ga. (Woodward Academy) |
| Tyler Burgoon | C/RHP | R-R | 5-11 | 160 | Defiance, Ohio (Defiance) |
| Ryan LaMarre | OF | R-L | 6-2 | 195 | Jackson, Mich. (Lumen Christi) |
| Jake McLouth | C | R-R | 6-3 | 195 | Whitehall, Mich. (Whitehall/Grand Rapids CC) |
| Travis Smith | RHP | R-R | 6-5 | 190 | Austin, Texas (Stephen F. Austin) |
| Garrett Stephens | IF | L-R | 6-3 | 195 | Davison, Mich. (Davison) |
| Kolby Wood | RHP | R-R | 6-6 | 185 | Berrien Springs, Mich. (Berrien Springs) |
Maloney Adds Six Recruits During Early Signing Period (11/14/06)
Contact: Jim Schneider (734) 763-4423
