'Jacks Add Nine During Early Signing Period
12/11/2018 5:24:00 PM | Baseball
Eight players from Texas and one from Florida make up SFA's 2019 early signing class
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - SFA baseball head coach Johnny Cardenas announced Tuesday that nine student-athletes from two states will make up the 'Jacks' 2019 early signing class. Of the nine, eight are from the state of Texas and one hails from Florida.
Five of the 'Jacks' nine 2019 early signees are pitchers, two are infielders and SFA also brought in one catcher and one utility player.
Benny Emmons | 5-11 | OF/RHP | Grand Prairie, Texas | South Grand Prairie HS
Doubling as both a standout right-hander on the mound and a splendid outfielder, Benny Emmons will enter his final season as a prep at South Grand Prairie High School in 2019. Last season, Emmons collected All-District 7-6A Second Team honors as a pitcher and helped the Warriors advance to the area round of the UIL Playoffs.
Chris Garcia | 5-9 | UTIL | Houston, Texas | MacArthur HS
With Garcia on its side, MacArthur High School moved on to the 2018 Bi-District round of the UIL playoffs. At the conclusion of the campaign, Garcia earned a spot on the All-District 16-6A First Team as a third baseman.
Zach Goree | 6-0 | LHP | Woden, Texas | Woden HS | Panola JC
As a prep player at Woden High School, Goree earned TSWA 2A All-State Third Team accolades as a first baseman following the conclusion of the 2017 season. From there, he signed on at Panola Junior College and proceeded to turn into one of the Ponies' best bullpen arms. Making 21 appearances, Goree fired 35 2/3 frames and fanned 40 batters while surrendering just 14 walks.
Jase Lopez | 6-1 | RHP | Weatherford, Texas | Brock HS
A big reason why Brock High School made its first state tournament appearance since 2012 was due to the right arm of Jase Lopez. Lopez helped the Eagles go 31-5-1 and was named a 2018 Star-Telegram Honorable Mention All-Star for his work on the hill. His most notable accomplishment, however, was being tabbed a TSWA Class 3A Second Team performer as a result of his work in 2018.
Cal Martin | 6-3 | 1B | San Antonio, Texas | Reagan HS
Entering his final season at Reagan High School in the spring of 2019, Martin has already helped the Rattlers lay claim to a pair of region titles as well as two runner-up finishes in the state tournament (2018 and 2017). The team's first baseman, Martin claimed First Team All-District accolades in 2018 and was named to the All-State Tournament Team in 2017.
Parker Perez | 5-11 | 2B/SS | Houston, Texas | Klein Collins HS
2018 marked Perez's junior season at Klein Collins High School and the infielder helped the Tigers capture a District 16-5A title.
Chandler Poell | 6-5 | RHP | McKinney, Texas | Kennedy HS | Seward County CC
Pitched for head coach Bret Hoyer at Kennedy High School and secured a pair of varsity letters before traveling to Mount Mercy University in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he competed during the 2018 season. In 13 appearances out of the bullpen for Mount Mercy, Poell struck out 17 through 18 innings of work. He finished his first season of college baseball with one win and a trio of saves.
Ryan Thomas | 6-0 | LHP | Mansfield, Texas | Mansfield HS | Seward County CC
Before signing on at Seward County Community College prior to the start of the 2018 season, Thomas was a three-year letterwinner at Mansfield High School under head coach Randy Davis. The lefty locked up a First Team All-District selection before his prep career came to an end and in his first year of deployment at Seward CC he turned into one of the Saints' most used arms. In 2018, Thomas worked his way through 55 2/3 innings and struck out 44 in that span. Thomas finished with just eight walks and posted two wins and an equal number of saves.
Jake Zarrello | 6-3 | C | Miami, Fla. | Westminster Christian HS | North Florida | Eastern Florida State | Seminole State
A product of Miami, Fla,. Zarrello captured the FHSAA 3A State Championship in 2015 while serving as a team captain for Westminster Christian. Twice during his prep career he was named All-County and in 2014 he was hailed as a Perfect Game Underclass All-American. After redshirting at North Florida, Zarrello transferred to Eastern Florida State and posted a slash line of .245/.386/.325 as a catcher and first baseman for the Titans in 2018. He socked four homers and drive in 11 runs for the Titans and will play his sophomore season at Seminole State College in 2019 before heading to SFA in the 2019-20 academic year.
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