Some quick hits on the baseball team:

• While KU has not made an announcement yet, the Daily Advertiser of Lafayette, Louisiana reports that Kansas has hired John Szefc as an assistant coach.  According to the article: "Szefc will oversee the program's recruiting efforts, instruct hitters and outfielders and serve as the third-base coach."  No news on this move yet on the team's home page.  According to his bio at the UL website Szefc has had success improving the offensive production of his players.  His recruiting efforts also are praised.  Szefc is quoted in the Daily Advertiser article saying KU, "made an incredible offer to both me and my family, and that's why I chose to make this decision."
• I only learned today that Don Czyz announced his retirement last month.  Don was having a breakout season earlier this year before suffering a serious arm injury.  Best of luck to Don from here forward.  Don probably had the most impressive college career in the history of Kansas baseball.  Here is a career retrospective and interview I did on Don back in 2007.
• Chuck Woodling of the LJ World published a story last week about the incoming baseball recruits.  Woodling's article focuses on the incoming pitchers, in particular Lee Ridenhour and Tyler Blankenship.  Woodling quotes Price saying that this incoming class "may be the finest in Kansas baseball history.”
• Do you still dream of playing baseball on a big stage?  If so save the date on August 28th.  KU Baseball will hold an informal meeting that day for those interested in taking part in their annual open tryouts.  More information here.

A big welcome to Lawrence goes out to Zac Elgie and Lee Ridenhour.  Elgie and Ridenhour were drafted in June by MLB teams.  The signing deadline ended last night at midnight eastern time.  Both Elgie and Ridenhour declined offers to play professional baseball, preferring instead to come to the University of Kansas.  This is obviously big news for the KU program.  Coach Price is in line for a big congratulations here.

Elgie might be the highest profile player to sign with KU ever.  He was taken in the 12th round by Oakland but was seen as a "first day talent" (top-6 rounds).  He fell to the 12th round due to his statement that it would take a very substantal signing bonus to coax him away from becoming a Jayhawk.  Here is an excerpt from a June Baseball America feature on Elgie:

After committing to Kansas over the winter, Elgie said he will take a wait-and-see approach to the draft.

"I'm excited about it. Like (Vistas coach Todd Larson) said, I've got a win-win situation," Elgie said. "If I don't go where I want (in the draft), I'll be at Kansas. If I get drafted and things fall my way, then I'll have the opportunity to play pro baseball.

"We have some figures and rounds in mind from what we've heard from the scouts, but we don't have our mind set on a certain round. It's more play it by ear."

Elgie estimates he has had contact with 15-20 major league scouts. He said about 10 scouts have traveled to see him in person, including representatives from the Twins, Indians, Phillies, Diamondbacks and Dodgers.

"At first it was a little overwhelming," he said. "I've grown used to it. You just have to go out there and hustle and try to sell yourself by what you do on the field. You just have to go out and play."

I'll post more information about the 2009 roster as it shapes up.  For the time being here is the fall 2008 roster, slightly revised from the version posted earlier this week.  I italicized the incoming players.  Some trimming will be necessary as NCAA D-I teams can only carry 35 man rosters.  I do not know how injuries work with NCAA rosters.  I expect some of the incoming players will redshirt.  I'll try to have this all sorted out for you by January.

Fall 2008 KU Baseball Roster (as of August 16)

No. Name Ht./Wt. Pos. Yr. Hometown/High School/Last College 30 Afenir, Buck 6-1/205 C SR Escondido, Calif./Escondido 14 Blankenship, Travis 6-2/190 LHP JR Lawrence, Kan./Free State HS/Johnson Co. CC 18 Bochy, Brett 6-2/190 RHP RS SO Poway, Calif./Poway 1 Bollman, Brett 5-9/155 RHP RS JR Broken Arrow, Okla./Claremore/Arkansas 6 Boyer, Kelson 6-4/200 RHP FR Eudora, Kan./Free State HS 21 Brunansky, Jason 5-9/180 OF FR Poway, Calif./Poway HS 23 Burk, Kevin 6-1/180 RHP FR Warrensburg, Mo./Warrensburg HS 22 Dreiling, Jordan 5-10/151 IF FR Lawrence, Kan./Free State HS 5 Elgie, Zac 6-2/195 IF FR Minot, N.D./Minot HS 43 Ellenbecker, Max 5-10/178 LHP RS JR Lawrence, Kan./Free State 40 Faunce, Nick 5-11/196 OF RS SR Eugene, Ore./South Eugene 19 Hall, Shaeffer 6-2/195 LHP JR Lee's Summit, Mo./Lee's Summit West/Jefferson County CC 33 Hart, Taylor 5-10/180 OF FR Jasper, Texas/Jasper HS 9 Heere, Brian 5-10/170 OF RS SO Lawrence, Kan./Lawrence 32 Herbst, Greg 6-5/230 IF SO San Antonio, Texas/O'Connor 4 Jakubov, Jordan 6-4/200 RHP RS FR Maize, Kan./Maize 46 Kohorst, Matt 6-1/210 RHP SO Pasadena, Calif./LaSalle HS/San Diego 20 Land, Preston 6-3/236 IF SR Greenwood, Mo./Lee's Summit 31 Lincoln, Joe 6-4/198 C SO Tipton, Iowa/Tipton HS/Maplewoods CC 36 Lisher, Brett 6-0/195 IF JR Lawrence, Kan./Free State HS/Allen County CC 25 Lytle, Casey 6-2/200 OF SO Phoenix, Ariz./Chaparral 35 Manship, Chris 6-3/215 RHP FR Cave Creek, Ariz./Cactus Shadow HS 3 Marasco, Jake 6-3/205 OF FR Wichita, Kan./Maize HS 41 Marciel, Wally 6-1/230 LHP JR Kailua, Hawaii/Iolani 24 Marcin, Thomas 6-3/204 RHP JR Huntington Beach, Calif./Edison 27 Marks, Andy 6-2/215 LHP SR St. Louis, Mo./Oakville 48 Meggison, Jared 6-3/200 RHP FR Grimes, Iowa/Dallas Center-Grimes HS 10 Murray, Colton 6-0/202 IF FR Overland Park, Kan./Olathe East HS 17 Narodowski, David 5-10/193 IF JR Vancouver, B.C.//Vernon College 34 Parrish, Phil 6-1/190 OF SO Great Falls, Mont./Russell 37 Price, Robby 5-11/176 IF JR Lawrence, Kan./Free State 28 Ridenhour, Lee 6-3/190 RHP FR Lenexa, Kan./Shawnee Mission West HS 42 Silek, Cameron 6-4/230 RHP JR San Diego, Calif.//Grossmont College 12 Slagle, Blake 6-1/190 OF RS SO St. Louis, Mo./Eureka 44 Smyth, Paul 5-11/215 RHP SR Atascadero, Calif./Atascadero 35 Sperry, Zach 6-1/190 RHP FR Arlington, Texas/Lamar 38 Stanfield, James 5-11/175 IF FR Owasso, Okla./Owasso HS 11 Taylor, Thomas 6-4/180 RHP FR Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley West HS 26 Thoma, Zach 5-11/178 IF SO Omaha, Neb./Creighton Prep 8 Thompson, Tony 6-5/220 IF SO Reno, Nev./Galena 39 Walz, T.J. 6-0/165 RHP SO Omaha, Neb./Skutt 7 Waters, Jimmy 6-0/200 C SO Council Bluffs, Iowa/Lewis Central

With two and a half days left before the signing deadline several key picks remain unsigned by the Royals, including their #1 pick.  Here is the rundown from Baseball America.  Players in bold are signed:

(KU headcoach Ritch Price celebrates the FISU World Championship.  That guy bottom left looks like Price to me.) via www.fisu.net

This summer KU head coach Ritch Price was the infield coach for the U.S. Collegiate National Team.  The FISU (International Federation of University Sports) is not the Olympic team, but they do play international opponents.  The U.S. team went undefeated (24-0) this year for the first time and won their third consecutive Gold Medal.   The championship tournament was played in the Czech Republic in July.  Apparently the toughest opponents they faced were Japan and Cuba.  KUAthletics.com published an interview with Price a few weeks back.  Better late than never…

Price was very complimentary about several Big-12 pitchers on the team including Kendall Volz (Baylor), Andrew Oliver (Oklahoma State) and Tyler Lyons (Oklahoma State).  Kyle Gibson (Missouri) is the team set up man.  Price expects Volz, Gibson and Oliver to all be first round draft choices next year.

The other highlight of the summer was playing against [former Jayhawk] Hiarali Garcia and the Canadian National Team.  I have such great respect for Hiarali as a person and as a player.  He pitched a scoreless 10^th inning against us, and I was really proud of him, to see him in that Canadian National uniform, and have the chance to give him a hug after the game was a really special moment for me.

Price closed the interview remarking that this summer has also shown him how good some of the players are KU are when matched up against the best in the nation.  "We had four guys on our team last year who could start on Team USA right now, and Paul Smyth could pitch on this team."  I assume the other three players Price was referring to were John Allman, Erik Morrison and Rynn Price, but maybe he had Buck Afenir in mind.

KU has posted the Fall 2008 roster on-line.  Several freshman are listed, including Lee Ridenhour, but notably absent is Zac Elgie.  Elgie was taken in the 12^th round in the draft but to my knowledge he has not yet signed a contract.  The A’s have until Friday 11PM CST to sign Elgie.

[Update - Shortly after this story was published a revised roster was put on-line by KU which included Zac Elgie.  More reason for hope.  Six hours to go until the signing deadline.]

Newcomers listed include: Kelson Boyer (RHP, FR), Jason Brunansky (OF, FR), Kein Burk (RHP, FR), Brett Lisher (IF, JR, transfer from Allen County CC), Jake Marasco (OF, FR), Jared Meggison (RHP, FR), Lee Ridenhour (RHP, FR), Zach Sperry (RHP, FR) and Thomas Taylor (RHP, FR).  There are 32 names on the roster.  Each NCAA D-I team can carry as many as 35 so more names may be added.  This is the first year in which Jr. College transfers must sit out a year before competing so I do not expect to see any additional transfers added.

With one week left before the signing deadline Zac Elgie and Lee Ridenhour remain headed towards Kansas.  Elgie and Ridenhour were both taken in the June MLB amatur draft after committing to play baseball at KU.  If they do not sign professional contracts in the next week they will arrive on campus as two of the most highly regarded recruits in recent KU baseball history.  

Zac Elgie is coming out of Minot, North Dakota.  He was taken in the 12th round by the Oakland A's.  Baseball America had this to say about him in thier 2008 draft preview:

Elgie is a 6-foot-2, 195-pounder with impressive bat speed. It has been hard for scouts to see him against good competition, but he did help his cause by slugging 34 homers during American Legion play last summer. Though he has played mostly first base, he has enough athleticism and arm strength to move to an outfield corner or possibly behind the plate. Also a pitcher as well as an all-state performer in football and basketball, Elgie has committed to Kansas. He's believed to be unsignable past the second or third round, and he won't go that high in the draft.

 via www.baseballamerica.com

BA did a feature story on Elgie June 2nd (Subscription required).   Here are a few quotes from that article:

While Elgie earned some national honors as a high school player in 2006 and 2007, it was playing American Legion ball in the summer of 2007 that gave him momentum as a draft prospect. During that season, he hit 34 home runs with 114 RBIs in 222 at-bats, accumulating a hefty 1.594 OPS as a member of the Minot Vistas.

One National League scout who has seen Elgie in action multiple times said it's his power potential that makes him a tantalizing prospect. Elgie's main position is first base, but he has also seen time behind the plate and at the corner outfield spots.

"Not many kids anywhere in one season have hit over 30 home runs, especially in high school," the scout said. "He is a big, strong, athletic-type kid. This year, there are not a lot of power-hitting kids to see.

After committing to Kansas over the winter, Elgie said he will take a wait-and-see approach to the draft.

"I'm excited about it. Like (Vistas coach Todd Larson) said, I've got a win-win situation," Elgie said. "If I don't go where I want (in the draft), I'll be at Kansas. If I get drafted and things fall my way, then I'll have the opportunity to play pro baseball.

Lee Ridenhour pitched at Shawnee Mission West High School and was taken in the 31st round by the Twins.  Baseball America ranked Lee the second best high school prospect in Kansas this year.  Here is part of their draft preview write-up on him:

Lee Ridenhour had his share of spectacular outings this spring. In a head-to-head matchup with the state's top pitching prospect, Jordan Cooper, Ridenhour threw a three-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts. He also fanned 17 in a no-hitter earlier in the year. Using an over-the-top delivery, he throws a high-80s fastball and a slider with good bite. Six-foot-3 and 190 pounds, he's one of several projectable righthanders committed to Kansas, a group that also includes Thomas Taylor and Eudora High's Kelson Boyer.

 via www.perfectgame.org

Here is some information on Lee from Perfectgame.org. 

Tall angular build. Loose arm, stays tall in delivery, throws downhill. Upper 80's FB is straight, SL has good depth, 2 plane break. Athletic pitcher, fields his position, can swing the bat, sub 7.00 runner. Projects well. Very good student.

I have gathered a bit more information on a few other players heading for Lawrence this fall.  I'll try to get the information sorted out and confirmed in the coming weeks. Hopefully I will be able to post a full list of the incoming players before too much longer.   I know all KU baseball fans will have their fingers crossed this week hoping that Elgie and Ridenhour choose KU over the pros.  Regardless as to what final decision each of these players makes their commitment to KU speaks well of Ritch Price's recruiting abilities and the overall direction of the program.

[Update - I just checked in again and according to Baseball America both Elgie and Ridenhour remain headed toward KU as of Wednesday.]

Earlier this week I gave an update on a few former KU baseball players now playing professionally, Travis Metcalf, Les Walrond, Ryne Price and Erik Morrison.  Just to keep it rolling here are updates on a few others:

Nick Czyz was drafted this year by Seattle.  He is off to a good start in low-A ball.  After nine games (5 starts) he has a 3-3 record and an ERA of 3.57.  He also has built an impressive BB/K ratio of 10/35 in 35 innings of work.

Nick's older brother Don was off to a great start in Class A Greensboro before he went on the DL June 5th for a right triceps strain.  Don has an ERA of 2.35 in 19 relief appearances.  In 30.2 innings he gave up 25 hits, walked only 6 and struck out 37!  Hopefully Don will be ready to return soon as those numbers make me think he was in the midst of a breakout when he was hurt.

Andres Esquibel is on the same team as Nick Czyz.and the two of them are representing the Hawks well.  Esquibel has appeared in 10 games as a reliever, building an ERA of 2.25.  In 20 innings he has given up 18 hits and 3 walks while striking out 10.  Esquibel was a 38th round draft choice in June.

Brock Simpson is playing well in short season low-A Mohoning.  In 117 at bats he is hitting .316/.374/.402.  Brock was a 46th round draft choice of the Cleveland Indians last year so he is trying to make enough of an impression to stick.

John Allman is making the most of his limited playing time with the Gulf Coast Indians.  In 39 at bats he is OPSing .806 (.282/.396/.410) with two stolen bases.  Allman was signed as a non-drafted free agent this June.

Sam Freeman is off to a good start.  He is pitching out of the bullpen in rookie league ball but seems to be displaying improved command.  In 17.1 Innings he has given up 17 hits and 10 walks, but compliments this with 22 strikeouts.  He is 4-1 with a 4.15 ERA.  Sam was the first Jayhawk taken in this year's draft, 32nd round by the St. Louis Cardinals.

Zach Ashwood has seen a lot of action this season pitching for the full-season low-A Peoria Chiefs (Cubs).  Ashwood is third on the team in innings pitched (70) but his overall numbers are not impressive, 6-8 record, 5.53 ERA.  It looks like his biggest problem has been the long ball.  He has surrendered 13 already this season.  Ashwood was a 16th round pick in 2007.

Kyle Murphy has split his season between the Arizona League and the low-A Midwest League.  With the Clinton Lumberjacks (TEX) he is hitting .177/.292/.306 in limited playing time (62 at bats).  I'm not sure if Murphy is being hampered by injuries, is having trouble adjusting to the wood bats, or if some other issue is at play here.  I hope he turns it on the last two months of the season.  He did not impress last year after being taken by the Rangers in the 19th round so he might not have a very long leash if he continues to struggle.

Gus Milner is putting together a solid if not eye catching season with the Phillie's  high-A team in Clearwater.  In everyday play he is hitting .261/.340/.381 with 6 homeruns and 44 RBIs.  He needs to get all those numbers up a notch.  Gus started strong but lost his power after June.  He has only collected five extra base hits in his last 109 at bats.  Gus was a 14th round pick back in 2006.

A.J. Van Slyke breifly made it all the way up to the St. Louis Cardinal's AA team in Springfield this year but was released on May 25th.  I'm not sure what happened here.  A.J. signed to play with the River City Rascals of the independent Frontier League and then announced his retirement in July.

Tyson Corley, who pitched for KU in 2005, is with the Kannapolis Intimidators (CWS).  Corley is having his best year to date.  An ERA of 2.80 in 25 games out of the bullpen.  He is striking out almost a batter an inning (33 in 35.1 innings) and has a very good GO/AO ratio of 3.80.  Tyson only stayed with the Jayhawks for his freshman year but I remember some nice conversations I had with his mother in the stands, so I'm glad to see him doing well.

Mike Zagurski will miss the full season.  Mike pitched well as part of the Phillie bullpen last season before suffering an injury requiring surgery back in July.  Tom Gorzelanny had a terrible first half with Pittsburg and is trying to get right down at AAA now.  Tom's struggles were surprising given his impressive 2007 campaign.

I think that is all.  Let me know if I left anyone off this list.