Top Baseball Recruiting Classes

College baseball has become a year-round activity, because just as the season ends in the spring, coaches must gear up for recruiting new players. Most college baseball teams secure their new recruiting classes in the early signing period in November and December, which means that the top players who aren't drafted by the Major Leagues are already set for the spring of 2011. Three college programs with top classes for 2011 are Oklahoma, Texas and UCLA.

  1. Oklahoma Sooners

    • Fresh off a trip to the College World Series, the Oklahoma Sooners will have the top player in their state among others in their 2011 recruiting class. The class includes pitcher Cayle Shambaugh of Jay, Okla., High School, who was the No. 1-ranked player in Oklahoma by Perfect Game, a baseball scouting service. Oklahoma also signed Clay Schrader of San Jacinto Junior College, who had had 43 strikeouts in 45 innings in 2009 as well as Burch Smith of Howard Junior College, who pitched his team to a junior college national championship. Oklahoma is picked as a favorite for the 2011 College World Series by Thecollegebaseballblog.com.

    UCLA Bruins

    • Another of the favorites for the 2011 World Series by thecollegebaseballblog.com, UCLA finished runner-ups to South Carolina in the 2010 national championship series. UCLA signs eight top players last fall for the 2011 season. Among the signees were Adam Plutko of Upland, Calif., who was considered one of the top pitchers in southern California; Patrick Valaika of Valencia, Calif., who is three-year letterman at middle infield and Brenton Allen of Cerritos, Calif., a two-sport star in baseball and football.

    Texas Longhorns

    • Texas was ranked No. 1 in the country for most of the 2009-10 season, but didn't make the College World Series. The Longhorns are expected to make it in 2011, thanks to a solid recruiting class. Texas signed nine players in the fall, including Kirby Bellow, a relief pitcher who was a district MVP at Nederland, Texas; Jacob Felts of Orangefield, Texas, one of the top catchers in the state; and right-hander Nathan Thornhill of Cedar Park, Texas, who was a preseason All-American.