Beard, Garlick Commit to Rutgers Baseball
Aug 03 | Baseball
PISCATAWAY, NJ - Rutgers University head baseball coach Fred Hill announced the commitments of Brett Garlick (Livingston, NJ) and Ryan Beard (Point Pleasant Borough, NJ) to the program's 2006 recruiting class. Both players will enroll at Rutgers this fall.
'We are lucky to have both of these talented players come to Rutgers this season,' said Hill. 'We were fortunate to get Brett this late and believe he can provide a strong bat for us. Ryan is an exceptionally talented pitcher who comes from a highly-successful junior college program. We expect him to continue his success on the mound at the Division I level next season.
Garlick led the state in hitting as a senior with a .681 batting average (49-for-72) on his way to First Team All-State honors by the Star Ledger and Associated Press. The outfielder was an offensive powerhouse for Livingston High School, scoring 43 runs, while driving in 39 more. He had six home runs and was a perfect 25-for-25 in stolen base attempts. The 5-11, 175-pound Garlick owned a .735 on-base percentage and a 1.125 slugging percentage. He also drew 25 walks on the season.
Garlick is the second First Team All-State selection in RU's 2006 recruiting class, joining the New Jersey High School Pitcher of the Year Casey Gaynor (Toms River, NJ) from Toms River East High School.
Beard, a right-handed pitcher, was named a 2006 Second Team All-American by the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). At Brookdale Community College, he finished last season 12-1 with an ERA under 2.00 in 14 appearances, including 13 starts. Beard also earned All-Conference and All-Region accolades with over 70 strikeouts in nearly 90 innings of work in 2006. He guided the Jersey Blues to the Region XIX and Northeast District titles and a third-place finish at the Division II Junior College World Series this past season. Brookdale won over 40 games during both of Beard's seasons with the team, finishing 48-10 this past spring. Beard, who graduated from Point Pleasant Borough High School in 2004 earning All-County and All-Shore honors as scholastic pitcher, owns a 19-1 career record in his two seasons at Brookdale, posting a perfect 7-0 mark in 2005. One of the Division II Junior College powerhouses, the Jersey Blues finished eighth in the Division II Junior College World Series in 2005.
The pair will join pitchers Gaynor and Dale Hering (Montgomery, NJ), infielders Dan Betteridge (Sewell, NJ), Joey Ianiero (Bloomsburg, PA ) and outfielder Jarred Jemenez (Monroe, NJ) who signed national letters of intent with Rutgers last fall.
