Rutgers Baseball Unveils Recruiting Class
Dec 10 | Baseball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Rutgers head baseball coach Fred Hill has announced the signing of five New Jersey standouts to National Letters of Intent. The quintet will enroll at Rutgers for the 2009 fall semester.
The group includes two highly-regarded pitchers in left-handed hurler Steven Zavala (Randolph, N.J.), and right-handed pitcher Charlie Law (Mainland, N.J.), as well as catchers Jeff Melillo (Annandale, N.J.) and Justin Olsen (Westfield. N.J.), and utility player Ryan Kapp (Toms River, N.J.).
"I am excited to welcome this class to Rutgers next fall," said Hill, who will embark on his 25th season at the helm of the Scarlet Knights' program in 2008. "We pride ourselves on representing our state with homegrown student-athletes and we welcome the talent and character that these individuals will bring to the program."
Zavala was honored as the Star Ledger Player of the Year in Morris County and the Morristown Daily Record Player of the Year in 2007 after leading Randolph High School to the Group IV championship game with a 13-1 record and a 2.14 ERA with 69 strikeouts on the mound. He also hit .466 with 48 hits, 17 doubles, four home runs, 23 runs batted in, 38 runs scored and 17 stolen bases as a leadoff hitter last season. The left-handed pitcher has posted 22 career victories in three seasons with the Rams. He has also played center field for the club. Zavala guided Randolph to a 24-8 record, a Morris County Tournament title, and a North Jersey Section 1, Group IV championship. The Rams finished the season ranked No. 8 in the state by the Star Ledger. Zavala earned Second Team All-State honors by the Associated Press and First Team All-Morris County laurels by the Star Ledger as a junior last season. Zavala was one of a select group of sophomores from
around the nation invited to play in the prestigious Selectfest baseball combine and participated in the Perfect Game tournament in Georgia. Zavala owned a 9-2 record as a sophomore to lead the Rams to the Group IV state final. A straight-A student, Zavala has been on the Honor Roll every year and is a member of the National Honor Society.
The 6-7 Law owned a 1.24 ERA and a 7-3 record last season for Mainland Regional High School. He was a First Team All-Star pick by the Press of Atlantic City and a Second Team All-South Jersey selection by the Philadelphia Inquirer last season. Law posted 100 strikeouts in 62 innings. He broke a 42-year-old record when he struck out 17 batters in a 2-1 victory over St. Joseph's last season, topping the old mark set by his father, Jonathan, in 1965. Mainland finished 17-7 last spring. As a sophomore, the righty finished 2-1 with a 2.70 ERA in seven games as a starter. Last summer, Law participated in many prestigious tournaments around the country, including the 16-and-under Junior Olympics in Knoxville, Tenn., the Selectfest tournament in Georgia, the Area Code Games in Long Beach, Calif., and the Perfect Game Tournament in Jupiter, Fla. A three-year varsity letterwinner and two-year varsity starter on the diamond, Law also plays basketball for Mainland where he has served the past two seasons as the team's starting center. He was named the school's Co-Defensive Player of the Year last season on the hardwood.
Kapp was a Third Team All-Ocean County selection by the Star Ledger , a Third Team pick by the Asbury Park Press, and a Second Team All-County pick by the Ocean County Observer. The versatile Kapp plays the outfield, first base and catches for Toms River South High School, the same high school that produced 2007 Rutgers First Team All-American Todd Frazier, who was selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the firs round of June's Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. Kapp led Toms River South to a 21-8 record as a junior last spring. As a sophomore, he hit .413 with five home runs and 17 runs batted as the Indians went 23-7.
Melillo took over for his graduated older brother, Michael, as the starting varsity catcher for North Hunterdon High School last spring. His older brother started 26 games behind the plate as a freshman for Elon University last spring. Jeff hit .322 with three home runs and 14 runs batted in during an injury-shortened first season of varsity action at North Hunterdon in 2007. Melillo was a First Team All-County and Second Team All-Conference selection by the Hunterdon Democrat and an honorable mention All-Area selection by the Courier News as a junior last season. He led the Lions to a 17-10 record and the state sectional semifinals. Melillo played with current Rutgers freshmen Jaren Matthews (Teaneck, N.J.), Brandon Boykin (Teaneck, N.J.), DJ Anderson (Randolph, N.J.) and Willie Beard (Spotswood, N.J.) with the Super 17 Diamondjacks over the summer, advancing to the Connie Mack World Series in New Mexico. He also participated in the prestigious Perfect Game Tournament in Jupiter, Fla. Melillo also competed as a varsity wrestler for the Lions where he went 9-6 in the 152-pound weight class as a junior last winter.
Olsen enters his third season on the varsity squad at Westfield High School this spring. He hit .413 last season with 24 runs, and 17 runs batted in for the Blue Devils. Among his 33 hits last spring, he hit seven doubles, and two home runs to lead Westfield to a 16-10 mark in 2007. The junior earned First Team All-County and Third Team All-Area honors by the Courier News for his performance last season. He also received All-Watchung Conference laurels by the coaches last spring. As a sophomore, Olsen hit .420 while playing right field for the Blue Devils, who went 20-7 to capture the Union County Tournament title in 2006. Olsen has participated in several Perfect Game tournaments and has been ranked as the No. 8 prospect in the Northeast by the group.
Rutgers will open its 2008 campaign with a three-game series at Old Dominion on Feb. 22-24.
