McCoy and Torres Join Baseball Program
Sep 10 | Baseball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (Sept. 10, 2014) - Junior transfer Mark McCoy (Barnegat, N.J.) and true freshman James Torres (Bloomfield, N.J.) have joined the Rutgers baseball program, head coach Joe Litterio announced today. Both pitchers are immediately eligible to compete for the Scarlet Knights in the upcoming 2015 season.
"Both Mark and James have a chance to make an immediate impact this season," Litterio said. "They will add depth to our young staff."
After playing his first two seasons and making 18 appearances on the mound at Wake Forest in the Atlantic Coast Conference, McCoy returns home to New Jersey to compete for Rutgers. Known as a versatile left-hander, he has the ability to start or come out of the bullpen with four pitches in his arsenal that he throws for strikes (fastball, change-up, curveball, slider), including above-average velocity with the fastball.
A four-year starter at Barnegat, McCoy posted a high school career ERA under 2.00 and had a batting average of .405 on the way to three all-conference selections. He also led the football team to a conference title and threw for 1,770 yards and 16 touchdowns to go with six rushing scores on the gridiron. He was ranked among the top 500 players in the nation by Perfect Game coming out of high school and was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 26th round of the 2012 MLB Draft before opting to play college baseball.
Torres arrives in Piscataway after an accomplished high school career at Bloomfield, the same school as current sophomore Mike Carter (Bloomfield, N.J.). The 5-11 right-hander brings a 90-plus fastball to college with a sharp breaking ball. He attacks the strike zone and is known as a strong competitor on the mound.
Torres pitched to a 6-3 record with a 1.11 ERA for the Bengals as a senior with 92 strikeouts, 31 hits and 21 walks. The showing earned him both Star-Ledger Essex County Pitcher of the Year and Second Team All-State. As a junior, he posted a 0.51 ERA with five shutouts and a 6-1 record to pick up Star-Ledger Third Team All-State and First Team All-Essex County recognition. In 55 1/3 innings that season, he struck out 71 hitters and permitted just 26 hits and 15 walks. Torres played travel baseball the past two summers with the Jersey Seminoles Baseball Club.
Rutgers baseball starts its on-field preparations for the 2015 season with fall practice beginning Friday.
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