A pair of junior college transfers and four prepsters signed November letters of intent with BYU baseball, according to Coach Vance Law.
Kiko Hermosillo, from Southwestern College in Chula Vista, Calif., and Jordan Jarvis from Chandler-Gilbert Community College in Ariz., join Cole Abbott from Weber High in North Ogden, Cedric Johnson from Thatcher, Ariz., Taylor Cole from Las Vegas, and Kris Koerper from Las Cruces, N.M., as the new BYU signees.
Kiko Hermosillo, 5-11, 155 infielder from Montgomery High School, takes the same path former Cougars Marcos Villezcas and Adrian Molina where his Uncle Manny is the head coach. He batted .243 with a team-leading 13 sacrifice bunts in 2006 at Southwest. He batted .282 in 2007 at Southwest and was named first-team All-Pacific Coast Conference. He was an All-Mesa League in high school and batted .402 as a senior before signing a letter of intent with Long Beach State. He was recruited by Northern Iowa and Indiana State.
"Kiko is a very athletic infielder representative of past infielders in our program," said BYU Coach Vance Law. "He comes from the same school as Danny Vargas and Marcos Villezcas. He reminds us of Marcos the way he handles himself on the field. He has great savvy and controls the infield very well. He has quick hands, exceptional footwork in the infield and his instincts are excellent. He can play any infield position and we expect him to be very solid in the infield for us."
Jordan Jarvis, a 6-3, 205 right-handed pitcher who prepped at Arcadia High in Scottsdale, Ariz., was drafted in the 33rd round of the 2005 Major League draft by the Colorado Rockies. He was recruited by Arizona State, Tennessee and Bradley. He is coming off Tommy John surgery. He is listed as a top 10 JC draft prospect for 2007 by Baseball America in it's January Preview. In 2007 he had a 4-2 record (3-1 in league action) with a 5.12 ERA in 10 games and threw one complete game. At Arcadia High he was named Pitcher of the Year, Player of the Year and made first team all-region.
"Jordan is a big body arm with tremendous arm strength," said Law. "He can throw in the 90s and has a great upside to develop and improve. We have had significant interest in Jordan last couple of years and we finally have the opportunity to get him into our program. We expect Jordan to lead Chandler-Gilbert this year on the mound and use that valuable experience to come to Provo and be a great leader in our program."
Cole Abbott, 6-2, 173, is a right-handed pitcher and multi-sport athlete who was all-state and was selected to Baseball America's top 300 list. He played for the on the Cincinnati Reds Area Code team and was also recruited by Utah.
"Cole is one of the top arms in the West," said Law. He already has two out pitches and has great arm speed. He is tall and lanky and has received a significant amount of professional attention. He is a great athlete and will compete for many innings as a freshman. Cole is a great leader in his high school and we expect him to be very productive in our program."
Cedric Johnson, 6-2, 175, is an outfielder from Thatcher, Ariz., who is the younger brother of current Cougar Leon Johnson. His older brother Elliott was just put on the 40-man roster for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and played for its AA club. Leon is a three-time draft of the Devil Rays. Cedric was all-state as a sophomore when he batted .484. He was injured part of last year and played on the White Sox Scout team in Tucson this past Fall. With the Indiana Breakers last summer, he led in every offensive category, batting .484 again. He was recruited by Arizona and Purdue and is recuperating from his second knee surgery (ACL).
"Cedric came to our Summer Elite Camp and really performed well," said Law. He is very athletic and has a plus arm from the outfield. He can really run and makes contact at the plate very well. He has drawn a significant amount of professional attention and we expect him to turn into a big prospect. Cedric played centerfield for the Chicago White Sox Scout Team last fall and is expected to be a high pick in the June draft.
"I get to play with my brother if he doesn't sign with Tampa Bay," Cedric told an Arizona newspaper.
Taylor Cole, 6-0, 170, middle infielder and right-handed pitcher, batted .388 with 11 stolen bases, 50 RBI and seven homers for Bishop Gorman High. He also had a 1-1 record with one save and a 4.08 ERA. He was second team all-state in Nevada and won his team's sportsmanship award. He was the all-tournament shortstop in the American Legion World Series. He played on the Perfect Game National team that played in Jupiter, Fla., on the Cincinnati Reds Area Code team, and made the Connie Mack National All-Tournament team as well as being named the Connie Mack Regional MVP. He was recruited by Arizona State, Arizona, Pepperdine, Hawaii and Kansas State.
"Taylor has played on some of the top summer teams in the country," said Law. "He has performed and played against some of the best talent in America. He is a very high profile recruit that had many options in picking schools. We are extremely excited about the opportunity to get Taylor in our program. We feel he can compete as a two-way player in our infield and on the mound. He has great arm strength and has touched 94 on the mound. Taylor will receive a significant amount of attention from professional scouts this spring. He plays the game extremely hard and his leadership skills are exactly what we are looking for in the players we recruit."
In 2007, Cole helped the Gaels to their second consecutive Class 4A state baseball championship and was named the state's Gatorade Player of the year. He hit .490 with five home runs and 50 RBI. He was 5-1 with a 2.76 ERA.
Kris Koerper, a 6-4, 235, left-handed first baseman from Onate High School played in the Connie Mack League for the Albuquerque Cubs last summer. Last season as a prep he batted .466, hit six homers and 33 RBI and had a 6-2 record on the mound with a 2.65 ERA and 64 strikeouts. He was recruited by Texas Tech, New Mexico, Southern Cal, Arizona State and Oklahoma.
"Kris is a two-time MVP of our Elite Summer Camp," said Law. "He is a big body that has tremendous bat speed. He is extremely physical and will continue to get bigger and stronger. For his size he runs well and is very athletic. Kris has the chance to be one of the better hitters in our conference in the future and we expect big things out of him offensively. Kris has already sparked a large number of professional scout interests. Kris plans to serve a mission before attending BYU."
"BYU all around, is an amazing place," Koerper told his local newspaper. "Its baseball facilities are some of the best in the nation."
Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown (School)
Cole Abbott RHP 6-2 173 North Ogden, Utah (Weber HS)
Taylor Cole INF 6-0 170 Las Vegas, Nev. (Bishop Gorman HS)
Kiko Hermosillo INF 5-11 155 Montgomery, Calif. (Southwestern College)
Jordan Jarvis RHP 6-3 205 Scottsdale, Ariz. (Chandler-Gilbert CC)
Cedric Johnson OF 6-2 175 Thatcher, Ariz. (Thatcher HS)
Kris Koerper 1B 6-4 235 Las Cruces, N.M. (Onate HS)