MORAGA, Calif. – Saint Mary's Baseball has signed a group of top-flight recruits for the 2024 season, and the program is excited to introduce them to their fans and supporters.
 
"These incoming Gaels play our power pressure style," Head Coach Greg Moore said. "The pitchers throw strikes with multiple pitches. The position players wear down at bats and run through fences. Better than watching the group play might be seeing them practice. Each of them plays hard and plays the right way. Coach Nashed and Coach Meggs helped add quality people and outstanding players to the Gael family."  
 
Pitchers:
The Gaels 2023 early period signing class is led by RHP Kamdyn Perry who joins the Gaels from powerhouse Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, NV.  The six-foot-three, Area Code Games invitee is the No. 1 ranked right-handed pitcher for the 2023 class in the state of Nevada.
 
"Kam is similar to the last few big SMC right handers," Moore added. "He pounds the zone with three, plus-rated pitches."
 
Perry is joined by left-handed Berean Christian High School product Sebastian Gonzalez. He boasts a career 1.32 ERA with 136 SO and 62 hits allowed in 95.1 innings. Gonzalez represented the Oakland Athletics in the 2022 Area Code Games where he posted four dominant innings, striking out six while allowing no walks or hits. 
 
"Sebastian is the rare mix," Moore beamed. "He can throw every day. He can also throw any pitch in any count."
 
Danville, Calif. native Jake Fields is an emerging six-foot-four right-hander who posted a 2.07 ERA in 2022 at Monte Vista High School. Jake is also a captain and major shooting threat for the Mustangs basketball team.
 
"For everyone else, Jake may be the surprise of the class," Moore noted. "For us, it's easy to see where character, hard work and his ability will land him one day: weekend starter."
 
Position Players:
On the offensive side, the class is led by local junior college slugger Ryan Pierce.  A dominant 2022 season landed Pierce first in the state with 133 total bases. He hit 14 home runs (good for 3rd in the state) at Los Medanos College. 
 
"Ryan has been one of the best hitters in the area since his time at Clayton Valley High," Moore said. "It's rare at any level to see such power to all fields."
 
Diego Castellanos comes to Moraga from Live Oak HS in Morgan Hill, Calif. He was named the MVP of the BVAL Mount Hamilton Division and Mercury News First Team All-Bay Area.  The speedy left-handed hitting outfielder finished the 2022 season hitting .488 with a 1.249 OPS and stole 19 of 20 bases. 
 
"Diego plays baseball like the football player he is," Moore said. "His tenacity on the field is as much fun to watch as his ability to control the zone and hit."
 
Shortstop Brendan Comerford was a major spark in Foothill High School's 26-6 season in the loaded East Bay Athletic League.  Comerford answered the bell after an impressive sophomore year. As a junior he played every day at shortstop and hit .368, collecting 38 hits. Brendan played stellar defense on his way to garnering all-league recognition.
 
"Brendan plays the game like a Gael," Moore said. "He's a quarterback, communicating on the field, always at the center of plays. He takes mature, grinding at-bats and then clears bases with a double."
 
Asa Martinez, a catcher from Del Oro HS in Loomis, Calif. brings physicality to the catching position.  The strong-armed catcher displayed versatility throughout his career, playing shortstop for the Golden Eagles in 2022 while leading the team with 27 games played. 
 
"Athletic catchers who can run a staff are tough to find," Moore added. "We found one with Asa. His strength and feel in the batter's box will make him a big producer in our lineup."
 
Joining the Gaels from Stockdale High School in Bakersfield, Calif. is middle infielder Matt Torres. Matt is a dynamic athlete coming off an impressive 2022 season where he racked up a whopping 51 hits in 31 games. Torres led the Mustangs with a .495 BA, 1.249 OPS, and only four strikeouts in 103 at bats. Torres's offensive firepower led the Mustangs to a CIF Central Section D1 Championship.
 
"Matt struck out less than four percent of the time last year," said Moore. "Matt will make the jump to D-1 quickly because he sees pitches so well. When he swings, he hits."
 
Tanner Griffith of De la Salle High School rounds out the '23 class with a knack for displaying elite plate discipline and flying around the outfield as a shutdown defender. The left-handed hitter posted a .940 OPS and walked 17 times with only eight K's in 2022. 
 
"The way Tanner fuels an offense and plays defense makes him a complete player," Moore said. "He'll spark the offense one inning and shut down a rally later with a diving catch."
 
The Gaels are set to start the 2023 season at home on Friday, February 17 with a double header against the University of Illinois Chicago beginning at 10 a.m.