All-Americans lead star-studded class

Last year’s junior class simply was magnificent. That class also was fabulous when they were freshmen.

This year’s class of freshmen have a chance to better. They’re that talented.

Virginia’s Danny Hultzen, LSU’s Matty Ott, Texas’ Taylor Jungmann, Cal State Fullerton’s Noe Ramirez and Arizona State’s Mitchell Lambson helped their respective teams reach the College World Series.

Rice’s Anthony Rendon fell short of making an Omaha appearance in his first season with the Owls. But boy did he put together an offensive and defensive campaign to remember.

Many others also had special seasons to remember.

Position players

C Jeremy Schaffer (Tulane)
Bellaire, Texas (Bellaire)

Schaffer had little trouble adapting to the Division I game in his first season with the Green Wave. He finished his inaugural campaign with solid offensive numbers. He finished the season hitting .311 with eight doubles, two triples, 14 homers and 56 RBIs. He also recorded 120 total bases, had a .566 slugging percentage and had a .370 on-base percentage. Schaffer hopes to guide Tulane back to a regional next season.

1B Preston Tucker (Florida)
Tampa, Fla. (Plant)

Tucker was only a freshman by name this past season. To say he was a contributor for the Gators is an understatement. Tucker played like a veteran. He finished the season hitting .364 with 13 doubles, three triples, 15 homers and 85 RBIs. He also recorded a team best 152 total bases. Also worth noting, Tucker finished the year slugging .628 and had a .419 on-base percentage. In the field, he ended the season with a .992 fielding percentage.

2B Matt Jensen (Cal Poly)
Clovis, Calif. (Clovis East)

Jensen had a tough injury that sidelined him the last part of the regular season and for NCAA regional play. However, he still had a campaign to remember. Jensen finished the season hitting .375 with 15 doubles, a triple, nine homers and 53 RBIs. He also slugged .650 and had a .493 on-base percentage. Despite only appearing in 42 of Cal Poly’s 58 contests, Jensen finished fourth on the team in total bases with 104.

SS A.J. Pettersen (Minnesota)
Minnetonka, Minn. (Minnetonka)

The Golden Gophers had another season to remember and Pettersen joined All-American Derek McCallum as a consistent contributor. Pettersen finished his first season hitting .353 with seven doubles, three triples, two homers and 45 RBIs. He also recorded 98 total bases, which ranked fifth for the Gophers. Pettersen also had a .438 slugging percentage and a .445 on-base percentage. Additionally, he fielded at a .947 clip.

3B Anthony Rendon (Rice)
Houston (Lamar)

Rendon was a shortstop his final year of high school but moved to third base in his first season with the Owls. That didn’t seem to matter. Rendon was the nation’s best freshman this season for a wealth of reasons. He finished the year hitting .388 with 14 doubles, a triple, 20 homers and 72 RBIs. He also slugged .702 and had a .461 on-base percentage. He led the Owls with 170 total bases. Also worth noting, Rendon was a fabulous in the field and finished with a .945 fielding percentage.

OF Taylor Dugas (Alabama)
Lafayette, La. (Teurlings Catholic)

The Louisiana native got off to an incredibly hot start for the Crimson Tide, but cooled off down the stretch. However, he still had a fabulous freshman campaign. Dugas finished the season hitting .352 with 20 doubles, two triples, two homers and 27 RBIs. He also recorded 113 total bases, which ranked fifth on the team. He also slugged .479 and had a .423 on-base percentage. He started 54 of 56 games for the Tide.

OF Jackie Bradley Jr. (South Carolina)
Prince George, Va. (Prince George)

The Gamecocks have a bright future because of Bradley and others. The hard-hitting freshman had an amazing year for the Gamecocks. Bradley finished the season hitting .349 with 11 doubles, two triples, 11 homers and 46 RBIs. He also recorded 137 total bases, which ranked third on the team. He also slugged .537 and had a .431 on-base percentage. Additionally, he started 61 of 63 games for the Gamecocks.

OF Kolten Wong (Hawaii)
Hilo, Hawaii (Kamehameha-Hawaii)

The Rainbows didn’t have the promising year they had hoped for, but Wong certainly left everything out on the field. The freshman had a campaign to remember. Wong finished his first season hitting .341 with 21 doubles, two triples, 11 homers and 52 RBIs. He also recorded a team best 135 total bases. Additionally, he slugged .597 and had a .418 on-base percentage. Also worth noting, he finished with 11 stolen bases.

DH Troy Channing (St. Mary’s)
Pleasanton, Calif. (Foothill)

If not for Rendon at the third base position, Channing’s name would be there. What an amazing freshman campaign Channing had for the Gaels. He finished the season hitting .379 with 11 doubles, 20 homers and 75 RBIs. He also recorded a team best 149 total bases, slugged .723 and had a .463 on-base percentage. Channing also had a .921 fielding percentage and started all 55 games. Remember this name in the future.

UT Danny Hultzen (Virginia)
Bethesda, Md. (St. Albans)

Hultzen is as good as it gets when it comes to two-way players around the country. Hultzen finished his first season with Virginia as a star hitter and pitcher. At the plate, he batted .327 with eight doubles, a triple, three homers and 37 RBIs. He also slugged .422 and had a .410 on-base percentage. On the mound, he started 16 games, had a 9-1 record and had a 2.17 ERA in 95 1/3 innings. He also recorded 107 strikeouts and walked 28. Teams hit Hultzen at a .250 clip.

Pitchers

SP Taylor Jungmann (Texas)
Temple, Texas (Georgetown)

The Longhorns were thrilled when Jungmann told professional organizations before last year’s MLB Draft that he planned to go to college. Now we all know why they were so excited. Jungmann had an amazing freshman campaign for the Longhorns. The talented right-hander made 10 starts and appeared in 25 games. He also had an 11-3 record and a 2.00 ERA in 94 2/3 innings. He also struck out 101 and walked 35 and opponents hit him at a .193 clip. Jungmann was something special in the College World Series, too.

SP Noe Ramirez (Cal State Fullerton)
East Los Angeles, Calif. (Alhambra)

Ramirez had struggles in Omaha but that outing was not indicative of the type of season he really had in his first campaign with the Titans. Ramirez was dominant most of the year. He ended the season 9-2 with a 3.33 ERA in 110 2/3 innings. He also struck out 100 and walked 24 and opponents hit him at a .227 clip. Also worth noting, Ramirez threw just one wild pitch this season in 15 starts and 20 appearances.

SP Sean Gilmartin (Florida State)
Moorpark, Calif. (Crespi Carmelite)

The pitching staff was supposed to be a major weakness for the Seminoles this past season, but Gilmartin made things easier to watch for folks wearing garnet and gold. The freshman left-hander had a fantastic campaign. He made 15 starts and 18 appearances and had a 3.49 ERA in 98 innings. He also had a 12-3 record. Additionally, Gilmartin struck out 83 and walked 37 and teams hit him at a .221 clip.

SP Trevor Bauer (UCLA)
Valencia, Calif. (Hart)

All the talk before the spring was about first-round pick Gerrit Cole. But Bauer had an even better inaugural season for the Bruins. The right-hander was known for his hard-nosed demeanor on the mound and had a 9-3 record in 10 starts and 20 appearances. He also had a 2.99 ERA in 105 1/3 innings. He also struck out 92 and walked 27 and teams hit him at a .225 clip. Bauer finished the year with four complete games.

RP Matty Ott (LSU)
New Orleans (Holy Cross)

Ott might as well have been called Mr. Control as a freshman for the national champion Tigers this past season. Ott made 37 appearances, recorded 16 saves and had a 2.68 ERA in 50 1/3 innings. He also struck out 69 batters and walked just six. Opponents hit Ott at a .237 clip and he finished the season with a 4-2 record. It’ll be very interesting to see if LSU coach Paul Mainieri decides to make him a starter in ’10.

RP Mitchell Lambson (Arizona State)
Tualatin, Ore. (Tualatin)

The Sun Devils had one of the nation’s youngest teams but still managed to win a few games in Omaha. Lambson is a big reason why that was possible. Lambson had an amazing freshman campaign for the Devils. He appeared in 32 games, notched five saves and had a 3.01 ERA in 83 2/3 innings. He also struck out 99 and walked 25 and teams hit him at a .199 clip. Lambson finished the year with a 9-5 record.