ATLANTA – The Georgia State baseball program announced the signing of seven student-athletes to National Letters of Intent, highlighted by Georgia top 75 prospects Curtis Terry, Ryne Inman and Nick Gatewood.
The class of six high school players and one junior college signee features three pitchers, three infielders and a catcher. All are from Georgia, including six from the Atlanta area.
“When we recruit at Georgia State, there are three things we look for: a great person, a great student and a great player, and I think we've hit the marks on all three with the seven that we've signed,” head coach Greg Frady said.
“We tried to address positional needs and we tried to address pitching needs,” Frady continued. “In this class, we have a potential right-handed starting pitcher and a potential left-handed starting pitcher, we have a catcher and three infielders. These are the areas where we expect to lose players through graduation and the draft.”
Terry, Inman and Gatewood, who all hail from baseball-rich Gwinnett County, are ranked among the top 500 prospects in the nation and top 75 in the state by Perfect Game.
Terry, a first baseman from Archer High School, is rated the No. 2 first baseman in Georgia and No. 6 in the nation by Perfect Game, which also ranked him No. 21 in the state and No. 152 nationally among all prospects. He is a second-team Underclass All-American by Perfect Game.
Inman, a 6-5 right-handed pitcher from Parkview High School, is a third-team Underclass All-American by Perfect Game, which rated him the No. 52 prospect and No. 16 right-handed pitcher in Georgia.
Gatewood, a left-handed hitting catcher from Duluth and Peachtree Ridge High School, is Perfect Game's No. 75 prospect in the state.
Georgia State also signed a pair of Perfect Game's honorable mention Underclass All-Americans in third baseman Darius Sewell from Atlanta's Lakeside High School and right-handed pitcher Chris Mejias from Oconee High School in Athens, Ga., as well as shortstop James Nelson of Redan High School in Stone Mountain and the nephew of Major League infielder Chris Nelson.
From the junior college ranks, the Panthers added left-handed pitcher Devin Vainer, who will pitch this season at Georgia Perimeter College after transferring from Polk (Fla.) State College. The Atlanta native attended Riverwood High School.
“These guys are all very athletic, and many of them will have an opportunity to be drafted, and whenever you get into that arena, you know you are moving upward in the players that you are signing,” Frady said. “Each year our recruiting gets better, and we're very appreciative of the players we've had in the past who have put us in position to have a good recruiting class now.”
GEORGIA STATE'S 2014-15 SIGNEES:
NICK GATEWOOD
C, 6-2, 205, L/R, Duluth, Ga. (Peachtree Ridge High School)
Left-handed hitting catcher … Rated the No. 9 catcher and No. 71 overall prospect in Georgia by Perfect Game, which also rated him among the top 500 players in the nation …2014 Perfect Game WWBA 18U Most Valuable Player and all-tournament team after going 5-for-8 with two homers in the semifinals and finals … Played for coach Jason Evans at Peachtree Ridge High School in Georgia's largest classification … Helped Peachtree Ridge reach the state playoffs the last two years … Plays travel ball for the Upstate Mavericks.
RYNE INMAN
RHP, 6-5, 205, R/R, Lawrenceville, Ga. (Parkview High School)
Tall, right-handed pitcher from Atlanta-area prep power Parkview High School … Rated among the top 50 players and top 15 right-handed pitchers in Georgia and among the top 500 prospects nationally by Perfect Game … 2014 Perfect Game Underclass All-American (third team) after earning honorable mention recognition in 2013 … Helped Parkview and coach Chan Brown to back-to-back appearances in the state semifinals in Class AAAAAA.
CHRIS MEJIAS
RHP, 6-2, 195, R/R, Athens, Ga. (Oconee County High School)
Right-handed pitcher … Two-time All-Region 8-AAA, including first-team honors in 2014, by the Athens Banner-Herald, which also tabbed him honorable mention All-Northeast Georgia in 2014 … 2014 Perfect Game Underclass All-American (honorable mention) … Posted a 5-1 record with a 2.14 ERA and 67 strikeouts in 49 innings as a junior … Helped Oconee County High School reach the state playoffs in Class AAA in 2012 and 2014 … First Varsity win was a five-inning perfect game with six strikeouts as a freshman … Coached by Stan Fricks … Played travel baseball for Team Elite.
JAMES NELSON
SS, 6-2, 190, R/R, Stone Mountain, Ga. (Redan High School)
Shortstop who is rated among the top 200 prospects in Georgia by Perfect Game … Led DeKalb County in RBI as a junior, when he hit .437 with 36 RBI, 31 runs scored and three home runs … Helped Redan High School to 2013 Class AAAA state championship as well as appearance in the state playoffs in 2014 … Coached by Patrick Wright at Redan … Selected to play in the Double Duty Classic in Chicago and hit a home run at the Chicago White Sox' U.S. Cellular Field … Nephew of Major League infielder Chris Nelson … Plays travel ball for Next Level Baseball.
DARIUS SEWELL
3B, 6-3, 195, R/R, Atlanta, Ga. (Lakeside High School)
Third baseman who is rated among the top 150 prospects in Georgia by Perfect Game … …2014 Perfect Game Underclass All-American (honorable mention) …Prospect Wire All-American (2013-14) … Hit .306 with two homers and 14 RBI and 21 runs scored as a junior at Lakeside High School … Named All-DeKalb County in 2014 … Coached at Lakeside by Bill Newsome … Plays travel baseball for the Atlanta Blue Jays.
CURTIS TERRY
1B, 6-2, 225, R/R, Snellville, Ga. (Archer High School)
Right-handed hitting first baseman who was ranked one of the top 10 prospects in Georgia by BaseballScoutz.com and among the top 25 in-state products by Perfect Game … Perfect Game rated him the No. 2 first baseman in Georgia and No. 6 in the nation as well as the No. 152 overall prospect nationally and No. 21 in Georgia … 2014 Underclass All-American (second team) by Perfect Game … Plays for coach Chris Hays at Archer High School in the state's largest classification … First-team all-region in Class AAAAAA, Region 8 and honorable mention All-Gwinnett County…Hit .387 as a junior with one home run, 13 doubles, 23 RBI and just six strikeouts in 75 at-bats … Batted .368 with five homers and 16 RBI as a sophomore … Plays travel baseball for Baseball Scoutz.
DEVIN VAINER
LHP, 6-2, 185, L/L, Atlanta, Ga. (Riverwood High School/Georgia Perimeter College)
Left-handed pitcher with good velocity ... Will pitch this year at Georgia Perimeter College after spending 2013-14 at Polk (Fla.) State College … Posted a 6-4 record with a 5.86 ERA last spring at Polk … Lettered two years for coach Mike Santoro at Riverwood High School … 2013 Southeast Region honorable mention by Perfect Game.
