Sept. 18, 2009

IRVINE, Calif. --- The UC Irvine Baseball incoming class has been ranked at No. 31 by Collegiate Baseball. The group of 11 consists of nine high school standouts and three junior college talents. The latest addition to the Anteater program is Christian Ramirez (Diamond Bar/Damien HS), a talented outfielder who will transfer from Cypress College.

Ramirez, a 5-9 outfielder, was tabbed a first-team All-Orange Empire choice and a second-team All-American. Ramirez batted .392 last season with 11 doubles and three home runs while sporting an on-base percentage of .490. Pitcher Matt Whitehouse accepted a letter of admission from UC Irvine earlier this month.

Whitehouse, a 5-11 pitcher prepped at Damien High School, where he was 9-1 on the mound with 87 strikeouts. UC Irvine concluded the season 45-15 and captured its first Big West Conference title and hosted NCAA Regional for the first time in program history. The Anteaters are led by head coach Mike Gillespie, who enters his third year at the helm of the UCI program.

The team opens the 2010 campaign against LMU Feb. 19.

Name........................POS.....YR....B-T....HT....WT....HOMETOWN/PREVIOUS SCHOOL
Drew Hillman...............3B......So....R-R....6-1....190....Lake Forest, Calif./Orange Coast College
Jon Hurst..................OF-C.....So....R-R...6-0....195....Orange, Calif./Cypress College
Christian Ramirez........OF......So....L-R....5-9....155....Santa Ana, Calif./Cypress College
Evan Brock.................RHP.....Sr.....R-R...6-0....170....Chino Hills, Calif./Ayala HS
Thomas Emanuele...... RHP....Sr.....R-R...6-0....200....Orange, Calif./Santa Margarita HS
Kyle Hooper...............RHP.....Sr.....R-R...6-4....180....Santa Clarita, Calif./Saugus HS
Paul Strong...............LHP......Sr.....L-L....6-2....190....Huntington Beach, Calif./Marina HS
Beau Wright..............LHP......Sr.....L-L....6-2....200....Los Alamitos, Calif./Los Alamitos HS
Pierce Bily.................3B........Sr.....R-R...6-0....185....Anaheim Hills, Calif./Orange Lutheran HS
Chris Carlson............OF........Sr.....L-L....5-10...165...Chino Hills, Calif./Chino Hills HS
Drew Sandler.............C.........Sr.....R-R...5-11...190...Simi Valley, Calif./Simi Valley HS
Matt Whitehouse........P.........Sr.....L-L....5-11...165...Diamond Bar, Calif./Damien HS