I posted this at the end of an old thread, so I'll pose the question again. I guess this is mainly for James, but anyone is encouraged to answer. Who are the baseball recruits we should be tracking. Two years ago I remember reading a lot of good stuff about Tony Thompson, and that turned out well. Last year I remember the big deal was following our 2 guys who were drafted out of HS. One of them became a weekend starter and the other became our starting 1B. This is the type of talent we need to compete in our league. With the MLB Amateur draft coming up soon, which guys should we be following? Who's committed? Does our incoming talent give us enough to compete? We've seen from our team and teams around the nation that freshman can have a big impact, so who is it going to be for us?

As of right now, Sherron Collins will be back for his Senior season. I found this on the Topeka-Capital Journal:

After KU’s 67-62 loss to Michigan State in the Sweet 16 Friday at Lucas Oil Stadium, Collins said his plan was to return to KU for his senior season.

“What I’m saying right now is I’m coming back,” said Collins, who added that he is in fine shape financially and has the blessing of his family to return. “Coach (Bill Self) has to tell me something, if coach doesn’t tell me nothing, I’m coming back. Whatever he decides is what I’m gonna do.”

...

“I wouldn’t be surprised at all,” he said. “I don’t think they’ve thought about it. I’ll get some information for them. They need to do what’s best for them. I do have an opinion on both of them, what I think would be best for their life, but my opinion sometimes doesn’t always matter in certain situations.”

Aldrich was less demonstrative than Collins about his plans, but spoke primarily about wanting to improve.

“I could go down the list of 50 things I need to get better on,” Aldrich said. “That’s ultimately what I want to do is set myself up for having a successful career. Whether it’s this year or next year or two years from now, I just want to have the best opportunity to be successful.”

Quintin Woods is the newest jayhawk. First reported by Jon Kirby from the Slant. I saw it on the Shiver.com. Great stuff all around.

Woods is supposed to be a pass rushing demon. He is a 4-star DE from Bakersfield (CA) Bakersfield C.C. He is listed at 6'6 245 with a 4.6 dash time.

http://kansas.rivals.com/barrier_noe...tid=&mid=&rid=

http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?pr_key=81162

Welcome to the team. I expect him to get every chance at the starting spot and I hope that he can help our pass rush.

http://kansas.rivals.com/barrier_noentry.asp?ReturnTo=&sid=&script=content.asp&cid=893231&fid=&tid=&mid=&rid=

We just landed our next great big man. He'll be eligible to play Spring of 2009 and will have a full year to practice with team and learn from coach Manning.

The following is from a story post by theshiver.com with a link provided at the bottom.

[Quote="theshiver.com"] Withey will be eligible to join his new Jayhawk teammates on the court at the semester break in 2009. With almost a year to work on his game and school, Withey doesn’t see that as a bad thing.

"I think it’s really a blessing in disguise. I can focus on getting stronger and make it a real focus. I can work on my game for the next year without distractions and then be ready to hop in next year and show everybody what I can do," said Withey about having to sit out a year due to NCAA transfer rules.

Withey will certainly be an immediate impact player for the Jayhawks during the 2009-2010 season. With the youth on this year’s team, next year will be full of experienced players poised for a run at the title. According to Withey, he has some tools to help in that championship run.

"I will work on my ‘back to the basket’ game and work to add strength, but I will bring a defensive presence. I will block shots, run the floor, and dunk the ball. I can play either the 4 or 5," said Withey about his game. [/Quote]

http://theshiver.com/2008/12/withey-to-kansas/