Baseball Announces Fall 2010 Signing Class

Adam Hunt
Sports Reporter / Columnist

With seven influential senior players set to graduate at the end of the semester, Mercer baseball’s head coach Craig Gibson recently revealed his 2010 fall signing class.

There will be sizeable gaps to fill as pitcher Lath Guyer and several other starters move on to pastures new.

Seven athletes have signed national letters of intent for the Bears, meaning the roster will remain 32-strong.

The class includes five high school and two junior college graduates, with three outfielders, two infielders, and two pitchers.

Atlanta-native Derrick Workman is the first of the recruits. The 6’0’’ center fielder was a three-year letterwinner at Dominion Christian High School for head coach Bob McDaniel. Workman put together a dominant junior season statistically batting .667 with 46 hits, 12 home runs and 54 RBI in 25 games. He was also a GISA Class 1-AAA All-State baseball team selection and led his Dominion Christian team to a 30-2 overall record his junior season.

Daniel Cardwell is another Georgia standout from Wesleyan School in Norcross. The 6’3” outfielder led his Wesleyan team to back-to-back GHSA Class A State Baseball Championships in 2008 and 2009. Cardwell also has plenty of natural speed and can fill all three outfield positions if needed.

Lefty pitcher and outfielder Aaron Shipman joins the Bears from Quitman, Ga. where he represented Brooks County high school. A natural athlete, Shipman played in the National Showcase in Minnesota along with the East Coast Showcase. He was also named to the All-Region 1-AA first team in both 2008 and 2009, and was ranked in Top 180 players in the country according to perfectgame.org.

D.J. Johnson played under head coach Bob Owsley at Cook High School in Adel, Ga. The short stop and pitcher has a career high school batting average of .418 to go along with a .517 on-base percentage. From the mound, Johnson broke the single season strikeout record at Cook High during his junior season, striking out 148 batters in 2009. He was also named in the 2008 1-AA All-Region first team.

6’3’’ pitcher Brandon Barker is a right handed pitcher at Etowah High School in Woodstock, Ga. This past year he was named a 5-AAAAA All Region first team selection and was a starting pitcher on the Etowah squad that captured the 2009 GHSA 5-AAAAA Regional Championship.

Blaine Matthews is the only non-Georgia native making their way to Mercer this fall. He is starting shortstop at Cloud County Community College for head coach Greg Brummett in Junction City, Kansas. He was a 2nd team all-conference selection last year after hitting a team-high .383. Matthews also led his team in at-bats (167), runs scored (54), total bases (82) and hits (64).

The last of the seven recruits is Bronson Gagner from Lilburn, Ga. The towering 6’7’’ pitcher currently plies his trade at Chattahoochee Valley Community College in Phenix City, Ala. Gagner appeared in 14 games overall last season, making five starts. He threw 40.2 innings allowing 21 earned runs, striking out 35 batters while touting a .267 opposing batting average.

Coach Gibson certainly seems pleased with the prospects of the signing class and is aiming high for the 2010 season. Speaking to MercerBears.com, he commented: “The young men in this class will help our program achieve its goal winning an Atlantic Sun championship. This group of student-athletes will enhance our program in all facets, while contributing to the quality of the Mercer community overall.”