Mercer Lands Nine for 2019 Baseball Signing Class

MACON, Ga. – Mercer head coach Craig Gibson announced his baseball program's 2019 signing class on Wednesday morning as nine future Bears signed their National Letters of Intent (NLI) over the last week.

The nine initial signees of the 2019 class are all from the state of Georgia, continuing a trend of recruiting excellence by Gibson and his coaching staff in the Peach State. Five pitchers make up more than half of the class while four others are expected to play multiple positions including outfield, catcher, third base, second base and first base.

"Our coaching staff of Brent Shade, Willie Stewart and Ian Humphrey did another phenomenal job of finding and recruiting some of the best talent in the state of Georgia for our 2019 signing class," Gibson said. "These young men will continue to carry the traditions of our program with strong character, excellent academics and the ability to win championships on the field.

"We've done a good job of addressing our needs for the immediate future, but also for years to come, with the signing of these nine Bears. I'm really excited to see how they grow in our program."

2019 Mercer Baseball Signing Class

Name	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	B/T	Hometown/Previous School
David Burke	3B/OF	5-11	180	R/R	Roswell, Ga. / Roswell HS
Ryan Getz	RHP	6-3	190	R/R	Marietta, Ga. / Lassiter HS
James MacCallum	C	5-11	205	R/R	Sandy Springs, Ga. / Marist School
Alex McKay	RHP	5-11	160	R/R	Powder Springs, Ga. / Hillgrove HS
Caden Smith	1B/C	6-5	195	L/R	Roswell, Ga. / Alan C. Pope HS
Luke Sutko	RHP	6-4	210	R/R	Woodstock, Ga. / St. Johns River State CC
Colby Thomas	OF/2B	6-0	190	R/R	Valdosta, Ga. / Valdosta HS
Zach Turner	RHP	6-2	180	R/R	Acworth, Ga. / North Cobb Christian
Gabe White	LHP	6-3	190	R/L	Toccoa, Ga. / Stephens County HS

On David Burke…
"David is a pure hitter that can hit at any level against any competition. He is as skilled as any hitter we have recruited out of the East Cobb Yankees. David plays at Roswell High School under the tutelage of assistant coach Matt Meeder, who is a Mercer alumnus and former shortstop in our program. He is also a proven winner in the classroom, having earned the Presidential Scholarship Award from Mercer University."

On Ryan Getz…
"Ryan is another great pitcher coming from the highly-rated East Cobb Yankees, which has produced some of the best players in the country over the years. Ryan is very durable and has an assortment of off-speed pitches. He can give your team a chance to win; when the game is on the line, you want the ball in his hands. Ryan has pitched in some big games and we expect him to toe the rubber for us early in his career."

On James MacCallum…
"Any time we can sign a student-athlete from Marist School, it's a great day for our program. James has caught some high-level pitchers and made those guys even better as their battery mate. He'll be an asset for our current and future pitchers as he brings a contagious energy behind the plate. He'll have our guys ready to play every day."

On Alex McKay…
"A surprise email and video from Alex at the end of this past summer lead us to start watching and recruiting him this fall. Alex didn't allow an earned run as a junior at Hillgrove High School and he carried that into his summer. Alex's slider is what separates him from the other guys in the 20-foot circle. Our 2019 class got better with Alex's signing; he's another guy we can expect to pitch early and effectively once he arrives in Macon."

On Caden Smith…
"Caden is a proven winner on and off the field. Not only is he the team captain for state champion Pope High School, but he is a power left-handed bat that will add to our lineup. Caden is multidimensional with great athleticism that can translate to playing different defensive positions at OrthoGeorgia Park. We see Caden hitting in the middle of our lineup for years to come."

On Luke Sutko…
"Luke has transformed himself from a third baseman into one of the best sidearm pitchers in the country. He's an ultra-competitive bulldog of a pitcher when the ball is in his right hand late in games, has he has proven by leading St. Johns River State College in saves.

"Our history of developing and producing elite sidearm pitchers will continue with Luke's signing. We're happy to bring Luke back to the Peach State to help us win more championship rings."

On Colby Thomas…
"Colby traveled the country this past summer playing baseball and was one of the top players in the Southeast. He led the state of Georgia in home runs last spring, which is a credit to his lightning-quick hands. Colby has bat speed that you can't teach; he's a dangerous hitter that can make pitchers pay for their mistakes. We believe we signed the best hitter out of South Georgia."

On Zach Turner…
"Zach has a curveball that will devastate hitters in the box. Most of his strikeouts – and there were many of them this past summer – came on his swing-and-miss curveball. Zach's catchers will tell you it's the best curveball that they have ever caught. Once Zach gets into our weight program, he will gain attention from professional scouts down the road. We expect Zach to not only add depth to our bullpen, but impress in the classroom during his collegiate career."

On Gabe White…
"Gabe is a power left-handed pitcher who has continued to improve against talented competition since we saw him early in the summer. We believe Gabe is just scratching the surface of his potential; left-handed power pitchers are hard to find and we're excited he committed to pitch for the Bears. We can't wait to see him develop in our program while excelling in the classroom and being a great young man to have on campus."

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Mercer Lands Nine for 2019 Baseball Signing Class

Players Mentioned

Matt Meeder

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