Pitt adds talent, experience in new recruiting class
Pitt Baseball announced its incoming 2021 recruiting class earlier this week. It is a diverse group that features some top-ranked high school players, some junior college transfers, and some high-impact transfers from other programs that expect to play big roles in this upcoming season.
"I'm really excited about the depth and talent of this class, as well as grateful for the endless hours of work from our complete staff during these uncharted COVID recruiting times," Pitt head coach Mike Bell said in a statement. "This group that Coach Megahee, Reida, Mercadante, Linder, and Mesoraco were able to secure will definitely uphold the Gold Standards set forth here at Pitt. We knew we would be replacing some key departures, and I truly feel like we recruited to not only reload immediately but also to continue to build toward the future development of this program."
Pitt is coming off of a 23-20 season in 2021. The Panthers just missed the NCAA Tournament, but enjoyed their most competitive season since joining the ACC. Pitt spent most of the season in the national rankings, but a late-season pause in the schedule due to COVID-19 protocols halted the momentum they had built.
Pitt returns a solid core off of the 2021 team. Matt Gilbertson will be back to anchor the pitching staff after going 6-5 with 72 strikeouts a season ago. The offense returns key players like Sky Duff (.366 batting average in 2021), Ron Washington Jr. (20 career home runs), Kyle Hess (team-high 33 RBIs in '21).
The newcomers should only bolster what looks to be a solid team returning on paper. According to PerfectGame, Pitt is bring in four top-500 recruits, led by No. 70 overall prospect Tommy Tavarez, a shortstop out of Brooklyn.
Tyler Kennedy, a pitcher out of Georgia (No. 184), Jonathan Bautista (No. 308), a pitcher from Philadelphia, and right-hander Brendon Bair (No. 490) from Johnstown round out Pitt's nationally ranked high school recruits.
The biggest instant impact Pitt may see next season is from the high-level group of transfers the program is bringing in to help immediately.
Tatem Levins, a catcher coming to Pitt from LaSalle should figure prominently into the plans for the 2022 season. Baseball America calls him the 34th-best transfer in the country. Levins hit .315 a season ago for the Explorers and posted a .919 OPS as well. In the summer, he was named to the All-Cape Cod Baseball League team after posting nine doubles and .404 on-base percentage in the most prestigious summer baseball league in the country.
Jeffrey Wehler was named the 54th best transfer in the country by Baseball America. He was Youngstown State's primary second basemen over the last few seasons, and brings a lot of speed to the Pitt program. He had 88 career steals while suiting up for the Penguins. Wehler was a first-team All-Horizon League selection last year after batting .322 for Youngstown State.
Ben Dragani has a chance to be a high reward transfer for the Panthers. Baseball America called him the 44th ranked transfer in the country, as he comes to Pitt from the University of Michigan. The left-hander notched a 4.55 ERA in 11 appearances last season, but has some intrigue to his game due to his history. In 2018, he was a freshman All-American for the Wolverines with a 6-2 record and a 2.76 ERA. If he can recapture that type of performance, than he has a chance to be a steal for the Pitt program.
Ryan Miller of North Carolina Central should go right into Pitt's weekend pitching rotation. He was the MEAC Pitcher of the Year this past season after going 10-1 and posting a 2.21 ERA and striking out 74 batters in 73.1 innings of work. Baseball America called him the 85th best transfer in the country.
Johnny Long, Catcher (Florida Gulf Coast), Baron Stuart, Pitcher (South Florida), Logan Evans, Pitcher (Penn State) are some of other transfers that have a chance to help, along with junior college transfers Jack Anderson (1B), AJ Fritz (IF), and Hayden Summers (RHP).