UCLA baseball recruiting class ranked No. 3 by BA

From UCLA:

DURHAM, N.C. - The UCLA baseball program's incoming group of nine freshmen has been rated No. 3 in the country by Baseball America, the national publication announced Friday. Under seventh-year head coach John Savage, the Bruins' last six classes have earned top-20 acclaim by Baseball America.

UCLA's latest recruiting class was tabbed No. 4 in the nation by Collegiate Baseball last month. The Bruins' 2005-06 incoming group was ranked No. 5 by Baseball America and the 2007-08 class was hailed as the No. 5 group by Collegiate Baseball.

The top five recruiting classes in the nation, as ranked by Baseball America, include Stanford, LSU, UCLA, San Diego and Oregon, respectively. Rounding out the top 10 classes, in order, are Florida, Georgia Tech, Arkansas, Rice and Cal State Fullerton.

The Bruins freshman class features five players who were chosen in the 2010 MLB Draft. Each of the incoming three right-handed pitchers were drafted in June - Adam Plutko in the sixth round by the Houston Astros, Zack Weiss in the 10th round by the Pittsburgh Pirates and Nick Vander Tuig in the 39th round by the Toronto Blue Jays. Outfielder Brenton Allen was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the ninth round and infielder Kevin Williams was taken by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 41st round.

UCLA's incoming group includes first baseman Pat Gallagher, who earned 2010 Nevada Section Player of the Year honors and was a three-year varsity letterwinner at Reno High School. Standout infielder Pat Valaika joins the Bruins from Hart High School, while infielder Jacob Shirley and outfielder Brian Carroll each starred as two-sport varsity athletes (baseball, football) at South Hills High School and Granite Hills High School, respectively.

The Bruins' last five recruiting class have been ranked No. 5, No. 13, No. 7, No. 7 and No. 19, respectively, by Baseball America. UCLA began its fall workouts last week and will conclude its fall schedule with the annual Blue-Gold World Series from Nov. 15-19.

UCLA opens its 2011 season against San Francisco on Friday, Feb. 18 at Steele Field at Jackie Robinson Stadium.