Gaston College announces 2022 baseball recruiting class

Gaston College's baseball program has announced its incoming 2022 recruiting class.

Head coach Shohn Doty and assistant coaches Jacob Rand and K.J. McAllister have recruited a class that includes 12 players who previously were a part of NCAA Division I programs and three others with previous commitments to NCAA Division I programs.

It's also comprised of former high school players from Florida, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

"We could not be more thrilled about this incoming class," said Doty, who guided the Rhinos to a 41-9 record and Region 10 West Division title in their return to National Junior College Athletic Association competition after 50 years. "We feel this group will complement an outstanding group of returnees and are very excited about starting our fall season and getting an opportunity to really teach these young men while developing a sense of team. Rhino baseball should be a lot of fun to come see this spring and our expectations for this group remain the same. We want to win a Region 10 championship and continue on through post-season play."

Here's the class:

Jack Starke: A 2022 Pro5 Academy graduate from Louisburg who was the No. 22 ranked outfielder in N.C. Played for Clayton Clovers this summer in Carolina Collegiate League where he drove in 18 and scored 20 times in 31 games.

Seth Christmas: A 2022 Hopewell graduate who was the No. 4 ranked catcher in N.C. and a top 500 player in the country. Originally committed to Charlotte 49ers before choosing Gaston College.

Antwan Walton: A 2021 Norfolk, Va., Maury High graduate who was No. 8 ranked pitcher in Virginia before starting his career at Old Dominion University where he was redshirted last season.

Andrew Muraco: A 2021 Murrysville, Va., Franklin Regional graduate who was the No. 6 ranked shortstop in Pennsylvania before starting his career at Coastal Carolina where he was redshirted last season and transitioned to playing in the outfield.

Trey Truitt: A 2020 East Mecklenburg High graduate who was No. 1 ranked outfielder in N.C. before starting his career at East Carolina and later N.C. State. Spent this summer for Traverse City in Northwoods League with 12 doubles, 32 RBIs and 19 stolen bases in 49 games.

Jake Knepp: A 2021 Charlotte Providence High graduate who was the No. 11 ranked third baseman in N.C. before playing for P27 Academy in S.C., in 2022. Played summer baseball for Charlotte Megastars under former pro player Jeff McNeely.

Elijah Jordan: A 2022 Wake Forest Heritage High graduate who was the No. 11 ranked catcher in N.C. who previously committed to N.C. Central before that program was dissolved. Hit .342 in high school last spring and .333 this summer for the Wake Forest Fungo of the Carolina Collegiate League.

Adam Quintero: A 2021 Monroe Piedmont High graduate who was the No. 10 ranked shortstop in N.C. who played in 17 games (7 starts) for College of William & Mary in the spring.

Chase Ketner: A 2022 Waxhaw Cuthbertson High graduate who is a switch-hitting infielder and prepped with Showcase Baseball Academy.

Shane Thorson: A 2022 Cary High graduate who was the No. 27 ranked left-handed pitcher in N.C. and hit .342 with 26 strikeouts in 20 innings this spring.

Landon Carr: A 2022 Waxhaw Cuthbertson High graduate who was the No. 72 ranked right-handed pitcher in N.C. who played for On Deck O's in Charlotte and and spent this summer for the Carolina Vipers of the Southern Collegiate Baseball League.

Derek Vartanian: A 2021 Monroe Sun Valley High graduate who made 13 appearances (10 starts) for Guilford Tech with 41 strikeouts in 43 2-3 innings in the spring.

Nolan Straniero: A 2021 Pro5 Academy graduate who also pitched at Raleigh Leesville Road High and redshirted for the Charlotte 49ers in the spring.

Freddie Oliver: A 2022 Northern Durham High graduate who was the No. 8 ranked first baseman in N.C. and also spent time at Pro5 Academy before originally committing to UNC Wilmington.

Preston Hall: A 2020 Charlotte Myers Park High graduate who also played at Belmont's Stuart Cramer High and was the No. 2 ranked corner infielder in N.C. In the spring, he hit .235 with six home runs and 20 RBIs in 38 games (34 starts) for College of Charleston.

Korbin Pettigrew: A 2022 Wilmington Hoggard High graduate who was the No. 106 ranked player in N.C. as an outfielder and this summer helped Wilmington Post 10 to the N.C. American Legion baseball title and a third-place finish in the Southeast Regional in Asheboro.

Nathan Williams: A 2022 North Gaston High graduate who hit .400 with three home runs and 25 RBIs last spring.

Darrell Johnson: A 2020 Douglasville, Ga., Chapel High graduate who was the No. 44 ranked right handed pitcher in Georgia whose career started at Eastern Kentucky and he had seven appearances at USC Lancaster last spring.

Hayden Ridenhour: A 2020 Kernersville Glenn High graduate who was ranked among the top 30 infielders in N.C. before converting to pitcher at Charlotte's Queens University. He pitched this summer for the Pulaski River Turtles in the Appalachian League.

Alex Jankowski: A 2021 Morganville, N.J., Marlboro High graduate, he made 15 appearances (3 starts) with 16 strikeouts in 20 innings for Radford University last spring.

Trevor Meaike: A 2021 Boca Raton, Fla., high graduate, the left-handed pitcher also has spent time in Connecticut and Georgia and trained the past six months with Tread Athletics in Charlotte.

Gavin Houser: A 2022 East Lincoln High graduate who hit .411 with four home runs and 27 RBIs last spring as a first baseman and outfielder.

Sawyer Sutton: A 2021 Dunn Midway High graduate who was the No. 20 right-handed pitcher in N.C. and spent last spring at UNC-Wilmington as a redshirt player. He had a 2.57 ERA this summer for the Holly Springs Salamanders of the Coastal Plain League.

Kyle McKernan: A 2020 Waxhaw Marvin Ridge who was the No. 33 overall ranked player in N.C., he has been on Virginia Tech's roster as a pitcher before transferring to Gaston College.

Jaxson Mangum: A 2021 Durham Voyager Academy graduate, he had nine pitching appearances last spring from Brunswick Community College and played this summer for the Wake Forest Fungo of the Carolina Collegiate League.

J.J. Devos: A 2022 Hickory Ridge graduate who was the No. 49 ranked right-handed pitcher in N.C. and has played for Charlotte's On Deck O's.

Evan Lewis: A 2020 Severna Park, Md., High graduate who was the No. 10 overall ranked player in Maryland. A right-handed pitcher, he redshirted at Louisiana Tech in 2021 and had four appearances for Indian Hills, Iowa, last spring.

Gabe Hernandez: A 2020 Trinity Wheatmore High graduate who was ranked in the top 100 overall in N.C. A pitcher, he redshirted at N.C. Central in 2021 and had 12 appearances for UNC-Pembroke last spring with 13 strikeouts in 15 2-3 innings.