2015 Perfect Game College Baseball Preview Index | 2015 NCAA Division II Preview


A handful of schools dominate the college baseball landscape in Southern California. UCLA, UC Santa Barbara and Cal State Fullerton are among them, as all three rank among Perfect Game's Preseason College Top 25.

High school players across the region dedicate hundreds of hours during their springs and summers, hoping the hard work will pay off in the form of a college scholarship. But when offers from those prestigious Division I schools don't come, the alternative becomes reality.

The crowds are smaller, but the competition is just as fierce. And Division II programs are producing first-round draft talent, too. Such is the case with Cal Poly Pomona and Azusa Pacific – two Southern California school separated by just 12 miles – as each program boasts one of the top college juniors eligible for the 2015 draft: Cody Ponce and Josh Staumont.

The righthanded Ponce had zero offers out of high school. So when his pitching coach – former MLB pitcher Dave Coggin – put him in front of Cal Poly Pomona's recruiting coordinator Bret Lachemann, Ponce seized the opportunity.

“You better get him,” Coggin told Lachemann. “He might be something one day.”

Staumont had two offers out of high school. And although he led the Golden State Athletic Conference with 109 strikeouts as a true freshman for Biola University, Staumont ended the season with thoughts of leaving. After head coach John Verhoeven retired and several recruits de-committed, Staumont transferred to Azusa Pacific. And as it turned out, Coach Verhoeven was leaving Biola for Azusa as well.

“That was pretty coincidental that Verhoeven happened to coach here,” Staumont said. “I knew that he was leaving (from Biola). It wasn't planned. But when I found out, knowing that he'd be here made the decision easier.”

After successful freshman and sophomore seasons, both Ponce and Staumont spent their summers in 2014 playing in the Cape Code League. But the level of competition proved to be difficult. After two disappointing starts, Ponce called his dad, Joe Ponce, seeking encouragement.

“I was giving them my best stuff, throwing as hard as I could and giving them my dirtiest pitches,” Ponce recalled telling his dad. “I was insecure about myself at the time.”

“Cody, everyone is up there to play baseball just like you,” Joe told his son. “You're still 60 feet, six inches away. They still have to hit the ball, and you still have to pitch it. Trust yourself, you're up there for a reason. And next time, just go have fun.”

“That little phone call, I won't ever forget it,” Cody said. “It changed me forever because then I started to see every batter not as a D-I batter, but just as a baseball player, and that's the way I needed to see it.

“Coach Coggin told me one day things would click, and I'd have something I never knew I had before. And he was right.”

In his final eight outings for the Brewster Whitecaps, including an appearance in the Cape Cod All-Star Game and the playoffs, Ponce went 4-1 with a 2.72 ERA and 30 strikeouts to just eight walks in 33 innings. Ponce's showing in the Cape was so impressive that, in October, PG's Frankie Piliere ranked Ponce as the second-best prospect in the league.

Josh Staumont is ranked the 74th overall prospect eligible for the 2015 MLB Draft.