2/22/2016 9:30:54 AM
After a rather quiet stretch these last couple of weeks, something that’s to be expected every year at this time as coaching staffs were prepping their clubs for the 2016 season, the recruiting trail should be picking back up at a torrid base. With the season ramping up and opening weekend behind us, teams undoubtedly had potential commits come on campus to take in the weekend atmosphere while gaining an overall feel for the amenities and what the school has to offer.
Not only did Coach Tracy Smith’s Arizona State Sun Devils sweep their four game set against Xavier, they also landed one of the more talented players in the 2019 class, lefthander Cooper Benson who’s ranked No. 21 in the class. It’s of no surprise that Smith and company’s first commit in the class comes from out of state (Benson is from San Luis Obispo, Calif.) as they’ve shown a willingness to leave their home turf in order to collect the best talent available. Just take a look at their 2016 class which is a top three ranked class nationally and it’s made up of players who represent 11 different states.
Benson is the latest Californian prep in the 2019 class to commit to a major Division-1 program following Spencer Jones and Wesley Scott who both recently committed to Vanderbilt and righthander Cole Dale who’s heading to Coach John Savage at UCLA. What the Sun Devil’s are getting with Benson is a strongly built 5-foot-11 lefthander whose loose and quick arm action is capable of producing a fastball that runs into the upper-80s, consistently missing bats. At the conclusion of the 2015 summer circuit Benson was tabbed as the 14u Pitcher of the Year per Perfect Game and finished the tournament season with a 13.30 strikeouts per seven (38 punch outs in 20 innings) and a minuscule 0.35 ERA while surrendering a mere eight hits.