Dixie State head baseball coach Chris Pfatenhauer announced the signing of three players to play for the Trailblazers next season. DSU received National Letters of Intent from RHP/SS Alex Johnson from Woods Cross High School in Bountiful, Utah, and RHP Zach Reed from Liberty HS in Las Vegas, Nevada. In addition, DSU signed College of Southern Idaho transfer Jackson Kunz to a scholarship offer.
Johnson (6-foot-1, 185) was named 2016 Utah Prep Baseball Player of the Year by the Salt Lake Tribune and All-Area MVP by the Ogden Standard-Examiner. Johnson hit .628 in his senior season for the Wildcats with 10 doubles, eight triples and four home runs. He also collected 45 RBIs, 35 runs scored and 12 stolen bases. In addition, he went 7-2 with a 1.07 ERA and 76 strikeouts in 52.1 innings pitched. He also threw a no-hitter earlier this year vs. Valencia HS.
“Alex is a tremendous athlete with great upside on the mound,” Pfatenhauer said. “He is a good enough player to pitch and play in the field and will get that opportunity here. He has a quick arm and we saw him up to 91 mph this winter. But he can also run and handle the bat, so the sky is truly the limit for Alex.”
Kunz (6-1, 200; Burley, Idaho/Burley HS) played in 46 games in his lone season at CSI, where he batted .226 with a .433 on-base percentage and seven stolen bases. Kunz originally signed to play at Utah Valley University for the 2013-14 season, during which he started in six of 10 games played for the Wolverines.
“Jackson is an extremely athletic baseball player with a tremendous baseball IQ,” Pfatenhauer said. “He can contribute to our program in a number of ways; as an infielder, outfielder and can even catch. His left-handed bat and his speed will play well in the Dixie State program. We are very excited to have Jackson in our program.”
Reed (5-11, 165) played three seasons at Liberty HS, including a 6-1 senior campaign for the Patriots with a 1.81 ERA and 50 strikeouts in 38 innings pitched. In addition, Reed was selected as the starting pitcher for the Sunset Division All-Stars at the Southern Nevada Senior All-Star game.
“Zach reminds us a lot of current DSU pitcher Dylan File,” Pfatenhauer said. “Both have athletic, quick deliveries and are super competitive. Zach should be a guy that contributes right away for us and should have a great career as a Trailblazer.”
In all, six players have signed with the baseball program for the upcoming 2016-17 academic year, including early signees Brooks Barney, a 5-11 LHP from St. George’s Pine View HS; LHP Matt Mosca (Las Vegas, Nevada) from Mesa Community College; and OF/1B Jake Engel from Ironwood HS in Tucson, Arizona.
Steve Johnson is the Associate Athletic Director for Media Relations and Collegiate Licensing at Dixie State University. For more DSU Athletics news, please visit www.dixieathletics.com and follow Dixie State on Twitter at @DixieAthletics.