Eagle baseball signs eight in early signing period

Texas junior college catcher Matt Durst signed his intent to attend the University of Southern Mississippi to play baseball two weeks ago, wrapping up the early signing period for the 2014 Golden Eagle signing class.

Durst is the last of eight players who have already signed a letter of intent to be a Golden Eagle next fall. He played in 44 games last season behind the dish, hitting over .330 with 25 runs driven in with one home run. He did this after hitting .469 his senior year in high school with 15 home runs and no errors in 260 chances behind the plate.

Durst is not the only catcher coming, as high school senior Chuckie Robinson III has already signed with the Golden Eagles. The Illinois native was named 2012 1st Team Under Armour Underclassmen All-American as a junior last season.

The two catchers join utility players Dylan Burdeaux and Will Watson, both from Monroe, La., as the early position player signees. Burdeaux hit .400 this summer with five home runs for the La-Ark-Tx Marrucci team, while Watson hit over .500 last season as a junior with 10 home runs and 43 runs batted in, earning first-team All State honors.

Two junior college pitchers, Jones County’s Ryan Milton and Pearl River’s Christian Talley, have also inked their names as future Golden Eagles. As freshmen last season, Milton went 6-4 with a 2.26 earned run average, while Talley went 4-1 with a mere 2.37 ERA on the mound.

Two right-handed high school pitchers from Florida will be joining the Southern Miss pitching class next fall: Dustin Berrong from Ft. Walton Beach and Cooper Jones from Pensacola, Fla. Berrong racked up 11 wins as a junior last season, and Jones went 8-0 with a 1.14 ERA, leading his team to the 4A state championship game.

“I think it’s a tremendous recruiting class,” head baseball coach Scott Berry said. “I think we were able to balance it evenly between our pitchers and position players. The overall balance of JUCO and freshman players in this class provides help for the future and immediate help for us next season as well.”

The Golden Eagle baseball team is currently preparing for the spring, and the coaches are also working off the field, as the 2014 team has already began to take form.