Air Force Academy

Aug. 17, 2004

Air Force head baseball coach Mike Hutcheon has welcomed 12 new players and returns three more players from the 2002 team to his roster for the upcoming 2005 season. The team, which returns the entire 2004 squad, begins fall practices on Sept. 7. The incoming class consists of ten players that played high school ball last year, one player from the USAFA prep school and one junior college transfer. Three freshmen, Jeff McClafferty, Troy Jeffers and Ben Reade were all-state selections. "I am very excited about the class of `05," Hutcheon said. "My staff and I have worked extremely hard to make our first recruiting class at the Academy one that is going to be the core of our program for years to come. This class brings in immediate needs in areas that are complimentary to the strengths that were already in place." Three Falcons, Mike Garrison, Price Paramore and Paul Pratt return from two-year religious missions. Pratt, a hard-throwing righty who will be a junior, led the Falcons in 2002 with 24 pitching appearances and four saves. Paramore, another junior, has appeared in 99 games, starting 71 and batted .286 in his first two seasons, to go with 21 doubles as an infielder. Garrison, who spent his freshman season with the junior varsity squad, will be a sophomore. Jake Allen - Two-year letterwinner in baseball and football at Poway HS in Poway, Calif.... team captain as a senior... on the honor roll six times... coached by Bob Perry... brothers Jarrod (22) and Caleb (20) both play baseball at Cal Poly Pomona. Tyler Dailey - Two-year letterwinner in baseball and basketball at Lake Park HS in Rosell, Ill. ... all-conference catcher as a senior... four-time academic all-conference... four-time IHSA Academic Achievement Award winner... coached by Dan Colucci... member of the National Honor Society... earned Presidential Award for Academic Achievement. Austin Ferreria - Four-year letterwinner in baseball at Edison HS in Fresno, Calif. ... made the Fresno City All-Star team... team MVP as a junior and senior... went 7-2 on the mound as a senior... once struck out 15 batters in a game... coached by Cliff Rold... class Valedictorian... SES regional winner... Lettered one year in cross country. Matt Ghigna - Two-year letterwinner in baseball at The Woodlands HS in The Woodlands, Texas... all-district and all-county outfielder as a senior... honorable mention all-league utility as a junior... played on district champion teams as a junior and senior and was a state semi-finalist as a junior... coached by Ron Eastman... member of the National Honor Society. Troy Jeffers - Three-year letterwinner in baseball at Terre Haute South Vigo HS in Terre Haute, Ind. ... team MVP and captain as a junior after batting .444... all-conference and preseason all-state as a junior and senior... coached by Kyle Kraemer... also lettered in wrestling... member of National Honor Society... played on the National Amateur Baseball Association (NABA) team during the summer of 2001... also played two years at Lincoln Trail College in Robinson, Ill., and coached by Mitch Hannahs... batted .325 as a freshman at Lincoln Trail and .395 in nine games as a sophomore until breaking a bone in wrist.... has three years of eligibility remaining for baseball... made dean's list at Lincoln Trail... Who's who among American junior colleges... Brother, Tommy (24), played college baseball at Indiana State and played in the Arizona Diamondbacks minor league system in 2003. Jeff McClafferty - Two-year letterwinner at Desert Mountain HS in Scottsdale, Ariz.... First-team all-state and all-region first baseman as a senior... also a North all-star and North Player of the Year... 5A Arizona Republic All State Team... led the state with 14 home runs and 59 RBI's... hit three home runs in one game, to go with 10 RBI's, which was one shy of the state record... played in the Arizona Baseball Coaches Association Super 50 All-Star Game at Bank One Ball Park for the North team... coached by Bryan Rice and Terry Kellen... Grandfather, William Litvin, played pro baseball for the Boston Braves. Josh Meents - Three-year letterwinner in baseball and basketball at Reed-Custer HS in Braidwood, Ill.... all-conference catcher as a junior and senior... all-area as a senior... team captain and MVP as a senior... helped lead Reed-Custer to regional championship as a junior... coached by Butch Stafford... Mr. Hustle award winner as a junior and senior on the basketball team at point guard... class valedictorian... a member of the National Honor Society... all-state academic... Illinois state scholar. John Pieper - Four-year letterwinner in baseball and track at Mount Michael Benedictine HS in Elkhorn, Neb.... team captain as a junior and senior... academic all-state as a junior and senior... played in the Kiwanis all-star game as a junior... lettered two years in football and captained football team as a senior... was Class President sophomore, junior and senior years... a member of National Honor Society... on the Dean's list all four years... coached by Jim Lewis. Ben Reade - Two-year letterwinner in baseball at Robinson Secondary HS in Fairfax, Va.... attended USAFA prep school last year... all-state and district player of the year as a senior... helped lead Robinson to second place finish in state tournament. Greg Sillivent - Two-year letterwinner in baseball and football at Grapevine HS in Grapevine, Texas... all-district and all-northeast Tarrant County as a centerfielder/pitcher as a senior... helped lead Grapevine to the B district championship as a senior... also all-district and all-northeast Tarrant County as a strong safety on the football team as a senior... coached by Time McCune... was also a Texas scholar... played summer ball for the Arlington A's. Russ Vandell - Four-year letterwinner at North Medford HS in Medford, Ore.... first-team third-baseman as a junior and senior... second team linebacker in football... three-year league champs in baseball... helped lead North Medford to state semifinal games in baseball and football... coached by Brett Wolfe... lettered two years in football and one in wrestling... made the school Honor Roll. Kyle Yamamoto - Two-year letterwinner in baseball and football at Buchanan HS in Clovis, Calif. ... all-conference pitcher... helped lead Buchanan to conference championship as a junior and senior... coached by Tom Donald... also won conference championship in football as a junior... lettered one year in basketball. Newcomers

Name	Pos.	Ht. 	Wt.	Bats/Throws 	Hometwown (High School)
Jake Allen	OF	5-8	165	R/R	Poway, Calif. (Poway)
Tyler Dailey	C	6-2	193	R/R	Bloomingdale, Fla. (Lake Park)
Austin Ferreria	RHP/C	6-3	190	R/R	Fresno, Calif. (Edison)
Matt Ghigna	OF	6-0	190	L/R	The Woodlands, Texas (The Woodlands)
Troy Jeffers	IF	6-0	185	R/R	Terre Haute, Ind. (Terre Haute South Vigo)
Jeff McClafferty	RHP/1B	6-4	210	R/R	Scottsdale, Ariz. (Desert Mountain)
Josh Meents	C	6-3	180	S/R	Braidwood, Ill. (Reed-Custer)
John Pieper	RHP/IF	6-1	160	R/R	Elkhorn, Neb. (Mount Michael Benedictine)
Ben Reade	 RHP	6-2	195	R/R	Fairfax Station, Va. (Robinson Secondary)
Greg Sillivent	OF/LHP	6-2	195	L/L	Grapevine, Texas (Grapevine)
Russ Vandell	IF	5-9	175	R/R	Medford, Ore. (North Medford)
Kyle Yamamoto	RHP	6-0	195	R/R	Clovis, Calif. (Buchanan)