Posted: Nov 13, 2019
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Santa Clara baseball announced Wednesday the signing of nine players, composed of explosive multi-sport athletes and power pitchers, to national letters of intent.
Third-year head coach Rusty Filter and his staff, added four pitchers - Cade Connolly (Dana Point, Calif.), Dalton Durossette (Modesto, Calif.), Rowan Trosky (Carmel, Calif.), Case Williams (Castle Rock, Colo.), and five position players – Jonathan 'JonJon' Berring (Salinas, Calif.), Kenny DeCelle (Vacaville, Calif.), Michael Diaz (Phoenix, Ariz.), Efrain Manzo (Chandler, Ariz.), Michael Mugan (Seaside, Calif.), that will join the Broncos as true freshman in the fall of 2020.
"This year's recruiting class is highlighted by explosive dual-sport athletes and powerful pitching. This group brings a special tool in speed that Santa Clara has not experienced before. I am truly excited for the direction this program is going with the backing of this 2020 class," said Filter. "I am extremely proud of my Recruiting Coordinator Jon Karcich and Assistant Coach BK Santy in their recruiting efforts this year. They worked tirelessly to bring in the best talent in the country."
JonJon Berring, a two-sport athlete from Palma High is a fleet-footed outfielder that also plays wide receiver and defensive back for the Chieftain football team.
The three-time captain on the diamond batted .343 with a .438 on-base percentage during his sophomore and junior seasons on the varsity team.
On the gridiron, he hauled in 24 passes for 383 yards while adding another 234 on the ground during his junior campaign. This fall, the 5-foot-7 Berring is averaging over 20 yards per catch with a long of 85 yards and nearly 10 yards per carry.
Cade Connolly, is a 6-foot-4 left-handed pitcher who helped lead Santa Margarita Catholic High to the 2019 Division 2 California Interscholastic Federation Championship in May. He transferred from JSerra Catholic High where he was part of the Boras Classic Championship squad during his sophomore year.
Kenny DeCelle, from Vacaville High has the requisite speed to play all three outfield positions and is a three-time captain/co-captain on the basketball team. During his junior season, the 6-foot-2, DeCelle had a .388/.433/.529 slash line with 10 steals in 31 games to help lead the Bulldogs to the best record in program history at 31-2.
Another two-sport athlete, Michael Diaz, hails from Brophy College Prep in Arizona where he starred as a left-handed hitting corner outfielder and ranked as one of the top 50 prep football players in the state where he played outside linebacker and safety. The 6-foot-2, 210-pounder is one of only a handful of students at Brophy from the class of 2020 to letter three times in two different sports.
In his varsity career, Diaz has batted .344 with a .438 on-base percentage. In football, he has 157 career tackles and is third all-time on the Brophy College Prep record books with five interceptions in a season.
Right-handed pitcher Dalton Durossette from Central Catholic High in the Central Valley is a rugged 6-foot-3 three-sport athlete who utilizes his big arm on the mound and as the quarterback for the Raiders. He also played on the hardwood.
In the summer of 2018, Durossette pitched for the Oakland A's Area Code Baseball Underclass Games.
As the field general on the gridiron, Durossette has thrown 38 touchdown passes in his two varsity seasons completing nearly 59 percent of his 260 pass attempts.
Efrain Manzo is a right-handed hitting shortstop from Chandler High in Arizona where he has a .386/.477/.645 slash line over 49 varsity games. Twenty-nine of his 61 hits have gone for extra-bases as he was a member of the Cincinnati Reds Area Code team.
Michael Mugan is a three-time captain for the Monterey High Toreadore baseball team. The 5-foot-11 Mugan is a versatile player that can play in the infield and the outfield who has a .368 batting average driving in 45 runs on 63 hits during his sophomore and junior seasons.
Rowan Trosky is a right-handed pitcher with athleticism who transitioned from being a shortstop a year and a half ago at Carmel High. The 6-foot-2 right-hander will captain the Padres this upcoming season after being named team MVP and both Offensive as well as Pitcher of the Year last season. He was also part of the 2019 Oakland A's Area Code team.
Case Williams is a hard throwing right-handed pitcher from Douglas County High in Colorado who can touch the mid-90s. He will enter his fourth varsity season this spring having struck out 134 batters over 94 innings. Last season, the 6-foot-3 Williams posted an 8-1 record with a 1.81 ERA while striking out 79 in 50.1 innings.
Beginning the week of Nov. 18, the Broncos will highlight one signee per week. The first of those signees is JonJon Berring.