May 24, 2005

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford Baseball program has announced the signing of two more student-athletes for the 2005 recruiting class. The new signees bring the total for 2005 to 10.

Benji Waite (RHP, 6-3, 220, Madison Academy, Huntsville, Ala.) was recognized by Baseball America as the No. 10 Best Prospect in the state of Alabama with top 10 round draft potential as well as being ranked by Baseball America as one of the top prospects in the country. Waite is a hard throwing right-handed pitcher with the added plus of being a potentially powerful left-handed hitter.

In leading his team to an area championship, Waite's record was 7-2 with 52 strikeouts in 42 innings pitched. Offensively, he hit .512 with 12 home runs, 10 doubles and 70 RBI for the 2005 season. He features a fastball in the upper 80's with outstanding off-speed stuff. Waite is expected to contribute both on the mound and in the batter's box at Samford.

"Benji had a great year and is a tremendous signee for us," Samford Head Coach Casey Dunn said. "He is a high profile recruit with a lot of recognition in some publications who had an opportunity to sign with a lot of larger schools. He is a big, strong pitcher with a lot of power potential offensively from the left side."

Waite chose Samford over Tennessee, Alabama, Birmingham Southern, Mississippi State and Jacksonville State.

Joshua VanFleteren (RHP, 6'4, 185 lbs, Brentwood Academy, Nashville, Tenn.) is in the process of finishing up a successful senior season at Brentwood Academy, an outstanding baseball program in Tennessee. He led the way for his high school team with a 6-2 record and a 2.54 ERA. Of his 10 games pitched, he completed five of them while striking out 60 in 52 innings pitched.

VanFleteren also performed well this season as a hitter, batting .375 with 13 doubles, two home runs and 33 RBI. He is expected to be used primarily on the mound at Samford.

"Josh is new to pitching the last couple of years and has a tremendous future," Dunn said. "We saw him at our camp in January and again during the season. He is a quality pitcher now but has the chance to be something special in the future."

VanFleteren chose Samford over Vanderbilt, Kentucky and Tennessee Tech.

The coaching staff indicated that more would be announced in the near future.