University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota Baseball Adds Three During Late Signing Period
6/12/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Bechstein, is a 5-11, 165 pound pitcher from Apple Valley, Minn. He was a two-time All-Conference honoree for Eastview in his final two years. Bechstein was also named Honorable-Mention All-Metro as a junior. He was named the Pitcher of the Year for the team and was also the team captain. Bechstein was 5-2 with a 1.26 ERA in his senior season.
Hanish is a 6-0, 160 pound infielder from McKinney Texas. He attended McKinney North High School where he was First-Team All-District this past season. Hanish batted .377 for McKinney North High School and helped his team advance to the state semifinals this past season.
Ryan, who is the son of Minnesota Twins general manager Terry Ryan, is a 6-5, 170 pound righthanded pitcher from Eagan, Minnesota. He attended Eagan High School where he had a 2.29 ERA in 55 innings pitched and 37 strikeouts as a senior. Ryan was named All-Section and was an Honorable Mention All-Lake Conference Selection. He was also the team’s 2006 Pitcher of the Year and was a 2005 Golden Award honoree on the team in 2005.
“We wanted to add some pitching depth to our squad with this recruiting class and we did that with Allen (Bechstein) and Tim (Ryan), along with some of our early signees. We wanted to get good pitchers who are a good fit for our program both on the field and off the field and we feel both pitchers fit that description. We also picked up a very good lefthanded hitting infielder in Drew (Hanish) who has a very good baseball background. It is hard to find good lefthanded hitting middle infielders so we are happy to have him join the program. We wanted to recruit players that will help this program long term. We are slated to have 14 seniors next year and we will need players that can fill in for those players when they leave our program. We feel all three of these players fit the bill and really have a strong desire to be part of this program.”
Recruit Pos. B-T Ht. Wt. Hometown (High School) Allen Bechstein RHP R-R 5-11 165 Apple Valley, Minn. (Eastview HS) Drew Hanish IF L-R 6-0 160 McKinney, Texas (McKinney North HS) Tim Ryan RHP R-R 6-5 170 Eagan, Minn. (Eagan) *Kyle Knudson C R-R 6-3 210 Maple Grove, Minn. (Maple Grove HS) *Derek McCallum SS L-R 6-0 170 Shoreview, Minn. (Hill-Murray HS) *Ethan Vogt P R-R 6-3 210 Sauk Centre, Minn. (Sauk Centre HS/Ridgewater CC)
Early signing period
Allen Bechstein (on Coming to Minnesota) “I am really excited to join the Minnesota baseball program. It has always been a dream of mine to play for the Golden Gophers baseball program. I am excited to be part of a program that has such a rich and successful history.”
Drew Hanish (on Coming to Minnesota) “I am looking forward to being part of the Minnesota program. It is a very successful program that is highly competitive. I am excited about the high level of competition that they play, and I am looking forward to working with a great coaching staff to get better as a player during the course of my career.”
Tim Ryan (on Coming to Minnesota) “I think going to play for the University of Minnesota baseball program is a great opportunity to become a better pitcher. I am looking forward to working with a great pitching coach, and a very good coaching staff. I am looking forward to being part of a program that has such a successful tradition.”
