Mountaineers Ink In Early Signing

Baseball Inks Five During Early Signing Period
by Appalachian Sports Information

November 23, 2007 - BOONE, N.C. ­— Five of North Carolina’s top high-school seniors signed National Letters of Intent to play baseball at Appalachian State University beginning in 2009, ASU head coach Chris Pollard announced on Friday.

The early crops of five signees include: infielder/right-handed pitcher Ryan Arrowood, shortstop Zack Briggs, catcher Derek Brown, catcher Jeremy Dowdy and outfielder/left-handed pitcher Will Helms.

“We’re excited about this group of signees,” Pollard said. “We think that we were able to identify some of the state’s top seniors both on the field and in the classroom and we’re very pleased to have them signed and ready to go before their final high-school seasons. We look forward to having them on campus next fall and to four years of them wearing the Black and Gold.”

RYAN ARROWOOD • INF/RHP • FOREST CITY, N.C./CENTRAL
Regarded by several publications as one of the state’s top-10 prospects ... won 14 games and struck out 157 on the mound as a junior last spring, en route to 3A all-state and Southwestern 2A/3A Conference Player-of-the-Year recognition ... named to Charlotte Observer’s all-area team ... participated in 2007 State Games ... member of South Charlotte Panthers AAU program ... chose Appalachian over Clemson, Western Carolina, Liberty and Gardner-Webb.

ZACK BRIGGS • SS • LEXINGTON, N.C./CENTRAL DAVIDSON
Going into senior season, needs just 46 hits to break North Carolina’s all-time prep record for career hits ... honorable mention Louisville Slugger all-American as a junior ... two-time all-state honoree ... 2007 Central Carolina Conference co-Player of the Year and all-conference selection ... named to Lexington County Dispatch and Greensboro News & Record all-area teams ... 2007 State Games participant ... ranked fifth in his class academically ... member of National Honor Society ... plays for Jonathan Brown at Central Davidson and Ricky Keith for Carolina Cubs AAU program ... chose Appalachian over Stanford, Duke and Brown.

DEREK BROWN • C • SILER CITY, N.C./JORDAN-MATTHEWS
Conference co-Player of the Year, all-conference and all-county performer as a junior ... participated in 2007 USA Baseball Junior Olympic tournament ... is already school’s all-time home runs leader ... is also school record-holder for touchdown passes as quarterback for Jordan-Matthews’ state-ranked football team .... also ranked fifth in his class with a 4.3 grade point average ... plays in the Carolina Hurricanes AAU program for coach Jeff Petty ... chose Appalachian over West Virginia and East Carolina.

JEREMY DOWDY • C • RALEIGH, N.C./WAKEFIELD
A two-time all-conference performer ... participated in 2007 State Games and USA Baseball Junior Olympics tournament ... high-school teammate of current Mountaineers Zach Quate and Taylor Miller ... older brother, Josh, is a former starting pitcher at East Carolina ... plays for coach Ed Hall at Wakefield and for Ricky Keith’s Carolina Cubs AAU program ... chose Appalachian over Clemson, NC State, UNC Wilmington, Charlotte and UNC Greensboro.

WILL HELMS • OF/LHP • CHARLOTTE, N.C./PROVIDENCE
One of the top players in the high-school baseball hotbed of Charlotte ... all-conference performer as a junior in the prestigious Southwestern 4A Conference ... 2007 all-county selection by the Charlotte Observer ... participated in 2007 State Games ... plays for coach Danny Hignight at Providence and for Jeff McNeely’s Charlotte Megastars AAU program ... chose Appalachian over East Carolina, Western Carolina, Charlotte, Navy and High Point.

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Zack Briggs will be a good one. He's a quality kid who is serious about academics. And he matured early. Zack played SS & hit 3rd for Lexington Post 8's state-runnerup 3 years ago (he had just completed his Freshman year)!

Baseball wise, he's one of the best back-side hitters around. Swings right, but his power-zone is right center. So he's a tough out, even when he has 2 strikes. My crystal ball says he starts as a Freshman & never hits below .330 for the Mountaineers!

 

Another great class

I thought the 07 class was outstanding. The 08 class will be as well when its all said and done. All of these guys are outstanding players. App States coaches work their butts off all summer and fall. Jupiter , East Cobb , State Games and almost every event every weekend you will see someone from their staff evaluating players. I think you will see all that hard work pay off in the near future with wins on the field. They definitely are bringing in some first class players both on and off the field.

 

has Briggs given up on Legion baseball

 

I have no idea

all I know is he played with the Cubs last summer. I have no idea if he played legion last summer or intends to play this summer.

 

ZACKRY BRIGGS

He will play legion if he is healthy. He has declined to play with the cubs.

 

Zack did play for Post 8 last summer. But he did not finish the season. Just to be clear: this was discussed with Coach Griff before the Legion season. I was told that all of Post 8's college prospects will play this coming summer.

 

Ryan Arrowood

Ryan is a great sign for Appalachian State. My son played with him this summer as a part of South Charlotte Panther team and not only is he a great player, he is a outstanding and well spoken student athelete. Congrats to him and his family.

 

I think Briggs will be one of the top 5 hitters to come out of this years class. He can really swing it!