Dec. 7, 2012

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The University of Maryland baseball team added strength to an already talented roster with the signing of seven student-athletes to National Letters-of-Intent, head coach John Szefc announced Friday. The seven-person class will arrive in College Park in August 2013, and compete for the Terps in the 2014 season.

The signing class consists of two players who received preseason All-American honors from Perfect Game USA prior to their junior seasons, as well as two players ranked among the top 500 players in the country.

The recruiting class is made up of three players from both Maryland and New Jersey, and one player from New York.

“The class fills a lot if not all of the needs we have,” said Szefc. “It is a pitching heavy class, which is pretty typical nowadays. It has some balance to it as far guys that would project to being starters and some that would project as being finishers. All four of the position players are immediate impact type of players. The class covers a lot of the needs that we have and combined with the outstanding young players we have in our program now, it should be a really good compliment.”

The two signees ranked among the nation’s top 500 according to Perfect Game are: No. 258 Chase Brewis (RHP | Glen Burnie, Md.) and No. 500 Nick Cieri (C/3B | Hainesport, N.J.).

Cieri and Bradley Keith (OF | Millersville, Md.) received 2012 preseason All-American high honorable mention and honorable mention, respectively, from Perfect Game.

Several of the players rank among the top 50 players in their respective states: Brewis is No. 4 in Maryland, Keith is No. 14 in Maryland, Cieri is No. 16 in New Jersey, Mike Rescigno (3B | Monmouth Beach, N.J.) is No. 28 in New Jersey, Andrew Green (RHP | Blairstown, N.J.) is No. 35 in New Jersey, and Tayler Stiles (LHP | Bowie, Md.) is No. 47 in Maryland.

Name	Position	Ht./Wt.	Hometown (High School)
Chase Brewis	RHP	5-11/155	Glen Burnie, Md. (Riverdale Baptist)
Nick Cieri	C/3B	6-2/210	Hainesport, N.J. (Rancocas Valley Regional)
Andrew Green	RHP	6-5/220	Blairstown, N.J. (Blair Academy (N.J.))
Bradley Keith	OF	6-3/165	Millersville, Md. (DeMatha Catholic)
Matt Oniffrey	1B	6-0/175	Pound Ridge, N.Y. (Fox Lane)
Mike Rescigno	3B/P	6-1/195	Monmouth Beach, N.J. (Red Bank Catholic)
Tayler Stiles	LHP	6-2/220	Bowie, Md. (Bishop McNamara)

Chase Brewis
Glen Burnie, Md., Riverdale Baptist, RHP, 5-11, 155
Ranked among the top 500 players in the nation by Perfect Game USA • Rated the No. 4 player in the state of Maryland and the No. 2 right-handed pitcher by Perfect Game USA • Named to the 2013 MSABC Preseason All-State Team • Named 2012 Washington Post All-Met Honorable Mention • Hit .390 with 45 stolen bases as a junior and struckout 48 batters in 29 innings of work with a 0.55 ERA • Played summer ball with the Evoshield Canes and notched a 1.30 ERA with 54 strikeouts in 34 innings pitched • Played for Team Maryland over the summer • Selected for the 2012 Perfect Game USA National Showcase • Plays for Terry Terrill at Riverdale Baptist High School

Coach Szefc on Brewis: “He's a local guy and an immediate impact right-hander throwing in the upper 80s, touching 90. Along with Stiles and Keith, it was really important for us as a staff to get three of the best players in Maryland in this class."

Nick Cieri
Hainesport, N.J., Rancocas Valley Regional, C/3B, 6-2, 210
Ranked among the top 500 players in the country by Perfect Game USA • Tabbed the No. 16 player in New Jersey and the top-rated third baseman by Perfect Game USA • Named 2012 Perfect Game USA Preseason Underclassmen All-American High Honorable Mention • Named to the 2012 All-South Jersey Team selected by the South Jersey Baseball Coaches Association • Played on the Burlington County Carpenter Cup team as a sophomore and junior • Named a Courier Post All-Group 4 outfielder as a sophomore • Hit .509 with 24 runs scored, 22 RBI and three home runs in 2012 • Plays for Dave Hower at Rancocas Valley Regional High School

Coach Szefc on Cieri: “He's a left-handed hitting third-baseman/catcher. He's just starting to learn the catching position. His offense is outstanding and he'll be very good defensively as well.”

Andrew Green
Blairstown, N.J., Blair Academy (N.J.), RHP, 6-5, 220
Rated the No. 35 player in New Jersey by Perfect Game USA • Has started all three years at Blair Academy • Finished with a 6-2 record last spring • Played summer ball with Evoshield Canes (North) • Named to the Commended List and Dean’s List • Plays for Jim Stone at Blair Academy (N.J.)

Coach Szefc on Green: “He's pretty raw as far as innings pitched. We were lucky to have an opportunity recruit Andrew when we did. He plays for a very good high school program and should be an immediate impact right-handed pitcher just like Brewis.”

Bradley Keith
Millersville, Md., DeMatha Catholic, OF, 6-3, 165
Ranked the No. 14 player in Maryland by Perfect Game USA • Named 2012 Perfect Game USA Preseason Underclassmen All-American Honorable Mention • Named to the 2013 MSABC Preseason All-State Team • Earned First Team All-County as a junior • Hit .440 with 15 runs scored, 14 RBI and 12 stolen bases in 2012 • Played for Team Maryland at the Perfect Game/EvoShield National Championship and was named to the All-Tournament team after hitting .500 with seven RBI and three stolen bases • Plays for Sean O’Connor at DeMatha Catholic High School

Coach Szefc on Keith: “Keith is a pretty polished left-handed bat and liked the idea of staying close to home.”

Matt Oniffrey
Pound Ridge, N.Y., Fox Lane, 1B, 6-0, 175
Selected for the New York State Section 1 2012 All-Star Team • In 22 games played, led Fox Lane in walks (13) and stolen bases (6), and was second on the club in hits (29), runs scored (24), home runs (4) and triples (1) • Finished with a .408 batting average and 21 RBI along with a .648 slugging percentage • In summer ball, hit .370 with a team-high seven doubles • Plays for Matt Hillis at Fox Lane High School

Coach Szefc on Oniffrey: “He's a very compact, up the middle, other way left-handed hitter. He's an outstanding defender at first base. He should really help us to solidify that position for the future.”

Mike Rescigno
Monmouth Beach, N.J., Red Bank Catholic, 3B, 6-1, 195
Tabbed the No. 28 player in New Jersey by Perfect Game USA • Named to the 2012 Star-Ledger All State Non-Public Second Team • Selected First Team All-Shore Media in the spring • Named to the 2012 Asbury Park Press First Team All-Shore • Participated in the 2012 Area Code Games, East Coast Pro Showcase and Carpenter Cup • Batted .429 for Red Bank to go with a .610 on-base percentage and .629 slugging percentage • Plays for Bob Hausmann at Red Bank Catholic High School

Coach Szefc on Rescigno: “He's a two-way guy and projects to close games in the future. He is a polished right-handed bat that projects right away.”

Tayler Stiles
Bowie, Md., Bishop McNamara, LHP, 6-2, 220
Tabbed by Perfect Game USA as the No. 47 player in Maryland • Selected First Team All-County as a junior • Voted Second Team All-WCAC in the spring • Named 2012 Washington Post All-Met Honorable Mention • Voted to the 2013 MSABC Preseason All-State Team • Played summer ball with Evoshield Canes (North) and Mustang Baseball leading both teams in wins and home runs • Named to the Battle of the Border All-Tournament team • Earned tournament MVP honors at Sports at the Beach Tournament • Has ranked in the 90th percentile in all quarters at McNamara with a 4.0 GPA • Plays for Larry Prange at Bishop McNamara High School

Coach Szefc on Stiles: “He has a polished curveball, mid-80s, loose left-handed arm. He should be an immediate impact guy. If we are going to be a good program, we need to get guys like him, Brewis and Keith to come to Maryland.”

-Terps-

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