Deacons Add Junior College Outfielder
6/5/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
June 5, 2003
Winston-Salem, N.C. -- The Wake Forest baseball team has added outfielder Matt Miller to its 2003 recruiting class, the Demon Deacon coaching staff announced on Thursday.
Miller, a center fielder from Modesto Junior College, was a first team junior college All-American and the 2003 Central Valley Conference Co-Player of the Year. He was named to the All-Conference team as a freshman and a sophomore for the Pirates. This season, Miller batted .384 with 21 RBI, 17 stolen bases and a .488 on-base percentage. As a freshman, he hit .343 with two home runs with 24 RBI, 12 stolen bases and a .461 on-base percentage.
The left-handed Miller, who is 5-foot-9, 180 pounds, was drafted after his freshman year by the Florida Marlins in the 39th round. However, the Marlins no longer have the draft rights to Miller and he will join the Deacons in the fall.
"Matt is the hardest working player I've ever been associated with," said Modesto JC head coach Bo Aiello who just completed his 22nd season with the Pirates. "His work ethic is second to none. Matt gives you 100 percent in practices and in games. He's a born player. He is a quiet kid who just plays hard and comes from a tremendous family."
Miller joins a growing list of California junior college outfielder to join Wake Forest in recent years. The Deacons have had at least such player on the roster in every year since 1998. All three came from Cypress Junior College including Scott Daeley (1998-99), Cory Sullivan (2000-01) and Ryan Hubbard (2002-03).
Modesto Junior College has produced two major leaguers including Ray Lankford, an All-Star with the St. Louis Cardinals and Shawn Boskie, who enjoyed a nine-year career with six teams.
Wake Forest will welcome ten newcomers next fall including Matt Antonelli (SS/Peabody, Mass.), Josh Ellis (RHP/Lexington, Ky.), Justin Keadle (RHP/Huntington Beach, Calif.), Andrew Knox (RHP/Fort Myers, Fla.), Lee Land (3B, RHP/Durham, N.C.), Charlie Mellies (RHP/Clifton, Va.), Matt Miller (OF/Modesto, Calif.), Brian Shust (OF/Long Grove, Ill.), Sean Souders (LHP/Berekley, Calif.) and Brandon Yarbrough (C/Ellerbe, N.C.).