Wolverines' season helps lay foundation for next season's solid recruiting class

OREM — In improving on its 2005 mark by two wins, the Utah Valley State baseball team relied heavily this season on a trio of players who won't be back in 2007. In their place next spring will be several fresh faces. Local faces.

After going 17-39 a year ago, the 2006 edition of the Wolverines finished 19-37 (9-11 home, 8-24 road, 2-2 neutral) with sizable contributions from Kam Mickolio, Nick Connor and Chris Benson. Mickolio and Connor are graduating seniors; Benson, a freshman, plans on serving an LDS Church mission.

Mickolio, a 6-foot-9 right-handed pitcher who features a fastball that sits in the low 90s and a heavy slider with good movement, alternated between enigma and staff ace in 2006. Although he pitched brilliantly in complete-game shutouts of Sacramento State and Nevada, the Montana native also ran into enough trouble to see his ERA balloon to 5.30.

When Mickolio didn't overthrow and pitched to contact, his slider effectively handcuffed opposing batters. But when he reached back and tried to light up the radar gun, he tended to struggle with his control and mechanics. In 90 2/3 innings of work he had 35 walks, 20 hit batsmen and 16 wild pitches.

As it stands, Mickolio is the only Wolverine who's a sure bet to be selected in the upcoming Major League Baseball amateur draft; his prototypical frame and huge upside may push him as high as the 10th round.

Connor, a center fielder and fixture at the No. 2 hole in the batting order, batted .434 in 2006 — a figure that, absent UVSC's provisional Division I status, would've ranked fifth in the nation. He's already playing professionally in an independent league and may well sign with a big league club as an undrafted free agent.

A true freshman infielder from nearby Mountain View, Benson was named Utah Valley State's newcomer of the year for his efforts. He tied Connor's marks of 69 hits and 31 runs, and hit for a .367 clip.

The standout performances in 2006 by Benson and another freshman, Pleasant Grove product Kyle Beecher (2-1, 4.60 ERA), surely sent ripples through local recruiting circles. Whether it was head coach Steve Gardner's commitment to recruiting Utah County or else local recruits taking note of how Benson and Beecher cracked the lineup early in the season and subsequently flourished, their play set the table for the Wolverines to harvest a hefty crop of Utah Valley players for the 2007 season.

"We're really excited about the Utah County kids that we signed," said UVSC assistant coach Nate Mathis. "I think it's huge for our program. We really feel like we got the cream of the crop in Utah County and the state of Utah as a whole.