Nov. 29, 2007

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest head baseball coach Rick Rembielak announced today that the Demon Deacons have signed ten prospective student-athletes to National Letters of Intent to enroll at WFU in the fall of 2008.

The Demon Deacons have signed RHP Michael Dimock, RHP Gabe Feldman, INF Bentley Heyman, 3B Shane Kroker, 3B Taylor Kaprive, 3B/C Carlos Lopez, RHP Daniel Marrs, LHP Austin Stadler, LHP Zach White and RHP Mac Williamson.

"We feel that we've satisfied all of our needs for the 2008 recruiting class," said Rembielak. "Assistant Coaches Jon Palmieri and Greg Bauer worked very hard and have compiled the best recruiting class to date in our four years at Wake. Our goal each year is to make each recruiting class better than the last and their efforts have brought in several of the top-rated players not only in the state of North Carolina, but also in the country.

"Each one of the student-athletes is not only an outstanding baseball player, but they are also excellent individuals who fit the high academic profile for Wake Forest. We anticipate them to play immediately, not only because of the positions we will lose to graduation and the Major League Draft, but simply because they have the ability to perform at this level."

The 10 signees hail from the states of Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, California, Georgia and Florida. Wake Forest will have eight seniors on its 2008 squad. Last year, the Deacons went 34-29, finished runners-up at the ACC Championship and participated in the NCAA Tournament.

Michael Dimock
RHP | R/R | 6-2 | 185
Greensboro, N.C. (Wesleyan H.S.)

Dimock is ranked as the 20th-best prospect in the state of North Carolina by Impact Baseball... has started at Wesleyan all four years... was named all-conference, all-state and conference Player of the Year as a junior... threw three no-hitters and recorded 96 strikeouts as a junior... had three games with 15 or more strikeouts as a junior... was the number one pitcher on a league team that went to a summer league world series.

Rembielak on Dimock:
"Michael impressed us not only with his ability to pitch, but with his mound presence and athleticism. He has a very fluid and effortless delivery that is very deceptive for the hitter. Michael has command of a four-pitch arsenal that can allow him to pitch deep into games. His athletic ability projects very well."

Gabe Feldman
RHP | R/R | 5-11 | 185
Cabin John, Md. (Walt Whitman H.S.)

Feldman is a 2007 and 2008 Under Armor Preseason All-American... was selected to the Perfect Game National Showcase in 2006 and 2007... is ranked as one of the top 100 righthanded pitchers in the nation by Perfect Game... is ranked the sixth-best prospect in Maryland by Perfect Game... was named to the 2007 Rawlings/Perfect Game Preseason Atlantic Region All-High School Team.

Rembielak on Feldman:
"Gabe is pitcher in the true sense of the word. He not only commands three quality pitches but also does the little things that can help win ball games. Gabe has a firm grasp of holding runners and fielding his position, and he makes the big pitch when he has to. We've seen him become tougher on the mound when game situations called for it, which is a great indicator of a true competitor."

Bentley Heyman
INF | R/R | 5-11 | 165
Atlanta, Ga. (Holy Innocents Episcopal School)

Heyman served as team captain while batting .500 with six home runs and 50 RBIs as a junior... broke the school single-season records for hits with 59, RBIs with 50 and doubles with 16... holds the school's career hits record with 114... was named all-state by the Georgia Dugout Club... was named All-Region by regional coaches... was named All-Classification and All-Area by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution... was selected to play in USA Baseball's Tournament of Stars.

Rembielak on Heyman:
"Bentley is a player who is going to give you everything he has every time he steps on the field. He's a scrappy middle infielder who plays the game the correct way, with a lot of passion. He has excellent base running skills and instincts and is always finding ways to advance around the bases. Bentley will give us another versatile player who can play all three infield positions if needed."

Taylor Kaprive
3B | R/R | 6-2 | 195
Wellington, Fla. (King's Academy)

Kaprive was named first team All-County by the South Florida Sun Sentinel News as a junior... was named first team All-Area by the Palm Beach Post... was named a Preseason "Super 11" by the Palm Beach Post as a junior... was named third team all-Sstate as a junior and second team all-state as a sophomore by the Florida high school sportswriters... played on the St. Louis Cardinals' scout team in the WWBA Championships in 2007... was named to the Perfect Game National Underclass Showcase's Top Prospect Team in 2005 and 2006... is a member of the National Honor Society... was named to the honor roll at King's Academy every semester, carrying a 4.1 grade point average.

Rembielak on Kaprive:
"We feel Taylor is one of the top hitters we saw this past year. He puts himself in that category because of his advanced approach, his smooth swing and his knowledge of the intricacy of hitting. He makes hitting look very easy. Defensively, he can play both third and first base. Taylor is a solid player who will step in and be an immediate force in our lineup."

Shane Kroker
3B | R/R | 6-3 | 185
Westlake Village, Calif. (Westlake H.S.)

Kroker is currently ranked as the 185th best prospect in the nation... was named to the 2007 Perfect Game National Showcase... played in the 2007 Area Code Games for the Milwaukee Brewers organization... was ranked the 28th-best position player and 45th-best overall prospect by Baseball America for the Area Code Games...was the starting third baseman for the Texas Rangers scout team at the WWBA Championships... played shortstop for the Agoura Pony baseball team that beat Taiwan twice to win the Bronco World Series...was named the Offensive Player of the Year for Westlake as a junior.

Rembielak on Kroker:
"Shane has many of the tools to be a top player at this level. He runs exceptionally well for his size, hits for power and average and makes every play look very easy on defense. Shane is an excellent overall athlete and will step in and find a place in our lineup immediately. He has played with, and against, some of the top players in the country during his high school and summer careers and has shown great success against them. Shane is another example of the great players we have had play for us from the Southern California area."

Carlos Lopez
3B/C | R/R | 6-1 | 190
Boynton Beach, Fla. (Atlantic H.S.)

Lopez, the team captain at Atlantic, was named to the Palm Beach County All-Conference Team three times... was named All-County by the Palm Beach Post in 2006 and 2007... was named All-County by the Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel News in 2006...was named all-conference by the Boca Raton News in 2006 and 2007... is a National Honor Society member and Spanish National Society member... won a community service award as a hospital volunteer... played on a little league team that was a four-time finalist in the Florida state championship.

Rembielak on Lopez:
"Primarily a middle infielder, we see Carlos playing multiple positions because of his versatility. Not only have we seen him in the infield, but he also has shown the ability to handle catching duties as well. Right now, Carlos' main strength is his hitting ability. He does not limit us to playing him at one position and with his hitting ability, will challenge for consistent playing time."

Daniel Marrs
RHP | R/R | 6-3 | 210
Midlothian, Va. (James River H.S.)

Marrs was a finalist for Team USA in 2005 and 2006... named a consensus All-American... was named an Under Armor Preseason All-American... chosen to play in the AFLAC All-American High School Baseball Classic... named to the Baseball America/Baseball Factory's Cape Code Classic over the summer...was ranked as high as the third-best prospect in the country by Perfect Game USA and is now ranked 34th... ranked by Impact Baseball as the second-best prospect and the best righthanded pitcher in the state of Virginia... is a teammate with fellow Wake Forest signee Austin Stadler at James River... James River is the only high school with more than one player on the Preseason Virginia Dream Team...throws a mid-90s fastball.

Rembielak on Marrs:
"Daniel has the potential to be one of the top pitchers in the country throughout his college career. He possesses a gifted arm with low- to mid-90s velocity, a smooth delivery and control of a great secondary split finger pitch that makes him very successful. Daniel has the pure stuff that can allow him to take over a game at any time. He was one of our first guys who verbally committed, giving us a great start out of the blocks for this recruiting class."

Austin Stadler
LHP/1B | L/L | 6-2 | 185
Midlothian, Va. (James River H.S.)

Stadler was named to the Preseason Virginia Dream Team... is ranked the 145th overall prospect by Perfect Game USA... ranked the fifth overall first baseman by Perfect Game USA... Considered the co-No. 1 prospect, along with Daniel Marrs by Virginia Preps... ranked by Impact Baseball as the fourth-best prospect and the best outfielder in the state of Virginia... is a teammate of fellow Wake Forest signee Marrs at James River High School... had a 12-0 record and 1.29 ERA in his junior season... was named first team all-district, first team all-region and first team all-state as an outfielder and was Honorable Mention all-state as a pitcher... was named the Richmond Times Dispatch Player of the Year as a junior...batted .464 with seven home runs and 30 RBIs as a junior... is considered one of the nation's top two-way prospects...ranks in the top ten percent of his class and has been on the distinguished honor roll at James River in every year of attendance there.

Rembielak on Stadler:
"We are very excited that Austin will be a Demon Deacon. We feel he is one of the top two-way players in the country and anticipate him to be a major factor both as an everyday player and on the mound for us. He is a very tough out at the plate and each time we saw him, he consistently had great at-bats. Austin plays the outfield and is also an excellent first baseman as well. He is a tremendous competitor, the guy you want to see in a critical part of the game."

Zach White
LHP | L/L | 6-1 | 215
Lexington, N.C. (North Davidson H.S.)

White has been named all-conference twice and all-state once at North Davidson High School... is ranked as the 11th-best prospect and the second-best lefthanded picher in North Carolina by Impact Baseball... was the Most Valuable Player in the first North Carolina Future's game... has a career earned run average of 1.41 with 235 strikeouts in 161 innings pitched... led North Davidson to a state semifinal appearance in 2007... grandfather, Bob Koontz, was a member of Wake Forest's 1955 College World Series Championship team.

Rembielak on White:
"Zach will step onto campus and make any immediate impact on our pitching staff. He has been very successful against some of the top players in the country. Zach gives us versatility on the mound, as he has the pitches to make him a quality starter and the mound presence to be a force out of the bullpen. We are excited to have a player of Zach's ability and character. Zach's grandfather, Bob Koontz, was a member of the Wake Forest team that won the 1955 College World Series. It's exciting for us to keep championship blood in our program."

Mac Williamson
RHP/OF/1B | R/R | 6-4 | 215
Wake Forest, N.C. (Rolesville H.S.)

Williamson was ranked the number two prospect in North Carolina and the number one pitching prospect in the state by Baseball America... ranked as the fifth-best prospect and third-best righthanded pitcher in North Carolina by Impact Baseball... invited to the Perfect Game National Showcase in 2007...participated in the USA Baseball Tournament of Stars... was invited to the East Coast Professional Showcase... ranked the 74th overall prospect by Perfect Game and the 26th righthanded pitching prospect by Perfect Game... member of the USA Baseball Youth National Team in 2006... won a gold medal with Team USA in 2006 at the COPABE Pan Am Championships in Venezuela... named academic all-conference as a freshman, sophomore and junior at Rolesville... was named to the National Honor Society as a junior and senior... was named Outstanding Senior by the faculty members of Rolesville.

Rembielak on Williamson:
"Mac is a power pitcher who has blossomed in a short amount of time. Primarily a catcher early in his career, he has developed into one of the top players we saw this past year. When Mac stopped splitting playing time with catching, he steadily improved his pitchability and has looked like he has pitched his entire career. Mac also has the ability to be a contributor offensively as he can swing the bat with power from the right side."