Right-handed pitchers Alex Butler from Baylor School and Matthew Pigg from Walker Valley are among the six 2018 early signees announced this week by Lee University baseball coach Mark Brew, along with Soddy-Daisy outfielder Joshua Perez and Ringgold catcher Gavin Hollis.
The others are East Georgia State outfielder Parker Stahlman from Perry, Ga., and Oakland High middle infielder Zac Lemerand from Murfreesboro.
"We have one of the larger early signing classes we have inked. We have a large group of seniors this year, and we felt the need to be more aggressive in the early signing period," Brew said in a Lee release. "They all check the priority boxes we value in a recruit."
Pigg, Perez and Hollis all played for the Exposure club program and coach Brandon Turner, while Butler has been with the Chattanooga Cyclones and George Koontz.
Brew said Butler has improved "tremendously" the past few years.
"He has been challenged at a high level in the Cyclones program and at one of the best high school baseball programs in the area," the Flames coach added.
"Matthew is one of the highest quality people you will ever meet," Brew said of Pigg, "and he just happens to be a 6-foot-4 projectable right-handed pitcher who is already competing at a high level. It's a great combo we are excited about."
Perez, Brew said, "is an exciting player and brings a much-needed left-handed bat to this recruiting class. He is a very good defender, good baserunner great person and student and will be a huge asset to our program."
Of Hollis he said, "Gavin is a plus catch and throw guy behind the plate. He has very good leadership qualities which will allow him to handle a pitching staff and run a defense."
Said Turner: "Gavin is someone that works incredibly hard and takes pride in being a defensive catcher. He has made great strides at the plate and continues to get stronger."
Turner said Pigg "will jump to another level" in a college program like Lee's. And Perez "has battled injuries and his best days are ahead of him. Now that he is healthy you can see ethe jumps he is making both offensively and defensively."