CHARLESTON – After spending over two decades on the West Coast, Jordon Twohig is coming off his first year with the Buccaneers as the Recruiting Coordinator and Hitting Coach. Last week, Charleston Southern Baseball welcomed to campus the Bucs first signing class under Twohig with the addition of 39 players, 13 true freshmen and 26 transfers. According to Perfect Game Baseball, the freshmen group cracked the Top 100 in the country, slotting in at 98
th, becoming just the third CSU class to make the list since it began in 2011.
Twohig arrived to Charleston Southern in late July as the first of many hires over the summer. He arrived after recent stops at college baseball's highest level as Associate Head Coach/Recruiting Coordinator at Saint Mary's College (2019-2022) and California State Northridge (2013-2019) and Assistant Coach at Washington (2010-2013).
He is no stranger to success as he has coached or recruited 56 players that have been taken in the MLB Draft and seen 11 of them reach the Majors, including Blake Snell, the 2018 AL Cy Young Winner, a starting pitcher with the San Diego Padres. In addition to Snell, Twohig recruited and coached another four players currently in Major League Baseball. These players are Jacob Lamb, 1B for the Los Angeles Angels, Joe Ryan, RHP for the Minnesota Twins, Robert Stephenson, RHP for the Tampa Bay Rays, and Braden Bishop, CF for the Seattle Mariners.
In addition to the professional success of these players, Twohig has developed a great strength in bringing in high-level high school talent. This has resulted in having a Top 100 class in nearly every year he has been back at the Division I level since 2010. The class with Charleston Southern for 2023 marked his 10
th season where he has had a group be ranked.
"Coach Twohig did a terrific job of bringing in a class that identifies with CSU and our core values," shared head coach
Marc MacMillan. "Relying on his experience as well as the entire rolodex on the coaching staff, Jordon led our year-long efforts in the Lowcountry and beyond. He developed relationships, emphasized our staff strengths, communicated the expectations, and more to ultimately get these young men to campus and complete a fantastic recruiting class."
Of the freshmen group, four are from within the state of South Carolina, an area that was set as a priority. Others are from as far away as California to Florida and in-between, while the coaching staff also peppered the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states.
Within the group of transfers, nearly all have received either all-region or all-conference status this past spring from their respective associations. Some even earned All-American honors with three of the incoming transfers competing in either the Division I, II or III Juco World Series. The accolades and talent of the group are making their jump to the NCAA Division 1 level highly anticipated by the coaching staff.
"This is a special group of student-athletes who will make our roster competitive and continue to show the positive strides being made here under Coach MacMillan," said Twohig. "It's been exciting to see this group up close over the past week-and-a-half! They each are highly competitive and very capable of being contributors on the field for us."
Additionally, Twohig commented on how important the entire coaching staff was for bringing in this class. "Coaches Karl Kuhn and Josh Merrigan deserve just as much credit in this as I do. Ks seems to know someone in every state of the country! Also, with the NCAA's approval of the third assistant and their ability to recruit, it is hard to explain the significance Josh has not only brought to the table but also been able to do in this new expanded role for us."
Talent is no doubt an attribute all coaches are looking for in this competitive industry. Twohig and staff decided to focus heavily on a potential student-athlete's background, desire to be at Charleston Southern, and coached by the staff on hand. "When looking at building the roster, we were looking at who they are as people off the field first. It is exciting and imperative for us to learn their backgrounds and how they became who they are today. It allows us to have a better feel for if they will be the right additions to our university and for our program," noted Twohig.
Another area that Twohig said they highly consider with a potential student-athlete is if he believes and stands for the team's core values, stated through the acronym B.U.C.S. The letters stand for Belief, Uncommon, Champion and Selfless.
"This recruiting class checked the boxes and more," exclaimed Twohig. "Our coaching staff is confident these young men will gel with our returners. The newcomers are of like mind as them, and we know the impact they will make on the baseball diamond, on our campus and in the community."
This group will look to replicate the success that the Buccaneers have seen on the field for the past two years. The squad has posted back-to-back Top five finishes in the Big South, marking just the second and third times they have done so in the past 20 seasons.
The Bucs open their fall season on Friday, September 22, and have three games scheduled against outside competition in October. For more information, follow #BUCSball on our social media outlets.
FRESHMEN
| First Name |
Last Name |
YR |
POS |
B/T |
CITY |
PREV. SCHOOL |
| James |
Asmus |
FR |
IF |
L/L |
Hyde Park, N.Y. |
P27 Academy |
| John |
Emandorfer |
FR |
UT |
R/R |
Cleveland, Tenn. |
Baylor School |
| Ryan |
Foody |
FR |
IF|P |
L/L |
Tappan, N.Y. |
St. Joseph High School |
| Mason |
Reising |
FR |
C |
R/R |
Granite Falls, N.C. |
South Caldwell High School |
| Johann |
Rodriguez |
FR |
C |
R/R |
Inman, S.C. |
Chapman High School |
| Anthony |
Sangluedolce |
FR |
OF |
L/L |
Lexington, S.C. |
P27 Academy |
| Zach |
West |
FR |
IF |
R/R |
Irmo, S.C. |
P27 Academy |
| Josh |
Wolfe |
FR |
IF |
L/R |
Pittsburgh, Pa. |
Seneca Valley High School |
| Tyler |
Wright |
FR |
OF |
R/R |
Holly Hill, S.C. |
Holy Hills Academy |
| Ryan |
Cavanaugh |
FR |
RHP |
Levittown, Pa. |
Truman High School |
| Matt |
Gallant |
FR |
LHP |
Folsom, Calif. |
Sheldon High School |
| Brad |
Gridlinger |
FR |
RHP |
Huntington Beach, Calif. |
Huntington Beach High School |
| Collin |
Kratzner |
FR |
RHP |
Freedhold, N.J. |
Avon Farms Academy |
FOUR-YEAR & JUNIOR COLLEGE TRANSFERS
| First Name |
Last Name |
YR |
POS |
B/T |
CITY |
PREV. SCHOOL |
| BJ |
Banyon |
JR |
OF |
R/R |
Bartlett, Tenn. |
Southwest Tennessee CC |
| Christian |
Bauman |
SR |
OF |
L/R |
West Long Branch, N.J. |
Brookdale CC |
| Gavin |
Bogdanchik |
JR |
C/OF |
R/R |
Wellington, Fla. |
Palm Beach St CC |
| Scott |
Campbell |
JR |
OF |
R/R |
Macon, Ga. |
Chattanooga St CC |
| Cade |
Conway |
SR |
OF |
L/R |
Blossom, Texas |
Dallas-Eastfield CC |
| Alex |
Diaz |
JR |
IF |
R/R |
Brooklyn, N.Y. |
Cloud County CC |
| Hayden |
Dyer |
JR |
IF |
R/R |
Gardner, Ks. |
Butler County CC |
| Hayden |
Henry |
JR |
C |
R/R |
Jacksonville, Fla. |
Daytona St CC |
| Brock |
Kuehler |
JR |
IF/OF |
R/R |
Colleyville, Texas |
Butler County CC |
| Evann |
Long |
JR |
IF |
R/R |
Nixa, Mo. |
Fort Scott CC |
| Aidan |
McAskie |
JR |
IF |
L/R |
Toronto, Canada |
Chattanooga State CC |
| Dakota |
Miller |
SR |
OF |
R/R |
Newport, Ohio |
Potomac State |
| Lucas |
Pringle |
JR |
C |
L/R |
Shawnee, Ks. |
Neosho CC |
| JJ |
Rivera |
SR |
IF |
R/R |
Riverview, N.C. |
Pitt CC |
| Alex |
Urlaub |
JR |
IF |
R/R |
Fargo, N.D. |
Neosho CC |
| Pete |
Werth |
JR |
OF |
R/R |
Cypress, Texas |
Panola JC |
| Jake |
Arnold |
JR |
RHP |
Hummelstown, Pa. |
Potomac State |
| Ty |
Blecha |
JR |
LHP |
Lenexa, Ks. |
Johnson County CC |
| Brett |
Gastman |
JR |
LHP |
Little Rock, Ark. |
Crowder CC |
| Tyler |
Henshaw |
JR |
LHP |
Brockport, N.Y. |
Potomac State |
| Parks |
Ledwell |
JR |
RHP |
Lumberton, N.C. |
Pitt CC |
| Anthony |
Ramirez |
GR |
RHP |
Santa Clarita, Calif. |
Stanislaus State |
| Christian |
Robb |
JR |
RHP |
Keller, Texas. |
Southwest Tennessee CC |
| Joel |
Rodriguez |
JR |
RHP |
Palmetto Bay, Fla. |
Pasco-Hernado CC |
| Nick |
Timpanelli |
JR |
RHP |
Staten Island, N.Y. |
Brookdale CC |
| Lee |
Watson |
JR |
LHP |
Greenville, N.C. |
Pitt CC |
