The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Baseball Inks Two More Signees
11/28/2001 | Baseball
Nov. 28, 2001
OXFORD, Miss. - Ole Miss signed Northwest (Miss.) Community College's Justin Donovan and Southaven High School's Brae Wright to national letters of intent to play baseball for the Rebels, Head Coach Mike Bianco announced Wednesday.
Donovan, a 5-foot-8, 175-pound infielder, batted .346 with five home runs and 32 runs batted in during 42 games last season for Northwest (Miss.), while playing in the outfield. He prepped at Southaven High School, where he was a four-time all-conference selection and a member of the Chargers' 2000 Mississippi 5A state championship team.
"Justin is a very talented player that can play anywhere in the infield," Bianco said. "He has had a great career playing for Southaven High School, the Memphis Tigers summer team, and Northwest Community College."
Wright, a 6-foot-4, 185-pound left-handed pitcher, has a two-year varsity record of 15-5 at Southaven. As a sophomore, he was the Chargers' No. 1 pitcher and helped them to the 2000 Mississippi 5A state tile. This past summer, Wright pitched for the Memphis Tigers 18-and-under summer team, posting a 6-2 record with a 1.65 ERA and striking out 51 in 40 innings.
"We consider Brae to be one of the top left-handed pitchers in the Mid-South," Bianco said. "We feel he can come in and make an immediate impact for us," Bianco said.
The Rebels finished 39-23-1 last season in their first under Bianco, and advanced to an NCAA Regional. Ole Miss' recruiting class last year was rated No. 6 in the nation by Collegiate Baseball and No. 10 by Baseball America.
2001 OLE MISS BASEBALL EARLY SIGNEESName Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown/SchoolJustin Donovan INF 5-8 175 Southaven, Miss./Northwest (Miss.) CCStephen Head 1B/LHP 6-3 220 Raymond, Miss./Hillcrest Christian HSMark Holliman RHP/DH 6-0 180 Germantown, Tenn./Germantown HSBrian Pettway UTL 6-1 210 Vicksburg, Miss./Warren Central HSDrew Robinson OF 5-10 160 Hattiesburg, Miss./Oak Grove HSShawn Yarbrough SS 6-1 190 Paducah, Ky./John A. Logan CollegeBrae Wright LHP 6-4 185 Southaven, Miss./Southaven HSMark Wright OF 6-2 195 Germantown, Tenn./Germantown HS
