University of North Carolina Athletics
Baseball Inks Talented Group of Early Signees
June 21, 1999 | Baseball
November 24, 1998
Chapel Hill, N.C. - First-year University of North Carolina baseball coach Mike Fox announced Tuesday the signing of his first group of early signees to national letters of intent. The group includes two players from North Carolina and five from out-of-state and features three outfielders, two infielders and two pitchers. All will join the Tar Heel program in the fall of 1999.
The class includes three of the top players from Georgia - outfielder Michael DeRosa (Marietta, Ga.), shortstop Chad Prosser (Austell, Ga.) and righthanded pitcher Aaron Sheffield (Marietta, Ga). All three are members of the prestigious East Cobb Yankees traveling summer all-star team. DeRosa attends Lassiter High School in Marietta, the same school that produced current Tar Heel 1B/OF Jay Madeira.
Middle infielder Russ Adams (Laurinburg, N.C.) is one of the top baseball and football prospects in North Carolina. He starred at quarterback for Scotland County H.S. but will concentrate solely on baseball at UNC. Outfielder Alec Zumwalt is a two-time all-state selection from East Forsyth H.S. Fellow outfielder Adam Greenberg (Guilford, Conn.) is a three-time all-state choice and an AAU All-America performer with good speed. And strong-armed lefthanded pitcher Eric Henderson (Winter Park, Fla.), a junior transfer, pitched over 50 innings at the University of Tennessee as a freshman in 1998 and is currently enrolled at Santa Fe Community College.
"Were really pleased with the seven players we have signed so far," Fox says. "We specifically went after skilled athletes and some players who could run a little bit, and we think we got that. We plan to sign a few more players in the spring and hope to build on the talent of this group."
In his first year at Carolina after 15 years as the head coach at Division III N.C. Wesleyan in Rocky Mount, N.C., Fox is pleased to get a good start on his first recruiting class as Tar Heel head coach.
"This is my first early signing period group at Carolina, but I did have a role in signing a couple of the players who are freshmen in the program this year," says Fox. "We didnt have an early signing period in Division III, so this is a little different for me. I think our recruiting has gone well so far, though. We look forward to completing next years recruiting class this spring.
"We feel really good about this class in general because they are not only good players but good people as well, which is a high priority for us. These are the kind of players we want at Carolina. They are good students who want to compete at the highest level of college baseball. I feel that we've done well so far and I commend Chad Holbrook, our recruiting coordinator, and Roger Williams, our pitching coach, for the hard work they've done in signing this class. But we've still got a ways to go."
North Carolina Baseball Fall 1998 Signees
Player Pos. B/T Ht. Wt. Hometown (Previous School) Russ Adams SS/2B L/R 6-1 170 Laurinburg, N.C. (Scotland County HS) Michael DeRosa OF R/R 6-2 195 Marietta, Ga. (Lassiter HS) Adam Greenberg OF L/R 5-9 165 Guilford, Conn. (Guilford HS) Eric Henderson LHP L/L 6-3 205 Winter Park, Fla. (Santa Fe CC) Chad Prosser SS R/R 5-8 165 Austell, Ga. (Osborne HS) Aaron Sheffield RHP R/R 6-3 205 Marietta, Ga. (Pope HS) Alec Zumwalt OF R/R 6-2 185 Kernersville, N.C. (East Forsyth HS)
