North Central had four players play in the TX/NM JUCO All-Star Game at Baylor University this past weekend. Ryan Morgan, Zach Ragsdale, Bryant Lopez, and Nick Ochoa were all selected based on their freshman performance. The event is attended by over 50 scouts from four-year universities and Major League Baseball teams. The Lions did well in the game with their team winning both games that were played. Lopez had three hits to lead the Lions. Morgan added two hits including a RBI. Ochoa had two hits with one a triple and added two RBIs. Zach Ragsdale had a double, two walks, and two stolen bases.

These sophomores are a big contributor to the Lions' success they are having this fall with a .770 winning percentage so far.

North Central Texas College baseball was well represented last week in the major league draft. The Lions had three selected of this year's team and four former players at NCAA DI schools taken as well. This marks the largest group of Lions' players to be selected in the Major League Draft.

Mark Cohoon was taken in the 13th round by the New York Mets. He was a two-way player for the Lions. He was an All-Conference outfielder his freshman year and was an Academic All-American. Mark had signed to play for University of Arkansas Little Rock, but he has signed with the Mets and heads out to his new team next week.

Kaleb Herren was taken in the 44th round by the Milwaukee Brewers. Kaleb was another two-way player for the Lions who has signed with O.U. next year.

Zach Stewart heads the class of former Lion players who were selected in the draft. Zach became the front line pitcher for Texas Tech this year and was selected in the 3rd round by the Cinncinnatti Reds. It was the highest selection of a Lions' player in the history of the program. Zach has already signed and heads out to his new team next week.

Jose Duran was the Player of the Year in the Big 12 for Texas A&M. He was selected in the 6th round by the Milwaukee Brewers. He has signed and heads out to his new team next week.

Mitch Abeita was a Big 12 All-Conference player for Nebraska this year and was selected in the 19th round by the New York Yankees and has already signed.

Sam Freeman was selected in the 32nd round by the St. Louis Cardinals. The former Kansas Jawhawk player has signed and will be heading out to his new team next week.

North Central has seven players who have signed with four year colleges. Chad Keefer was an All-Conference catcher who ended up with a .372 average with 20 2b, 12 homeruns and 51 rbis. Keefer will be playing at Louisiana Lafayette next year. Don Williams finished with a 7-0 record with a 4.14 era. He was named All-Conference. He will be playing at Louisiana Monroe next year. Tommy Roebuck was named All-Conference closer with a 4-3 record and 8 saves with a 3.37 era. He will be playing at Lamar University next year. Mark Cohoon finished with a .354 average and a 4.65 era on the mound. He will be playing at U. Arkansas Little Rock next year. Kaleb Herren finished with 15 homeruns, 18 doubles, and 56 rbis. He also had a 6-2 record. He will be playing at U. Oklahoma next year. Brent Lewis threw 40 innings as a starter and long relief and will be playing at Tarleton State next year. Nathan Hood was an All-Conference third baseman his freshman year who missed seven weeks due to a ankle injury. He finished up with a .413 average and 10 doubles in limited action. He will be playing at Pitt next year. These sophomores totalled 73 wins in their career including a runner up finish in the Region Finals in 2007.

Former Lion catcher Bryan Holaday was named 1st team All-Conference for TCU this season. He hit .330 with 12 doubles and 41 RBIs while catching 98% of their games this year.

Bryan Holaday

Former Lion Jose Duran and Mitch Abeita was named to the Big 12 Team. Duran was named Big 12 Player of the Year and Newcomer of the year. Mitch Abeita was named to the 1st Team for catcher. Duran plays at Big 12 Conference Champion Texas A&M and Abeita plays for Nebraska. To read the Big 12 article click here:

To read the article in the Dallas Morning News click: here:

Jose Duran

Mitch Abeita

Former Lion catcher Mitch Abeita was named a finalist list for the Johnny Bench award. The award is given to the best catcher in the country. A link to the article cound be found

here...

Mitch Abieta

North Central has had over forty players play professional baseball in its sixteen year history. In that time span, it has never had a player reach the major leagues until recently. Craig Stansberry became the school's first major league player being called up with the San Diego Padres. Within a week, J.R. Towles was called up to the Houston Astros becoming the second player to reach the major leagues.

Craig Stansberry played at NCTC from 2001-2002. He was a two-time All-Region and a two-time Academic All-American who graduated from NCTC with a perfect 4.0 gpa. He helped lead the Lions to a National Championship in 2001. He went on to Rice University and won another National Championship in 2003 for their program. He was then drafted in the 5th round by the Pittsburgh Pirates. His brother, Todd, also played at North Central and was an Academic All-American as well. He went on to the University of Oklahoma and is now finishing his last year in dental school. The family is from Plano, Texas.

Two former Lions were named to the Major League Baseball Futures Game to be played on July 8. The annual Futures Game, now in its ninth year, showcases up-and-coming young talent from around Minor League Baseball. They are divided up into the U.S. Team and a World Team depending on their birthplace. It will be televised on ESPN 2 at 3pm on Sunday, July 8 at the same location of the Major League All-Star Game, AT & T Park in San Francisco.

Craig Stansberry played at NCTC from 2001-2002. He was a two-time All-Region and a two-time Academic All-American who graduated from NCTC with a perfect 4.0 gpa. He helped lead the Lions to a National Championship in 2001. He went on to Rice University and won another National Championship in 2003 for their program. He was then drafted in the 5th round by the Pittsburgh Pirates. He is now in Triple A with the San Diego Padres. He was selected to represent the World Team since he was born in Saudia Arabia. Here is an in-depth article about his selection.

here...

J.R. Towles played at NCTC in 2003. He was an All-Conference selection and was drafted by the Houston Astros. He helped lead the Lions to a conference championship in 2003. He was named the best catching prospect in the Astros' minor league system and named sixth best prospect in the entire organization. He was selected to represent the United States' team. Here is the link to Towles' selection.

here... and here...

North Central Baseball was well represented in the 2007 Major League Draft. The Lions had six players with North Central ties taken this year. Three current players, Sam Freeman, Chad Kiefer, and Chase Anderson; two former players, Roberto Mena and Colt Hynes; and one incoming player Ryan Pressly.

Sam Freeman was taken by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 24th round. Chad Kiefer was taken in the 29th round by the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chase Anderson was taken in the 40th round by the Minnesota Twins.

Roberto Mena was selected in the 19th round by the Seattle Mariners. Mena was an All-American during his two years at NCTC in 2004-05. He won two National Championships with Tampa University. Colt Hynes was selected in the 31st round by the San Diego Padres. The Lions now have four players in the Padres' organization. Colt was a two-time All-Conference player for the Lions and finished his career at Texas Tech.

Ryan Pressly played at Flower Mound Marcus, Texas and was selected in the 11th round.