From left, Drew Thorpe, Kaden Sheedy and Brooks Lee have found their names on lists of top college baseball players overall and/or by position.
Mustang Threesome Ranked Among the Best at their Position
2/16/2022 12:51:00 PM | Baseball
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Baseball America has compiled its annual Top 150 College Players list, an attempt to give readers an all-encompassing view of the best players in college baseball.
Cal Poly shortstop Brooks Lee is No. 1 on the list while right-handed pitcher Drew Thorpe landed at the 61st position.
"Prospect status is a factor, to be sure, but this list strives to be much more than that," the story on the Baseball America web site said. "We also take into account player productivity, projection about what players will be as opposed to what they currently are and how we think each player will fit into what his specific program is trying to accomplish in 2022.
"While most players on this list have experience at the college level, we also included some newcomers, with the expectation that those players will be among the favorites to win freshman of the year honors.
"The biggest hope for the list is that by the time the end of the season rolls around, these 150 players will be something close to being the 150 players who were most impactful in the sport in 2022."
Said Baseball America about Lee, the five-time preseason All-American and placed on the 2022 Golden Spikes Award watch list Tuesday:
"After missing nearly all of the shortened 2020 season, Lee broke out in 2021, hitting .342/.384/.626 with 27 doubles, 10 home runs and 57 RBIs for his father and coach Larry at Cal Poly."
And the note on Thorpe said, "Thorpe ensures that Brooks Lee isn't the only high-end talent and Collegiate Team USA alum on the Cal Poly roster. Last season, he had a 3.79 ERA and 104 strikeouts in 90.1 innings."
Other Mustang baseball notes:
• D1Baseball.com has released its list of the top 250 college prospects and it is populated by three Cal Poly players.
Brooks Lee is No. 2 behind LSU corner infielder Jacob Berry, who slashed .352/.439/.676 as a true freshman at Arizona last spring, while Drew Thorpe is in the 71st spot and Kaden Sheedy, another right-handed pitcher, landed at No. 229.
"Directly behind Berry by the slimmest of margins at No. 2, Lee is another switch-hitter and a throwback ballplayer who further endears himself to scouts with his makeup, passion and instincts for the game, in addition to his elite bat-to-ball skills from both sides of the plate, but especially the left side.
"The 2022 MLB Draft class is headlined by a strong group of college position players, including the top eight prospects on our list of the Top 250 college prospects," notes the D1Baseball.com staff. "Five of the top 15 are likely to be sophomore-eligible by age with the 2022 draft scheduled for July 17-19."
Overall, Arkansas, Mississippi State and Tennessee lead the way with two potential first-round picks. The SEC once again dominates the Top 100 with 32 prospects, including 12 of the top 25. The ACC comes in second with 19 of the Top 100 and the Big 12 third with 16.
• D1Baseball.com also has released its college power rankings for each position on the diamond. Lee is No. 1 at shortstop while Thorpe landed at No. 15 among starting pitchers.
"When we put together our Preseason All-America teams, we followed one guiding principle: If we were building a team to win the 2022 national title, which players would we choose? We use the same philosophy to construct our Position Power Rankings — think of them as an extension of our Preseason All-America Teams," the staff at D1Baseball.com wrote.
"These are NOT professional prospect lists, though they do take pure talent into consideration. Players who proved themselves against top competition in summer ball and look poised for breakout years might rank higher on the list than other players who had gaudier stats from last spring. We took an amalgam of the numbers, raw talent, defensive ability (especially at premium positions), makeup and reports of development over the summer and fall."
Cal Poly shortstop Brooks Lee is No. 1 on the list while right-handed pitcher Drew Thorpe landed at the 61st position.
"Prospect status is a factor, to be sure, but this list strives to be much more than that," the story on the Baseball America web site said. "We also take into account player productivity, projection about what players will be as opposed to what they currently are and how we think each player will fit into what his specific program is trying to accomplish in 2022.
"While most players on this list have experience at the college level, we also included some newcomers, with the expectation that those players will be among the favorites to win freshman of the year honors.
"The biggest hope for the list is that by the time the end of the season rolls around, these 150 players will be something close to being the 150 players who were most impactful in the sport in 2022."
Said Baseball America about Lee, the five-time preseason All-American and placed on the 2022 Golden Spikes Award watch list Tuesday:
"After missing nearly all of the shortened 2020 season, Lee broke out in 2021, hitting .342/.384/.626 with 27 doubles, 10 home runs and 57 RBIs for his father and coach Larry at Cal Poly."
And the note on Thorpe said, "Thorpe ensures that Brooks Lee isn't the only high-end talent and Collegiate Team USA alum on the Cal Poly roster. Last season, he had a 3.79 ERA and 104 strikeouts in 90.1 innings."
Other Mustang baseball notes:
• D1Baseball.com has released its list of the top 250 college prospects and it is populated by three Cal Poly players.
Brooks Lee is No. 2 behind LSU corner infielder Jacob Berry, who slashed .352/.439/.676 as a true freshman at Arizona last spring, while Drew Thorpe is in the 71st spot and Kaden Sheedy, another right-handed pitcher, landed at No. 229.
"Directly behind Berry by the slimmest of margins at No. 2, Lee is another switch-hitter and a throwback ballplayer who further endears himself to scouts with his makeup, passion and instincts for the game, in addition to his elite bat-to-ball skills from both sides of the plate, but especially the left side.
"The 2022 MLB Draft class is headlined by a strong group of college position players, including the top eight prospects on our list of the Top 250 college prospects," notes the D1Baseball.com staff. "Five of the top 15 are likely to be sophomore-eligible by age with the 2022 draft scheduled for July 17-19."
Overall, Arkansas, Mississippi State and Tennessee lead the way with two potential first-round picks. The SEC once again dominates the Top 100 with 32 prospects, including 12 of the top 25. The ACC comes in second with 19 of the Top 100 and the Big 12 third with 16.
• D1Baseball.com also has released its college power rankings for each position on the diamond. Lee is No. 1 at shortstop while Thorpe landed at No. 15 among starting pitchers.
"When we put together our Preseason All-America teams, we followed one guiding principle: If we were building a team to win the 2022 national title, which players would we choose? We use the same philosophy to construct our Position Power Rankings — think of them as an extension of our Preseason All-America Teams," the staff at D1Baseball.com wrote.
"These are NOT professional prospect lists, though they do take pure talent into consideration. Players who proved themselves against top competition in summer ball and look poised for breakout years might rank higher on the list than other players who had gaudier stats from last spring. We took an amalgam of the numbers, raw talent, defensive ability (especially at premium positions), makeup and reports of development over the summer and fall."
Players Mentioned
Cal Poly vs. UCR, Baseball Highlights -- May 17th, 2025
Sunday, May 18
Cal Poly vs. UCR, Baseball Highlights -- May 16th, 2025
Saturday, May 17
Cal Poly vs. UCR, Baseball Highlights -- May 15th, 2025
Friday, May 16
Cal Poly vs. Pepperdine, Baseball Highlights -- May 6th, 2025
Wednesday, May 07
