California juco infielder will play for Bulls

A month before fall classes start, USF still hasn't sent out an official list of coach Lelo Prado's incoming recruiting class, so news has come in bits and pieces, here and there. We knew a priority was upgrading the Bulls' hitting, and we've uncovered another solid bat coming to Tampa this fall: Jeremy Malmendier, an infielder from Sacramento City College.

Malmendier (pronounced, simply enough, as MAL-men-deer) hit .351 for Sac City as a sophomore, playing primarily second base, but he said his strength is at the plate, where he bats lefty and has shown a penchant for opposite-field hitting. He did not hit a home run last season, but drove in 25 runs and scored 36 with 10 steals for a team that went 35-15 and sent much of its starting lineup to major Division I programs and the draft.

Malmendier is the third junior college hitter known to be joining the Bulls, along with Chipola College's Trey Manz and Brian Hobbs. A native Californian from nearby Folsom, he also considered Oral Roberts and had hoped to get an offer from powerhouse Long Beach State. He hasn't been to Florida since he was 9, but is excited about reporting for fall classes next month. He moonlighted as a catcher his freshman year at Sac City, but said USF told him he'd be playing second, that is, unless its shortstop didn't return. Which brings us to ...

-- Former USF shortstop Walter Diaz said he'll sign Monday with the Cleveland Indians, who drafted him in the 48th round. Diaz could have returned for his senior year but said Cleveland has offered him a signing bonus that is "top-10-round money." It's tough for college seniors to command as high a signing bonus because they don't have the leverage of returning to school, as a junior does. "I made my decision based on what I thought was best for me and my family," Diaz said from Miami.

-- We'd reported back in May that USF and FSU would play in a tournament in Daytona Beach. That tournament has an official name: the Glenn Wilkes Classic, honoring the longtime Stetson coach. The first round will be on teams' campuses, with USF hosting Cleveland State. The Bulls then get three games at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach (I stayed across the street from the arena last weekend), with Rhode Island Nov. 16, Florida Atlantic Nov. 17 and Florida State on Nov. 18. It's the same weekend as the Louisville football game, so I'll probably only be able to get over for the FSU game.

-- Football walk-on update: Countryside kicker Josh Martinez, hoping to join the Bulls this fall, was not accepted into school and has accepted an offer as a preferred walk-on at Memphis. "I couldn't be more unhappy with the (admissions) administration there (at USF)," coach John Davis said. "My disappointment is not with the decision they made, but that it took so long to let him know." Davis said Martinez, the son of former major-leaguer Dave Martinez, lost a scholarship offer to play soccer at FIU while waiting to hear from USF. Another former Countryside kicker who'd been interested in USF, former Delaware kicker Zach Hobby, is likely walking on at Florida State, Davis said.

Comments

[USFMikeB]

Walk ons don't get assistance from the AD office for the admissions process, so it's no surprise that it may have taken longer than Martinez wanted to get his decision. The coaches get used to preferred treatment, and forget sometimes that they don't get the same treatment when dealing with walk ons.

good point but it's a shame we need kickers and i truly hope we don't spend another schollie on a kicker again this year.