ULM Warhawk Baseball announces 14-player signing class

MONROE, La. – Head baseball coach Michael Federico announced the signing of 14 student-athletes for the 2021 season Thursday afternoon. The class includes six right-handed pitchers, two left-handed pitchers, three catchers, two infielders and one outfielder.

“We are very excited about this class,” Federico said. “We have filled some spots of need and have added some really nice young arms that we are excited about. When we came here, we eventually wanted to get more high school players in our program for the development aspect and this class has the most high school kids that we have brought in. The six junior college players are guys that we targeted and are fortunate to get in our program.

“This was a great job by recruiting coordinator Jake Carlson and hitting coach Matt Collins evaluating players that best fit the vision of our program moving forward,” Federico said. “I appreciate their passion for our program and their families for supporting them while they were traveling and putting together this class. These new Warhawks all come from great families and winning programs. We are very excited about their futures in our program.”

Below are brief bios on each signee, including a quote from either Carlson or Collins.

Austin Adair

Adair is a 6-1 right-handed pitcher from Hendrickson High School in Pflugerville, Texas. Adair was a second team All-State and first team All-District relief pitcher in 2019, making 14 appearances with 39 innings, posting a 1.80 ERA. Adair was also the team’s starting third baseman when he wasn’t on the mound, and hit .326 on the season. As a sophomore in 2018, Adair pitched 17 innings over 11 appearances, maintaining a 2.47 ERA. In the playoffs, he has pitched 13.2 innings with a 0.68 ERA while hitting .400.

“Austin is a strike pumper that is very competitive, has the ability to have run on his fastball and has very good feel for the slider,” Carlson said. “He wants to be in the game in high leverage situations and that’s one thing that we loved about Austin.”

Cole Cressend

Cressend is a 6-4 right-handed pitcher out of Mandeville High School in Mandeville, Louisiana. As a junior in 2019, Cressend was 3-1 on the mound for MHS, posting a 3.80 ERA over 25 innings while striking out 28 batters. In addition to his work on the mound, Cressend hit .438 with 15 RBIs. As a sophomore in 2018, Cressend was 2-0 on the mound with a 4.80 ERA over 20.1 innings. He has helped Mandeville make three consecutive playoff appearances, their first since 2007.

“Cole is a very athletic, competitive young man,” Collins said. “Cole has a very clean arm and has feel to spin the baseball.  He has a chance to be a starter and we’re excited about that. Cole comes from a great baseball family and has an extremely bright future in our program.”

Reid Golemon

Golemon comes to ULM from Pearl River Community College. He is a right-handed pitcher from Moselle, Mississippi. He is currently teammates with fellow ULM signee Britt McKay. Golemon played in the NJCAA Division II World Series in Enid, Oklahoma.

“Reid is a physical kid that has a chance to be a power arm,” Carlson said. “He’s been in the low 90s and has good feel to spin the baseball. Reid is a great worker and will have a big role in our pitching staff for the next couple of years.”

Matthew Lee

Lee is a 5-11 catcher from Catholic High School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. As a junior in 2019, Lee played in 34 games and hit four doubles, two home runs and drove in 25 runs while helping Catholic to its second straight 5-5A district championship. Over the summer of 2019, Lee played in 15 games, posting a .407 batting average with a double, triple and five RBIs. As a sophomore in 2018, Lee made the most of his limited action, picking up four hits with a double and two RBIs.

“We wanted to sign a high school catcher, and Matthew was our guy,” Carlson said. “He’s a field general and does a great job of working with his pitching staff. He does a great job defensively and has a real nice plan at the plate.  With continued strength, Matt has a high ceiling in our program.”

Trey Lindsey

Lindsay is a right-handed pitcher for Panola College in Carthage, Texas.

“Trey is a three-pitch guy that we are very excited about,” Carlson said. “Trey is extremely athletic and we feel that he has another jump in him. Trey is a very competitive kid that throws with a chip on his shoulder. He has a tremendous demeanor and tempo. Our defense will really enjoy playing behind him. Trey should impact our pitching staff immediately.”

Britt McKay

McKay is a catcher from Pearl River Community College, where he is a teammate of fellow ULM signee Reid Golemon. Pearl River finished third in the NJCAA Division II World Series in Enid, Oklahoma.

“Britt is a physical left-handed hitter,” Carlson said. “He has tremendous character and work ethic. Britt gets better every time I’ve seen him. Britt is a natural leader and will do a great job working with our pitching staff. He has a good feel for his barrel and will hit to all parts of the field.”

Chris Noble

Noble is a 6-2 catcher for Hutchinson (Kansas) Community College. Noble is a native of Shreveport and attended Captain Shreve High School.

“Chris is a physical, athletic, switch-hitting catcher,” Carlson said. “We feel Chris has the ability to hit in the middle of our lineup. He impacts the ball to all fields from both sides of the plate. Defensively, he does a nice job handling the pitching staff and can really throw. Chris is a tremendous worker. We look forward to getting him back in his home state of Louisiana.”

Steve Owings III

Owings is a right-handed pitcher from Northern Oklahoma College-Enid. NOC-Enid was the NJCAA Division II National Champions during Owings’ freshman season. He was also selected as an Academic All-American.

“Steve is a guy that is going to sink the baseball with a very good slider,” Collins said. “His velocity has made a jump this fall. He expects to win and has thrown in some very high leverage situations. Steve can fill many different roles for our pitching staff that we are very excited about.”

Henry Shuffler

Shuffler is a 6-7 right-handed pitcher from Episcopal School of Acadiana in Cade, Louisiana. In his junior season in 2019, Shuffler was named first team All-State and first team All-District, giving up 12 hits while striking out 41 batters over 27.2 innings. He also limited opponents to a .124 batting average. Shuffler is a four-time All-District selection, and helped ESA reach the state quarterfinals as an eighth grader and the state semifinals as a freshman. He is a three-year team captain for ESA.

“Very physical kid whose arm really works,” Collins said. “Has very good feel for the changeup and with continued improvement on the spin has a chance to have feel for three pitches. He has a chance to be a true power arm.”

Jonathan Snuggs

Snuggs is a left-handed pitcher for Mississippi Delta Community College. He is originally from Monroe, Louisiana.

“Jonathan is from here and we’re excited to get him back home,” Carlson said. “He’s progressed nicely in his two years at Mississippi Delta. He’s a competitive kid that has a chance to have an immediate impact on our pitching staff. He’s going to be an upper 80’s guy that has feel for three pitches. We are excited about his versatility.”

Cole Stromboe

Stromboe is an outfielder from Brother Martin High School in New Orleans.

“Cole is a natural baseball player,” Carlson said. “He is very well rounded defensively, on the bases and at the plate. We saw Cole a few times over the summer, and each time you saw him there was something you liked. He has very good barrel control at the plate. Cole has an advanced baseball IQ for someone his age.”

Adam Tubbs

Tubbs is a 5-10 left-handed pitcher from Sterlington High School in Sterlington, Louisiana. Through his junior season, Tubbs has been a part of two state championship teams at SHS, winning the 2A state championship in 2017 and the 3A title in 2019. As a junior in 2019, Tubbs was named first team All-State by the Louisiana Baseball Coaches Association, All Region-3 by LBCA, first team All-District, first team All-NELA, and first team All-Parish. As a sophomore in 2018, Tubbs was named first team All-District, All-NELA and All-Parish.

“Adam is a local guy that we are excited about,” Carlson said. “He’s a very competitive young man that expects to win, he’s a strike thrower and has pitched a lot of big innings for Sterlington. He’s a three-pitch guy that wants to get early contact.”

Travis Washburn

Washburn is coming to ULM from Navarro College in Corsicana, Texas. He is an infielder from Conroe, Texas. Navarro finished third in the NJCAA Division I World Series in Grand Junction, Colorado.

“Travis is a very instinctive, competitive young man that can really run,” Carlson said. “We wanted to get some left-handed bats, so getting Travis was very big for our program. He has won in high school and in junior college and we are excited about the leadership that he will bring to our team.  He’s a top of the lineup guy that can really cause issues for an opposing pitcher.”

Jakob Wax

Wax is a senior at Catholic High School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He primarily plays shortstop.

“He is a middle infielder that really defends in the middle part of the field, has great instincts and is very competitive,” Carlson said. “Jakob is the type of kid that always wants the ball hit to him. He has some pop in the bat and has ability to hit to all fields.”