Head coach Turtle Thomas and the FIU baseball team received 11 National Letters of Intent during the early-signing period, and the 2011 class is shaping up to be one of the best in the program's history. "Our assistant coaches did an excellent job in recruiting," said Thomas. "They filled a lot of needs that we have for our coming year, by getting not only some of the best high school talent in America, but also top of the line JUCO players."
 
The class includes three players that played for their respective national teams in Manny Machado (USA), Kellin Deglan (Canada) and Mike Ellis (Canada). Machado would be a highlight of every signing class in America as he is ranked as the No.1 position player in the country and No.4 player overall.  "We're continuing to build our program, and when the best position player in the country commits to you and then signs with you in the early signing period, that's tremendous for our baseball program and where we're trying to take it," said Thomas about Machado.
 
Overall the class is made up of six high school players, four of them from Florida and two from Canada, and five JUCO transfers, all of them from Florida including four from Miami Dade College.
 

Wendell Soto
5'7''  165    INF    S/R
Sarasota Riverview HS
 
• A stellar defensive shortstop, Wendell Soto is ranked 265th in the country by Perfect Game, and he played in the Perfect Game National Showcase. Soto also played for the Orioles Scout team in Jupiter and attended the Florida Diamond Club.
 
"Wendell is probably the number one defensive shortstop in Florida and top-five in the country," Allen said. "He is big time defender, that will also be a great offensive player here at FIU.   Fans will love watching this young man play the game of baseball, because he plays it the right way.

R.E. Mountain Secondary School

• A member of the Canadian Junior National Team, Kellin Deglan is the top-ranked position player in Canada. Deglan is ranked 62nd in the country by Baseball America and is projected to be a top-10 round pick in next year's amateur draft. Deglan participated in the Under Armour All-American Games in Chicago and was an All-Star during the Canada Cup.
 
"When you see Kellin play all you can say is wow. This kid can hit and he does it from the left side." said Allen. "  "He might have the best approach to hitting I have ever seen in a high school hitter, he will hit in the middle of our order from day one.  He is very athletic behind home plate and has a chance to become a plus defensive catcher as well."

 
• Like Deglan, Mike Ellis played for Canadian Junior National Team, which he led in ERA and innings pitched, and is the 15th ranked Canadian player heading into the 2010 amateur draft. Ellis was also an All-Star in the Canada Cup.
 
"Mike is a very athletic pitcher," said Allen. "He has a legitimate out pitch with his breaking ball right now and pitches 86-90 with above average command. He is a tremendous competitor and can really pitch.  He has the make up that you want, great kid that really isn't scared of anything, wants the ball when the game is on the line.  We expect him to come in and compete for a spot in the rotation right off the bat"

5'10''  180   INF   R/R
Miami Dade College
 
• David Vidal was a First Team All-Conference and All-State selection as a freshman at Miami Dade. He was seventh in the state with a .418 batting average while hitting 12 doubles, 11 homers and driving in 59. His .418 batting average was tops among freshmen returning for their sophomore years.
 
"David is the definition of a hitter," said Allen. "He hits for average, power and drives runs in. He's definitely an impact hitter that has the chance to put up Player of the Year type numbers in this conference."

Miami Dade College
 
 
•Ricky Perez was a Second Team All-Conference and All-State selection as a freshman. His 2.54 ERA was 29th in the country, and he posted an 8-2 record with 59 strikeouts in 67 innings of work.
 
"Ricky will come to us with a lot of innings at the junior college level and will bring a lot of experience to our staff, so we expect him to come in and pitch a lot of innings for us," said Allen. "He pitches 88-92, throws strikes and has a very good slider, which is a legitimate out pitch.  Was arguably the best Freshman JUCO pitcher in the state of Florida last year. He understands how to win games and we look for him to continue that here at FIU"

Miami Dade College

•Iosmel Leon is a switch hitting catcher that missed 2009 due to Tommy John surgery.
 
"Iosmel is a high energy, vocal catcher," said Frank Damas. "He's a plus defender behind the plate and can swing the bat well for both sides. He should be one of the best JUCO catchers in the state of Florida this year. He can change the game with his defense. He should make an immediate impact as soon as he comes in."

"When you are able to sign three high school players that play for their respective country and two that are ranked in the top-100, you feel like you have a top-25 type class. I don't think there is another school in the country that signed three guys that played for a National team.  Those organizations do a great job in selecting players and choose from thousands of players and FIU has the privilege of having three come to us next year.  As a staff we felt like we needed to get more athletic up the middle of the field and also get some pitchers that can come in and pitch right away.  We filled those needs and got some lefthanded hitters in the process, which is a huge plus in this conference.  This is a very offensive league and we know we must hit in order to win in this league and you could say that we signed the best high school hitter in the U.S.A., Canada and also arguably the best JUCO hitter in the state of Florida.  Every kid that we signed will help us as soon as they step foot on campus and they bring the makeup and work ethic that we are looking for both in the classroom and on the field."