University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Baseball Announces Fourth Signee of Spring Period
5/2/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Baseball Announces Fourth Signee of Spring Period
Hattiesburg, Miss. - Southern Miss Baseball Coach Corky Palmer has announced the signing of Christopher Matesich, a 5-11, 175-pound shortstop from Germantown High School in Germantown, Tenn., to a national letter of intent for the 2003-04 academic year.
"I am happy that Christopher has decided to attend Southern Miss" Palmer said. "He is an outstanding athlete who plays solid defense and is a good hitter as well. He will bring speed and defense to our program next season. We need to add more speed to our team, and he helps fill that need."
Matesich, a three-year letterwinner for Coach Joey Nesbit, is hitting .470 as a senior this season and has a .564 on-base percentage. He was named the most valuable player of the 2003 USA Classic.
In 2002, he was selected to play in the Tennessee Baseball Coaches Association Showcase Game. He helped lead Germantown to the 2001 Tennessee state 3A championship and was named to the NABF All-Tournament team in 2001.
During the summer of 2002, he was a member of Dulin's Dodgers, and helped lead them to the AAU and NABF World Series championship. He hit .365 with 46 runs scored and stole 25 bases. He had a .526 on-base percentage and was named the NABF World Series MVP.
Matesich also was a three-year letterwinner in football. He was a two-time all-metro and all-district performer at defensive back and was a second-team all-state honoree in 2002.
This marks the fourth Southern Miss signee of the spring signing period and seventh overall. The Golden Eagles signed Mike Cashion (RHP, Clinton HS/Clinton, Miss.), Brett Hoeflich (1B/OF, Petal HS/Petal, Miss.) and Trey Cuevas (C/Oak Grove HS/Oak Grove, Miss.) during the spring signing period, and Barry Bowden (RHP/Vidalia HS/Vidalia, La.), Patrick Ezell (P/Petal HS/Petal, Miss.) and Nathan Sanders (OF/Meridian CC/Meridian, Miss.) in the fall signing period.
Southern Miss is currently 35-11 overall and 17-4 in Conference USA action, good enough for first place in the standings. The Golden Eagles are ranked No. 19 in Baseball America, No. 20 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Poll, No. 21 in Collegiate Baseball and No. 25 in USA Today/Baseball Weekly Coaches Poll.
