UCI baseball lands six

The UC Irvine baseball program’s six early signees, announced Thursday, include two pitchers with dominant high school numbers, a community college player who is a former 12th-round draft pick, and three two-sport prep athletes.

Mike Marini, a 6-foot-4, 220-pound right-handed pitcher, was 9-1 with an 0.72 earned-run average as a junior to help lead Miami Christopher Columbus High to the District 8A-15 title in 2014. The Miami Herald’s All-Dade County Pitcher of the Year struck out 55 in 58 1/3 innings.

“[Marini] is coming off a good spring and with his three-pitch mix, we feel he has a chance to have continued success here,” said Ben Orloff, UCI’s assistant coach and recruiting coordinator.

Another mound prospect is Miles Glazer, a 5-11 left-hander at San Marino High. Glazer, an All-CIF Southern Section performer as a junior, was 11-1 with an 0.86 ERA for the 2014 Rio Hondo League champions. He struck out 80 in 74 innings and also produced four saves to garner team MVP recognition.

“Miles reminds us a lot of [current Anteaters standout] Elliot Surrey,” Orloff said. He is a big-time winner in every sense of the word. Miles has all the intangibles to come in and compete for meaningful innings right away.”

Jackson Willeford is a 5-9 infielder now at Cypress Community College who was drafted in the 12th round by the Kansas City Royals in 2012 out of Ramona High. He was a four-year starter at Ramona, the final three seasons at shortstop.

Willeford played in eight games at the University of Arizona last season, starting six at designated hitter. He was one for 24 with one stolen base in limited action due to an elbow injury that required surgery.

As a senior at Ramona, he hit .398 with a .516 on-base percentage, with 11 homers, 28 runs batted in, 32 runs and 15 stolen bases.

He hit .381 with seven homers, 24 RBIs, 32 runs and a school-record 17 doubles as a junior and hit .396 as a sophomore.

“Jackson has a chance to be the best junior college player in the state this year,” Orloff said. “He can play all three positions in the infield and really hit. He will add some maturity to our team and we anticipate having him hit in the middle [portion] of the lineup.”

Jordan Bocko is a 5-11, right-handed pitcher and outfielder at Capistrano Valley High, where he was the South Coast League MVP as a junior and also played running back for the football team.

Bocko was 3-4 with three saves and a 3.08 ERA in 14 appearances in 2014, including five starts. He fanned 33 in 47 2/3 innings.

He also hit .381 in 97 at-bats with three homers, 20 RBIs and a .536 slugging percentage.

“[Bocko] is a competitor that has high upside on the mound because of his talent and demeanor, and will have a chance to help us immediately,” Orloff said.

Mikey Filia is a 5-9 outfielder at Irvine High, where he also played receiver, before becoming the quarterback of the football team as a senior this fall.

Last baseball season, he hit .365 in 85 at-bats with eight stolen bases and seven RBIs for the Vaqueros.

“[Filia] has a high motor and profiles as a guy who could play center field at Anteater Ballpark,” Orloff said. “He is a grinder who is going to continue to improve.”

Ryan Johnson is a 5-10 outfielder at San Diego Cathedral High, where he had three saves in 10 appearances, all in relief last season. He hit .139 (five for 36) as a junior.

“Ryan was our first commit in this class,” Orloff said. “He is a baseball player. He will impact games on both sides of the ball.”

Orloff said it’s an enthusiastic group that will join a UCI program that made its second trip to the College World Series last spring.

“They all really wanted to be Anteaters and to be part of something special,” Orloff said.

— From staff reports