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Recruiting Roundup
The big Longhorn recruiting weekend this year will be Dec. 15-17 and will b= e built around the annual football banquet. Nearly all of the 19 recruits who have already committed to Texas have chos= en that weekend to visit, and so have most of the players the Longhorns are still recruiting. The list of players the Longhorns are still seriously recruiting is continuing to shrink. At this point, there are 10 recruits left on the board who (a) have offers = or will get offers if they check out okay academically, and (b) are strongly considering the Longhorns. They are DT Tommie Harris of Killeen Ellison, LB Derrick Johnson of Waco, D= L Kaelen Jakes of Valencia, Cal.; TE James Moses and DE Jonathan Jackson, bot= h of Galena Park North Shore; OL Jamie Hightower of Jacksonville, OL William Winston of Houston Madison, safety Dewayne Brandon of Temple, athlete Quan Cosby of Mart and DT Paul Broussard of Blinn JC. Most of the remaining six or seven scholarships will go to the players in that group. Johnson, Jakes, Moses, Jackson and Brandon all list Texas No. 1 at this point, and it is possible the Longhorns will get all five of them. Winston also says Texas is tops with him right now, but he also wants to lo= ok at several out-of-state schools. Harris is the remaining recruit who is No. 1 on my wish list, for two excellent reasons. First, he is the top DT prospect in the country. Second, he is the only top DT who is considering the Longhorns. But Oklahoma is making a big run at him, and he is listening. He also is being heavily recruited by Florida State and he plans to visit the Seminole= s this weekend. Harris earlier listed Texas No. 1, but now says the Sooners and Seminoles a= re his top two teams. He plans to visit Texas the Dec. 15 weekend, and has another trip set up to Texas A&M the Dec. 8 weekend. There actually is another top DT who is interested in Texas =01) Broussard = =01) but he has many academic hurdles to clear. Jakes has already visited Texas, and the other nine players in that 10-man grouping all say they plan to visit Texas the Dec. 15 weekend unless their teams are still in the high school playoffs. Their teams will have to be really good to be still in the playoffs at that point because that will be the weekend of the state semifinals in some classes and the finals in other classes. There are some other great prospects who are long shots, but are still in the picture. They are headed by DT Marquise Hill, 6-6, 300, 5.0, of New Orleans De La Salle, and DE Justin Tomerlin, 6-7, 260, of San Clemente, Cal= . Tomerlin has been committed to Florida State for several weeks, but now say= s he wants to visit several other schools, including Texas. He says he still = is committed to FSU. I'm not sure he will visit, but, if he does, there is a chance. Hill says he will take an official visit to Texas the Thanksgiving weekend and will attend the Texas-A&M game. Hill has already visited LSU and plans to visit Michigan the Dec. 1 weekend= , Georgia the Dec. 8 weekend and Georgia Tech the Dec. 15 weekend. He said his big three are Michigan, LSU and Texas. Here's a list of the Horns' 19 early commitments: Offensive Line (7) Jonathan Scott, 6-7, 290, 4.9, Dallas Carter Abe Robinson, 6-6, 270, 4.9, Jersey Village Alfio Randall, 6-6, 300, 5.1, Blinn JC Mike Garcia, 6-5, 280, 5.2, Galena Park Will Allen, 6-5, 300, 5.2, Cypress Falls Roman Reeves, 6-6, 295, 5.2, Livingston Terrance Young, 6-6, 340, 5.5, Longview Quarterback (1) Matt Nordgren, 6-5, 225, 4.6, Dallas B. Lynch Running Back (2) Cedric Benson, 5-11, 200, 4.5, Midland Lee Anthony Johnson, 5-11, 195, 4.4, Jefferson Defensive End (1) Eric Hall, 6-2, 240, 4.5, Clarksville, Tenn. Linebacker (2) Yamil LeBron, 6-2, 240, 4.7, Killeen Ellison Lance McFarland, 6-1, 225, 4.6, Jefferson Defensive Back (5) Cedric Griffin, 6-1, 180, 4.4, San Antonio Holmes Aaron Ross, 6-1, 182, 4.42, Tyler Kendal Briles, 5-10, 175, 4.5, Wolfforth Frenship Braden Johnson, 6-2, 200, 4.5, Euless Trinity Brian Carter, 5-11, 180, 4.5, The Woodlands Punter (1) Brian Bradford, 6-1, 205, Trinity Valley JC The Bowl Picture If the Longhorns defeat Texas A&M on the Friday after Thanksgiving, they wi= ll wind up in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, the Holiday Bowl in San Diego or the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio. Those three bowls get the top three picks from the Big 12, in that order, after the BCS takes the league champion. Conventional wisdom holds that Texas and the Cotton Bowl won't hook up agai= n because the Longhorns have already played there on two consecutive New Year= 's Days. But don't be too sure. The Cotton Bowl brass likes the Longhorns and Texas coach Mack Brown loves New Year's Day bowls. If that doesn't come to pass, then it will be either the Holiday or Alamo bowl for the Longhorns. What if Texas loses to Texas A&M? I hate to consider the unthinkable, and I won't until and unless that happens. But if it does, we'll all need to do some research on the Insight.com Bowl, the Independence Bowl and maybe the Gallery.furniture.com Bowl. UT Women Impressive Sophomore guard Tai Dillard scored a career-high 17 points and led three Longhorns in double-figure scoring as Texas captured a 71-47 victory over Tulane Sunday at the Erwin center in the second round of the 2000 Preseason Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT). With the win, Texas (2-0) advances to the Preseason WNIT semifinal and championship rounds next Sunday and Monday, at a site to be determined. Texas joins No. 9 Louisiana Tech and No. 15 Virginia in the four-team semifinals. No. 4 Purdue hosts Georgetown today (Monday) in the final game = to determine the fourth semifinalist. The Preseason WNIT semifinal pairings will be: Texas versus the Purdue-Georgetown winner, and Louisiana Tech versus Virginia. The Preason WNIT committee has announced that if Purdue defeats Georgetown, then the Boilermakers will serve as the host school for the Preseason WNIT semifinals Sunday and third-place and championship games Monday in West Lafayette, Indiana. If Georgetown upsets Purdue, then the Preseason WNIT semifinals and championship round will be hosted by Texas at the Erwin Center. The site an= d times will be announced late Monday. Joining Dillard in double-figure scoring were junior forward Tracy Cook, wh= o tallied 12 points and senior guard JoRuth Woods, who chipped in with 11 points. Woods added a team-high seven rebounds and had five assists, which tied her best career night total. Texas shot 43.5 percent from the floor (27-of-62), while the Green Wave (1-= 1) hit 41.3 percent of their shots (19-for-46). Texas shot 50% from the field in the first half en route to a 36-22 lead in the win over Tulane. Tulane turned the ball over 26 times, while UT committed 15 turnovers. The Horns also held an advantage in steals (14 to nine), while Tulane out-rebounded Texas, 38-37. UT also scored 27 points off turnovers to Tulane's 10. Texas had advanced to the WNIT second round with Friday's 72-47 win over Wichita State, while Tulane bested Grambling State, 92-64, in the first round. Woods had 16 points and Cook added 14 points in the victory over Wichita State in the season opener for both squads. The Longhorns, who never trailed in the game, were aided by an outstanding 22-for-26 effort from the free throw line, as they hit 84.6 percent of thei= r foul shots. The Longhorns also shot 53.3 percent from the floor and outscored the Shockers 34-14 in the paint. Wichita State was held to a 29.2 percent shooting performance, as the Shockers hit just 14 of 48 shots. WSU also turned the ball over 27 times, while UT committed 21 turnovers. Also scoring in double figures against Wichita State were Dillard, who had = 13 points, and freshman forward Stacy Stephens, who had 13 points, a game-high eight rebounds and had a game-high seven steals in her first game as a Longhorn. In both their games, the Longhorns have shown much better quickness and athleticism as a team than they showed last season. "This was a good first outing for us," Conradt said. "We wanted to have a strong effort on the defensive end of the floor, and we succeeded." "We are starting and playing a lot of young people" she said, "and at this point in time I think we have the athletic ability, the quickness and the depth to play solid defense and press." "Success starts with defense, and we were really good again today on "D"," Conradt added. "We came out with excellent intensity on defense, and it helped that we started off shooting strongly." "As we look ahead to the WNIT semifinals and if Purdue wins against Georgetown, then we'll be playing on the road in West Lafayette," Conradt said. "If we do go on the road, I think we all welcome the opportunity to see how we stack up against a top 10 team, and how we handle the pressure of being away from Austin." A True Orange Subscription Is The Gift You Can Give Every Year for Your Longhorn Friends A subscription to True Orange is the perfect gift for any occasion for a Longhorn who has everything else. It's only $45 ($35 by e-mail) and I'll send an attractive card announcing your thoughtful gift. The only thing better is a gift of True Orange and the True Orange Fax = =01) and you can give both for just $130 a year ($99 if they take both by e-mail= ). o I am enclosing $45 for a gift subscription ($35 e-mail) o I am enclosing $130 for a gift subscription to the newsletter and the fa= x ($99 e-mail) Name of Recipient Address (& fax no., if applicable) City, State, Zip Your Name Any Message You Want on Card True Orange Observations I think it is time for the Texas Athletic Department to do some major soul searching about the way it treats Longhorn football fans. This season has set a modern day record for callous treatment of some of th= e most loyal fans in all of college football. First, there was that unconscionable 11 a.m. kickoff of the Lousiana-Lafayette game in early September and then another 11 a.m. kickoff for the Oklahoma game. I know some older Longhorn fans who had to miss the Louisiana-Lafayette gam= e because their doctors told them it would be hazardous to their health to attend because they would be exposed to a potentially deadly combination of extreme heat and three to four solid hours of blazing sunlight beaming down on them. Both those games were on TV and that is always the excuse UT athletic officials come up with when kickoff times are inconvenient. Most of us go along with things like that because nearly all of our games a= re televised. Last season, 12 of the 14 were on TV. But three games this season aren't being televised and two of them =01) Colorado and Kansas =01) are the longest road trips the Longhorns have in B= ig 12 Conference play. The game in Colorado was nixed to allow Texas A&M at Baylor to be televised= , and the Kansas game this Saturday won't be televised so the Iowa State at Colorado game can be aired. I know the TV folks don't worry about fan inconvenience, but UT athletic officials certainly should and one thing they should include in the deal if they decide to inconvenience their fans with 11 a.m. kickoffs in early September heat is assurance that the two longest road trips on the conferen= ce schedule won't be nixed for TV. One subscriber who couldn't attend the La-La game because of his doctor's orders told me Athletic Director Deloss Dodds should sit outside in the hea= t with the regular fans and he wouldn't ever have another 11 a.m. kickoff for= a Sept. 9 game. I think most fans are willing to accept some inconvenience, but I think the= y expect some sort of a trade off. In other words, if we need to have some early games for TV, then we should get preference on the TV for the faraway games, especially when they go up against the likes of A&M at Baylor and Iowa State at Colorado. It wouldn't have been a hard sell. But apparently no one in the UT Athletic Department thought enough of the fans to ask for a quid pro quo. Let's hope they do next year. After all, it takes pretty loyal fans to sell out big stadiums Saturday after Saturday when their team hasn't finished in the top 10 in 17 long years. Horns Sign Fine Baseball Class Texas baseball coach Augie Garrido has signed 12 of the top high school players in Texas and throughout the country. "Through the hard work of recruiting coordinator Tommy Harmon, Frank Anders= on and the entire baseball staff, we have once again been able to sign a tremendous recruiting class for next season," Garrido said. "This group includes some of the top prospects in the state and will help u= s maintain this program's tradition of excellence," he added. The signees included right-handed pitchers Luis Cortez of Sinton, Joey Guajardo of Round Rock and Donald Levinski of Weimar. Cortez, who ranks fifth in his class academically, posted a 0.82 ERA last season and averaged two strikeouts per inning en route to being named the District 30-3A Junior of the Year. Guajardo went 11-2 on the mound for Round Rock High School during the 2000 campaign and was chosen Central Texas Player of the Year after boasting a 0.91 ERA, recording 172 strikeouts over 85 innings of work and pitching fou= r no-hitters. Levinski led Weimar to the Class AA State Championship last year and earned All-State accolades after registering a 14-1 record, an 0.70 ERA and 170 strikeouts over 95 innings of work. Joining that trio is shortstop Michael Hollimon of Dallas Jesuit who batted .373 last year with seven triples and was rated the 10th best prospect at this year's Area Code Games, plus two right-handed pitcherswho also double = as shortstops. They are Kole Strayhorn of Shawnee, Okla., who posted an 8-1 record with a 0.97 ERA and 99 strikeouts over 60 innings, and Huston Street of Austin Westlake, who not only earned second team All-Centex honors as a pitcher with a 6-1 record and a 1.27 ERA last season, but is also the son o= f legendary UT pitcher and quarterback James Street. "Our focus with this recruiting class was to add depth in the middle infiel= d, behind the plate and on the mound," Harmon said. "With the players that we have signed for next year, we believe that we have accomplished that goal." UT also signed top catchers James Sweeney of Houston Bellaire, one of the best defensive catchers in the country, and Curtis Thigpen of Forney, who batted .515 last season for Forney High School and is also regarded as an outstanding defensive backstop and outfielder. Other signees were Seth Johnston of Boerne, who hit .507 and was an All-District shortstop; for middle infielder Ryan Olivo of Grapevine, who earned All-District honors after batting .450; J.D. Reininger of Smithson Valley, who earned All-District, All-City and All-State accolades while pitching and playing both first and third base; and right-hander Chas Tayl= or of Austin Westlake Conradt Inks Super Class Texas women's basketball coach Jody Conradt has signed the best player in= =20 Texas, the best player in Oklahoma a member of Canada's Junior National Tea= m, and she also got the signature of a versatile guard-forward from Houston. Joining the Longhorns next year will be 6-2 forward Kala Bowers of Woodward= , Oklahoma, a USA Today and Street & Smith All-American who is rated as the 16th best player in the nation by the Rivals.com Top 100 recruiting servic= e; 6-2 forward Heather Schreiber of Windthorst, an AAU All-American and three-time First Team All-State performer rated as the No. 1 player in Texa= s by the Texas Girls Basketball Report and the Texas Hoops recruiting service= ; 6-2 forward Jody Bell of Chestermere High School in Alberta, Canada, a memb= er of the 2000 Canadian Junior National Team, and 5-11 All-State guard Colenci= a "Coco" Reed of Houston Jersey Village, ranked as the 18th best player in Texas by Texas Hoops. Bowers was one of only four high school players invited to the 2000 USA Basketball Junior National Team Trials. She averaged 16 points, 7.4 rebounds, three assists and three blocks per ga= me as a junior last year as she led Woodward to the Oklahoma state championshi= p game. Woodward won the state crown her sophomore year, and has lost just t= wo games over the last two seasons, going 53-2. Bowers had scholarship offers from more than a dozen top schools. She narrowed it down to Colorado and Texas before picking the Longhorns. Illino= is and Kansas State were other schools she strongly considered. Schreiber was named an AAU All-American this past summer while leading her Texas AAU 17-Under squad to a third-place finish at the AAU National Championships while averaging 21 points 13 rebounds and five assists per ga= me. An outstanding three-sport All-State athlete in basketball, volleyball and track & field, Schreiber averaged 24.4 points, 10 rebounds, 5.2 steals, 4 assists and 3.4 blocks per game for Texas' 1A power Windthorst as a junior. As a junior, Schreiber shot 62 percent from the floor and 45 percent from three-point range. A star on the volleyball court, she has led Windthorst t= o three consecutive Texas state championships while being named State Tournament MVP as a freshman, sophomore and junior. On the track, Schreiber has cleared 5-10 in the high jump. She won the stat= e high jump crown as a sophomore and was runnerup in the high jump as a freshman and junior and state runnerup in the long jump as a junior. She had offered from many top schools, but committed to Texas very early in the recruiting process. Bell, a versatile 6-2 wing/post, was a starter on the 2000 Canadian Junior National Team, which competed this past summer in the Tournament of the Americas in Argentina, placing fifth. Bell started four of the five games in the tournament. She has led Chestermere High School to a No. 1 ranking in the province. Named the province of 1998-99 Alberta 3A Rookie of the Year as a sophomore, she led Chestermere to the 1999 AAA Provincial Championship. Last season, Chestermere spent the year ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in the province. In 83 games during her two-year high school career, Bell has registered 1,303 points for a 15.7 ppg career scoring average, and is on pa= ce to set the school scoring record. Entering her senior season, she holds career averages of 10.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 3.2 steals and 2.4 blocks per game. She had offers from colleges all over Canada and the northern part of the United States, but decided she wanted to head for warmer weather for her college career and her other finalist was Arizona State. Reed was All-State, All-District and All-Conference last season. She also i= s rated 112th nationally in the Reebok All-Star Report. She helped lead Jersey Village into the 2000 Texas state playoffs, and her playoff highlights included 21 points in a 63-39 win over Austin Bowie and = 22 points in a 66-57 quarterfinal loss to Austin's Westlake High School "These four players will immediately raise the talent level of our program, just as the class of 2000 signees has done," Conradt said. "I am extremely pleased with our signings, and the talent level coming into our program is the result of tremendous work done by our entire coaching staff," she said. "Each one of these players are considered among the very best players comin= g out of their respective states and, in Jody's case, in all of Canada," Conradt said. "All four can play a variety of positions. All four are mobile, athletic players, all from winning programs, and they all just love basketball," sh= e said. Football Notes . . Texas' offense rolled up 637 yards of total offense on Kansas Saturday. . . Senior RB Hodges Mitchell set a school and Big 12 record for all-purposeyardage. With 264 yards rushing, 23 yards receiving and 88 yard= s punt returning, he overtook ISU's Troy Davis' 374 yards with his 375-yard performance. He is also the second UT running back ever to run for back-to-back 200-yard games. . . Freshman WR Roy Williams had three touchdown, catching four receptions for 180 yards and two touchdowns and rushing once for 35 yards and another touchdown . . . The Longhorns' defens= e has intercepted at least one pass in five straight games. Barnes Signs Fine Pair Heralded point guard T.J. Ford, 5-11, 165, of Sugar Land Willowridge, and center Chris Wright, 6-10, 235, of Redwater, signed basketball letters of intent with Texas last Wednesday, the first day of the fall signing period. Coach Rick Barnes said Bob Gibbons' All-Star Report rates Ford as the nation's top point guard recruit and picks Wright as the No. 25 center prospect in the country. Ford averaged 10 points, 9 assists, 5 rebounds and 4 steals per game as a junior in leading Willowridge to the Class 5A state title. Wright averaged 20.6 points, 13 rebounds and 7 blocks per game as a junior. I saw Ford play both games at the State Tournament last season and he is as quick as any player I have seen. He can run faster dribbling the ball than most players can run without the ball. He also has amazing court vision and can drill lightning-quick passes. While he is a good shooter and can dunk the ball with ease, he appears to b= e much more interested in setting a teammate up with an easy basket. "With the signing of T.J. and Chris, we feel like we are continuing to elevate our program," Barnes said. "We are extremely pleased, as both T.J. and Chris are not only very talented on the basketball floor, but also outstanding young men." Ford is the top high school prospect in the state, according to Mike Kunstadt's Texas Hoops. He lead his team to a 36-1 overall record and the Class 5A state title last season. He is tabbed the 17th-best overall prospect in the nation by Clark Francis= ' Hoop Scoop, the 22nd-best prospect by ESPN.com and the 28th-best prospect b= y Dave Telep's Rivals100.com. "T.J. is one of the most unselfish players I have seen in all my years of recruiting," Barnes said. "He truly does not care if he scores a point. He really loves distributing the basketball." "T.J. is excellent at understanding how to manage the game on both ends of the court," Barnes said. " Longhorn fans everywhere are going to fall in lo= ve with this kid." Wright is a versatile player who can play center or forward. He was a virtu= al unknown until Barnes and his assistants discovered him last year, invited h= im for an official visit, offered him a scholarship and got a commitment. After he committed to Texas, other schools discovered him, too, and he started showing up on recruiting lists because he is a big guy who can run, handle the ball and is very athletic, too. "Chris is a guy who we really stumbled upon early," Barnes said. "He is ve= ry athletic, he has a tremendous work ethic and he has the ability to play several positions on the floor. I'm not sure anyone understands just how good Chris can be." With these two signings, Texas has no remaining scholarships to award for t= he current season. Two Volleyball Aces Ink with UT Texas volleyball coach Jim Moore has signed Austin Westlake star Bethany Howden and club All-American LaTonya Coates of Bangor, Mich. "We worked tremendously hard in the recruiting process this year and the result is the signing of these two fine young ladies," Moore said. "In terms of talent on the court, this is the best class we've signed since I've been here," Moore said. "It continues our goal of signing volleyball players with tremendous athleticism." Howden is a 6-2 middle blocker who recently completed her senior season. A three-year starter, she led the Chaps to a 101-21 combined record and back-to-back UIL District Championships. She led Westlake in kills (303), hitting percentage (.470) and aces (27) while ranking second in blocks (109) this season. She was tabbed the District 14-5A Newcomer of the year as a sophomore, and was First Team All-District and Second Team Austin American Statesman All-Centex honors as a junior. On the club scene, Howden is a member of Austin Juniors and recently teamed with current Longhorn freshman Kathy Hahn to lead the 18 Navy squad to a perfect 15-0 record in the 2000 Tour of Texas circuit. She helped 18 Navy c= ap the season by finishing tops among all Texas teams (14th) at the 2000 Junio= r Olympics. She also has great Longhorn bloodlines. Her father, Lynn, was an outstandin= g basketball player at Texas from 1969 through 1972. He is 6-6 and her mother= , also a UT grad, is 5-11. "Bethany Howden not only has great athleticism and superior leaping ability= , but also has the makeup to step in and start right away," Moore said. Coates is a 5-10 outside hitter. She is coached by her mother, Dorothy Coates, at Bangor Public High School. Coates, a three-year starter on the varsity squad, enters her senior season with her eyes on a third straight All-State certificate from the Detroit Free Press. On the club level, Coates has earned two All-America honors in leading USA Michigan to a pair of National Championships, including the 2000 Under-17 crown in Louisville, Ky., for which she was named Tournament MVP. She also made the All-Tournament Team at the 1999 Under-16 Championships in New Orleans. Coates also is one of Michigan's top softball pitchers, needing only 129 strikeouts to break the state record of 1,508, and has earned a pair of All-Conference honors in basketball, having led her varsity team in scoring and assists during both her freshman and sophomore seasons. "La Tonya is probably the best all-around player we've had since Demetria Sance," Moore said. "She is the complete package in that she has tremendous leaping ability, solid natural offensive instincts and is a good ball-contr= ol player." UT Gets Super Softball Class Texas women's softball coach Connie Clark has signed six top prospects, headed by the nation's top recruit, 6-1 left-handed pitcher Catherine (Cat) Osterman of Houston Cypress Springs. Also joining the Longhorns were infielder Tiffany Anders of Katy, a three-time All-District 19-5A selection; infielder Wynter Turner of San Pedro, Cal., a three-time All-City and All-League performer; Melanie Jarret= t of Odessa Permian, a two-time All-District outfielder; first baseman Alexis Garcia of Covina, Cal., South Hills, an All-League and All-California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) selection; and catcher Jill Vaughn of Oklahoma City Putnam North, an Oklahoma All-State performer. Osterman is widely regarded as the top recruit in the country and was voted to the ASA All-America Third Team in 1999 and the First Team in 2000. She helped lead the Katy Cruisers club team to the 2000 18-Under ASA Gold National Championship last summer. Anders and current UT sophomore All-American infielder Lindsay Gardner of Katy also were on the national championship Katy team Osterman struck out 106 batters in 53 innings at the ASA National Tournamen= t while throwing one perfect game and one no-hitter. She also struck out 11 batters in five innings in an exhibition game agains= t the gold medal-winning USA Softball Team last summer. Osterman was named to the Texas Girls Coaches Association All-State Team in 2000 and to the All-Greater Houston and All-District 16-5A teams in 1999 an= d 2000. She led the Greater Houston Area in strikeouts as a junior with 377 in 171 innings. Osterman also struck out all 21 batters she faced in a seven-innin= g perfect game against Langham Creek on April 4. Anders is the starting shortstop at Katy High School, and is a versatile athlete who can also play second base as well as in the outfield. Anders helped Katy to the Texas Regional Semifinals in 1998 and 2000 and to the Area Finals in 1999. She has made the All-District team since each year since she was a sophomor= e. She is a three-sport star who also excels in basketball and cross country. She is a two-time Second Team All-District basketball selection and was a Regional qualifier in cross country. Turner plays first and third base and was named First Team All-City and All-League as a freshman, sophomore and junior at San Pedro High School. She led San Pedro to the Los Angeles City Championship in 1998 and 2000 and was an All-Area First Team selection in 1999 and 2000. Turner played club softball with the California Batbusters and will add a powerful bat to the Longhorn lineup. Vaughn is a powerful hitter and catcher at Putnam North HS in Oklahoma City= . She holds Putnam North's career home run record with 28 and led the team to= a third-place finish in the Oklahoma State Tournament in 1998 and 1999. She earned All-State, All-Conference, All-District and All-City honors in 2000. She helped lead the Oklahoma Jitterbugs club team to the 2000 ASA Under-23 A-Ball National Championship. Jarrett was voted Permian's Defensive Player of the Year last season. She w= as an All-District 4-5A outfielder as a sophomore and junior, and competed at the U.S. Scholar Athlete Games in 1999. She is an outstanding student and was president of her sophomore and junior class. Garcia plays first and third base at South Hills. She earned First Team All-Leage and All-CIF honors as a junior, as well as being named South Hill= s' MVP and Best Defensive Player. Garcia has led South Hills to two Valle Vista League Championships (1998, 1999) and is a two-time South Hills Scholastic High Honor Roll member. "With Osterman and the solid group of athletes we are surrounding her with,= I feel we have one of the top classes nationally for next year," Clark said. "We are pleased that we were able to recruit the offense we will need to surround Osterman's phenomenal pitching, as we graduate five seniors at the end of the upcoming 2001 season." "This class, combined with this year's newcomers, provide the stability, talent and enthusiasm we need for the future," she said. Horns Sign Top Golfer Texas golf coach John Fields has signed three-time Future Collegians World Tour All-American Charlie Santaularia of Free State HS in Lawrence, Kansas. Santaularia is the No. 1 player in the state of Kansas and is ranked No. 31= =20 in the nation by the Golfweek/Titleist Rankings. "We are extremely excited to have Charlie coming to UT," Fields said. "He h= as an outstanding attitude, a great desire for the game and one of the best all-around players out there. He is a great addition and will be a strong part of our team for many years to come." A three-time Kansas City Star All-Metro Team selection, Santaularia led his high school to a third-place finish at the 2000 Kansas 6A State Championshi= p Tournament,where he placed second individually. In the last three seasons, he has won 12 high school tournaments and posted three top-five finishes at the state championships. On the junior national level, Santaularia has posted 10 first-place finishe= s and 27 top-five finishes, where he most recently captured the FCWT Innisbro= ok title and placed second at the FCWT Hyatt Bear Creek tournament. He holds a 72.9 scoring average this season. Next Issue November 27 There will not be an issue next week because of the open date. The next iss= ue will be e-mailed on November 27 and will report on the Texas A&M game and look at the Longhorns' bowl prospects. I'll have a lot of recruiting news, as always, plus reports on men's and women's basketball and lots of other Longhorn sports news. Subscription Form I want to subscribe. I am enclosing $45 for the next year, which will inclu= de 26 issues. A two-year subscription is $85. For a one-year subscription via E-Mail, send $35. Name Street Address or Box Number or E-Mail Address City, State and Zip Code Remit to True Orange, P O Box 26530, Austin, TX 78755 Foreign Rates Available on Request. Phone 512-795-8536 E-Mail Address: truorange@aol.com
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