Long Beach State University Athletics
Dirtbags Sign Two More To NLIs
7/7/2014 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
July 7, 2014
LONG BEACH, Calif. - Head coach Troy Buckley announced the signing of junior college transfers Nico Maida and Ryan Cruz to National Letters of Intent for the 2015 season. Maida recently finished his freshman season at Grossmont College in El Cajon, Calif. while Cruz comes to Long Beach State after two seasons at College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita, Calif.
"We are excited to add Ryan and Nico to our recruiting class. Both players bring experience and skill sets that will make for an immediate impact to our level and our program," commented Buckley.
Maida, a 5-7 infielder, played second base for the Griffins last season and led the squad at the plate. He hit a team-best .346 in his first season at the JC level with nine doubles and 18 runs batted in. He also struck out just seven times in 153 at-bats and made just five errors all season on his way to earning All-Pacific Coast Athletic Conference first team honors.
The San Diego, Calif. native also had a standout prep career at Grossmont High School, where he hit .415 as a senior in 2013. He was a two-time All-League selection and an All-CIF second team selection as a senior.
Maida led Grossmont College to a 21-14 overall record in 2014 and a fourth-place finish in the PCAC.
Cruz is a 6-3 right-handed pitcher, who started both years at College of the Canyons and was drafted in the 29th round by the San Francisco Giants last month. The Giants drafted Dirtbag pitcher Nick Sabo with their previous pick in the 28th round.
Cruz went 7-2 on the mound as a freshman and posted a 3.17 ERA, which was tops for COC starters. Cruz led his team into the postseason and an upset series win over San Bernardino in the Regionals with a complete game shutout. As a sophomore, Cruz tossed 92 innings over 13 starts and two relief appearance while posted a 6-6 record with a 3.91 ERA. He was an All-Conference selection as a starting pitcher in both 2013 and 2014.
Cruz was also a prep standout at Kennedy High School in Grenada Hills, Calif., where he was an All-City pitcher.
Maida and Cruz became the fourth and fifth junior college signees of the Dirtbags, joining Trey Ferketic and Josh Advocate from the fall signing period as well as Jared James from the spring signing period. The Dirtbags also signed 10 prep players to National Letters of Intent.
Click here, for the initial NLI release in the fall.
Click here, for the second NLI release in the spring.
2014 Long Beach State Signees
| Name | School | 2014 Stats | Drafted |
| David Banuelos | Damien HS | .395, 4 HR, 24 RBI | |
| Brock Lundquist | Fountain Valley HS | .259, 6 HR, 24 RBI | 37th Rd. (1,122) |
| Chris Mathewson | Kaiser HS | 9-2, 0.79 ERA, 1 PG, 105 K .511, 3 HR, 33 RBI | 28th Rd. (846) |
| Darren McCaughan | Los Alamitos HS | All-Sunset League First Team | |
| Chris McCready | Valencia HS | .229, 3 2B, 12 runs | |
| Garrett Nelson | Clayton Valley HS | .333, 9 2B, 10 RBI | |
| Joseph Sanchez | Orange Lutheran HS | .194, 10 RBI | |
| Sean Trimble | Temescal Canyon HS | 7-2, 1.17 ERA .381, 7 2B, 17 RBI | |
| Jack Wheeless | Buchannan HS | DNP | |
| Josh Advocate | Cochise JC (Ariz.) | 6-3, 2 SV, 3.69 ERA, 70 K | |
| Ryan Cruz | Col. of the Canyons | 6-6, 3.91 ERA, 62 K | 29th Rd. (868) |
| Trey Ferketic | Saddleback JC | 4-5, 3.22 ERA, 45 K | |
| Jared James | Sacramento City | .351, 12 SB, 3 HR, 22 RBI | 30th Rd. (913) |
| Nico Maida | Grossmont JC | .346, 10 SB, 18 RBI |
