Three transfers and a commit

Dickson, Newalu and Vawter-Scoggins move up from juco; Richter goes DI

Zach Vawter-Scoggins is headed to Valdosta
State for the 2011 NCAA season

 Fall semester is in full swing and the boys of college ball are already into full-on team practice and gearing up for fall scrimmages. As we try to catch up with who went where in the summertime college-ball shuffle, we've uncovered three more ABL players who will be transferring from junior college up to four-year ball, and one former prep star who will be moving into the college game.

2010 third-bagger and Glacier Pilots masher O'Koyea Dickson will be moving up from the College of San Mateo, will be a Seawolf in 2011. No, Alaska Anchorage isn't adding a baseball program; Dickson has transferred to Sonoma State of the Division II CCAA conference. Sonoma State is one of the more noteworthy DII baseball programs in the country, turning out three mid-draft picks and an indy-ball signee in 2010. Dickson was a mid-summer pickup for the Pilots in 2010 and brought a sweet power swing (scouting video) to the Anchorage club.

Another 3B, Blake Newalu of the 2008 Mat-Su Miners, is on the move. Newalu will be leaving Chipola CC behind for the University of Mississippi. "Ole Miss", of course, plays in the Division-I Southeastern Conference (SEC) and gave rise to first-round, #5 overall pick in the 2010 MLB amateur draft, Drew Pomeranz. The Rebels have also been awarded eight consecutive NCAA regional seeds, so Newalu will be in good company talent-wise and have a good opportunity to continue making a name for himself.

A name that Panner fans haven't forgotten -- or perhaps pronounced correctly -- is making the jump to a four year school as well. Pitcher Zach Vawter-Scoggins, formerly of Yuba College, is headed to Valdosta State in Georgia. The Blazers field a Division-II program in the NCAA Gulf South Conference, who have yielded three MLB draft picks in the past two years. Vawter-Scoggins is a talented two-way player who has seen his presence on the mound come to the forefront during the past year, and I'm sure he'll succeed at the DII level.

Delving into uncharted territory here, we've got one last player to look at, a guy who came into the ABL as a relatively rare non-local high school senior. Highly touted prospect Kyle Richter garnered an invitation to the Goldpanners last season and established himself as one of the better pitchers in the league despite his youth. He's has committed to Southern California and should be working out with the USC squad for the upcoming spring season. As an aside, I noticed while doing research on Richter that one of my favorite prospect blogs -- Baseball Beginnings -- has a great scouting video and scouting report on him. Since I didn't manage to catch any footage or notes on Richter this past season, I recommend you check out the above links.

As work continues on our first look at draft-eligible former ABL players, I will likely uncover many more transfers and other transactions regarding our alumni, so keep checking back with 49thStateHardball.com for more updates regarding these and all the other news that's fit to blog.