Quote:Baseball Signs Four During Early Period
Newcomers Slated to Join Cougars for 2006 Season


Nov. 26, 2004

HOUSTON - University of Houston baseball head coach Rayner Noble announced the signing of four student-athletes to National Letters of Intent on Wednesday during the early signing period.

Catcher/pitcher Luis Flores (Corpus Christi Moody HS), infielder Carlos Hereaud (Elkins HS), pitcher Wes Musick (Hudson HS) and outfielder/infielder Tommy Williams (Austin HS) are scheduled to join the Cougar Baseball program for the 2006 season.

"This group is very athletic," Noble said. "It may not be a big class (in numbers), but it makes up for that in quality. We have some high-impact players who should step in and immediately make an impact as freshman.

All four players bring award-winning prep careers to the Cougar program. Flores, who was ranked as the No. 17 prospect in the state by Jason Becker's Texas Baseball News, helped lead Moody High to the 2004 state championship. As a pitcher, he finished the season with a perfect 12-0 record and allowed only one earned run in 77.0 innings of work for a minuscule 0.91 ERA.



 

However, his exploits weren't limited to the baseball diamond. As the quarterback for the Trojan football team, Flores was named to the All-South Texas First Team after throwing for 2,646 yards and 25 touchdowns and rushing for 811 yards and 10 touchdowns as a junior.

Flores' older brother Gene is a senior captain and three-year letterwinner with the UH Baseball team entering the 2005 season.

Hereaud sat out the entire 2004 season after transferring to Elkins High from his native Venezuela. As a member of the Elkins junior varsity team, he batted .473 with 11 doubles, three triples, four home runs and 26 RBIs. Over the summer, he was invited to participate in the prestigious Area Code Games in California.

Hereaud was ranked as the No. 16 prospect in Texas by Jason Becker's Texas Baseball News and the No. 63 prospect nationally in Baseball America's Top 100 High School Players List.

Musick joins the Cougar team after an award-winning career at Hudson High. As a junior, he helped lead the Hornets to a District 20-3A championship and berth in the regional quarterfinals by compiling a 6-0 record and 0.70 ERA in 40 innings of work. During that time, he struck out 91 batters while allowing only 14 hits.

With impressive numbers like that, he was honored as the District Most Valuable Player and earned a berth on the Class 3A All-State Team by the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association.

Williams was injured for much of the 2004 season as a junior but returned in the second half of the season to bat .300 with four doubles, three home runs and 14 RBIs. As a member of the Austin Baseball Club in the season, he batted .442 with 15 home runs, 17 doubles, 24 RBIs and 24 stolen bases in 32 games.

The Cougars open their 2005 season on Feb. 11-13 when they compete at the Minute Maid Park College Classic in Houston.