UNLV adds players from Nevada, Colorado

Steve Guiremand

Thursday, Oct. 10, 2002 | 11:08 a.m.

UNLV baseball coach Jim Schossnagle has received verbal commitments from three of the top pitching prospects in Nevada as well as the 4-A Player of the Year from Colorado.

Green Valley lefthander Ryan Tabor, Silverado right-hander Wes Johnson and Bishop Gorman right-hander Russ Warthen have given non-binding verbal commitments to the Rebels and said they will sign during the NCAA's early signing period in mid-November.

Also headed to UNLV is left-handed pitcher/outfielder Jerod Estey of Moffat County High School near Steamboat Springs, Colo. Estey was the Denver Post's 4-A player of the year last season after hitting .519 with eight homers in just 20 games while also compiling a 4-3 record and 2.40 ERA as a pitcher. Estey, who also visited Hawaii, has had his fastball clocked in the upper 80s.

Tabor, a 6-foot-3 lefthander, was 6-5 with a 2.21 at Green Valley last season, striking out 68 batters in 74 innings.

"They have some really nice facilities and some great coaches here," Tabor said. "I think they're going to turn things around pretty quickly."

The 6-foot-1, 180-pound Johnson has been clocked in the low 90s and helped lead the Las Vegas Hawks to the semifinals of the state American Legion Tournament this summer.

The 6-foot, 180-pound Warthen was an All-Southern Nevada pick for the Gaels who was being actively recruited by over a dozen schools including Arkansas, BYU, Hawaii and Arizona.