Press-Telegram

November 14, 2007

Titans take another Pill
Fullerton-bound Covina star among early signees

By Steve Ramirez

There is no recruiting link between the Cal State Fullerton baseball program and Covina's Pill family.

It just seems that way, especially after Covina High School's Tyler Pill signed a grant-in-aid letter Wednesday to attend the same Orange County campus where older brother, Brett, helped the Titans to a College World Series title in 2004.

Wednesday was the first day of the early-signing period for college-bound student-athletes other than football, and Pill is one of several area athletes who are taking advantage of that this week.

Kristen McCarthy, the Tribune's 2006-07 girls basketball Player of the Year who led Bishop Amat to the CIF State finals, signed with Temple, while Rowland girls volleyball player Kirstie Jackson will sign with Nevada Las Vegas today.

For Pill, the opportunity to follow the trail that brother Brett blazed was too good to pass up.

"(Fullerton) is a great program, a great school," said Pill of the Titans, who have won four national titles since 1979 and have advanced to the CWS five times in the past seven seasons. "I love everything about the school and everything they've accomplished.

"(Brett) showed me some of the stuff they did, and I really liked it. I want to continue in that program and try to learn more."

Pill, who is expected to be one of the top players in the CIF-Southern Section this coming spring, is coming off a solid junior year where hit .463 with four home runs

The first team all-area selection is expected to play both positions for the Titans.

McCarthy, also expected to be one of the top players in the CIF-SS this upcoming season, will join an up-and-coming program. Temple, which recently signed coach Dawn Staley to a six-year extension, has won four Atlantic 10 titles since 2002 and is expected to make a strong run this season.

The Owls get the reigning Tribune Player of the Year who showed her talents with some monster games during last season's playoff run, including a 26-point effort in the divisional quarterfinals.

It's the second consecutive year that the Lancers squad will feature a player who has signed a NCAA Division I letter. Candice Brown, the Del Rey League MVP, is a freshman forward at UCLA.

"I took a visit to the school and I really liked it," the senior guard said. "I liked the coaches, the players, the campus. It's a good opportunity for me to play right away. I know its far away, but I wanted to try something different.

"It's a very good program. (Coach Staley) has a lot of experience. She played in the WNBA and the Olympics. They said, providing I work hard, I could come in and get significant playing time. It's all up to me, but the opportunity is there."

It's the same for Jackson, who was one of the top girls volleyball players in the area this season. She averaged 15 kills per match and helped the Raiders to a third-place finish in the San Antonio League. She will join a UNLV program that is ranked in the top 25.

"I love the coaches," Jackson said. "I also know a couple of the players and the campus and the city are amazing.

"The coaching staff is really good and they work a lot with technique. They are ranked 17th (nationally), so they are doing really well."

Bishop Amat football player Dominique Austin, who can't sign his national letter until February, per NCAA rules, said Wednesday that he has orally committed to the University of Arizona.

"It's a great school," the Lancers lineman said. "I've had the opportunity to form a relation with the coaches. I want to play defensive end and they offered me that position, so it was an easy decision."

The lure to play in the Pacific-10 also played a major role in his decision, plus he will be teammates with former rival Nicolas Grigsby (St. Paul/California).

"That's another big factor in choosing," Austin said. "He's a former rival, and (it's) going to be fun playing with him."

Austin is also pleased to get the recruiting process over.

"I'm done," he said. "I'm going to Arizona."