Davis commits to Western Nevada

Western Nevada Community College baseball coach D.J. Whittemore may have thought he couldn't top his first recruiting class.

But if his second recruiting class isn't as good as the first, it's awfully close.

Whittemore has received nine commitments from players for the class of 2007, including three Northern Nevada players.

All of the players are scheduled to sign on Sunday, the first day of the signing period for the National Junior Collegiate Athletic Association.

WNCC's first recruiting class will open its inaugural season on Jan. 27 when it plays against Glendale Community College (Ariz.) in Henderson.

The three Northern Nevada players scheduled to sign on Sunday are Douglas High's Roman Davis, Reno High's Davis Banks and Spanish Springs' Kyle Smit.

Smit, a 6-2, 170-pound right-handed pitcher, was recruited on the Division I level. He's arguably Nevada's top pitching prospect and could be taken in the first 10 rounds of this year's Major League draft.

His fastball has been clocked at 93. Smit helped lead Spanish Springs to the 2005 Northern 4A title.

"He's definitely the highest profile pitcher in Northern Nevada," Whittemore said. "He may be the highest profile pitcher in the state."

Whittemore said he considers Banks, a 6-4, 210-pound shortstop, to be the best hitter in Northern Nevada.

Davis is a 6-0, 170-pound catcher. Davis was also the quarterback for the Tigers' football team. Whittemore described Davis as a "very athletic catcher" who throws well. He was an all-league selection by the coaches and an all-region selection by the media.

Whittemore still has three scholarships available and would like to sign three to six more players.

Among the local players he's recruiting is Carson's Logan Parsley, who has been recruited by Saint Mary's, Carson's Kevin Schlange and Douglas High's D.J. Brady.

Davis will join Chad Walling and Jimmy Pierce at WNCC. Walling and Pierce were a snappy middle-infield combination for Douglas in its run to the Sierra League title last season.