For two years, the recruiting focus for Texas Tech baseball has been about improving the overall talent level of the team, and head coach Dan Spencer and his staff have done just that heading into the 2010 season.

Now, the Red Raiders can go after specifically targeted areas, and they’re doing so in the back yards of some of their Big 12 opponents as well as their own front yard.

Tech on Monday released 2010-11 recruiting class that will hit campus in September. Among the 10 new recruits are six pitchers, two infielders, an outfielder and a catcher that come from the South Plains, Austin area, South Texas, Arizona and throughout Oklahoma.

“We’re really excited about the fact that we were able to get those young arms, and not just high school arms but a core group of young guys to build and back the classes we have now,” Spencer said. “When you start those are the hardest to sign are those premium high school arms. And we’re finally to a point positionally where we’re able to be specific. We knew we wanted a catcher in the class and there was a good one right here in town and that worked out great. But we really like the quality of pitching we got.”

Among the local talent snared by the Red Raiders are a pair of Coronado players in pitcher Hunter Scott and catcher Mason Randolph, who signed with Tech on the first day of the early signing period on Nov. 11. Also from the South Plains is talented Hereford pitcher Parker Bridwell, who is currently leading the Whitefaces football team into the third round of the Class 4A playoffs as its starting quarterback.

Tech also hit the junior college circuit hard, reeling in a pair of pitchers and an infielder. One of the top names on the list is left-hander Daniel Coulombe, who originally signed with Southern California out of high school after being a highly touted recruit out of high school. He will play his sophomore year for South Mountain Community College in Arizona. As a senior in high school, Coulombe was 9-0 and was an all-state and Baseball America third-team all-American selection.

Also out of the Juco ranks are right-handed pitcher Hayden Holub, a native of Seymour who is at Seward County (Kan.) Community College. The reliever is related to former Texas Tech all-American and College Football Hall of Famer E.J. Holub. He’ll be joined by Seward teammate Kelby Tomlinson, an infielder out of Elgin, Okla.

Tech got two other recruits out of the Sooner state, Edmond outfielder Jordan Lopez, a former teammate of current Tech infielder Duke VonSchamann, and right-handed pitcher Logan Taylor from Jenks. Lopez hit .432 with nine home runs and 10 doubles as a junior, and Taylor was 10-2 with a 1.10 ERA in 12 appearances with 81 strikeouts and 24 walks.

Rounding out the class are a pair of Central and South Texas prospects in Giddings pitcher/outfielder Trey Masek and Austin Anderson infielder David Paiz. Masek was a first-team all-state pitcher and second-team all-state designated hitter as a junior, going 13-2 with three saves and a 2.04 ERA while striking out 131 with 32 walks and hitting .486 with seven home runs, eight triples and 13 doubles. Paiz hit .450 with four home runs, 17 doubles and two triples last season and will be a four-year starter at Anderson.

“All those guys we talked about, we won a lot of battles on those guys, and a lot of them in the Big 12,” Spencer said. “We didn’t win them all, but we’re getting closer, and we’ve also got to be in on them early. We got the right guys and it’s a step in the right direction.”

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