La Crosse, Wis. – The La Crosse Loggers on Tuesday announced the signings of Zander Clarke and Matt Trask from UCLA, which will enter the season ranked No. 10 in NCAA Division I by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.
Clarke, a freshman first baseman/third baseman, was a top player for Newbury Park High School (Calif.), earning Perfect Game All-Region honorable mention. The 6-foot-5, 200-pound Clarke brought his talents to Cornejo of the California Summer Collegiate League in 2014 as a high school senior, batting .264 with two home runs and 13 RBI in 28 games.
Trask, a 6-foot-3, 220-pound right-handed pitcher, will work out of the bullpen as a freshman this spring as the Bruins begin to develop him into a Pac-12 starter. Trask, a native of Davis, Calif., was ranked No. 275 out of 500 high school prospects by Perfect Game USA in 2014 and was named All-Nor-Cal First Team. He played for Yakima Valley (Wash.) in the West Coast Collegiate League as a high school senior, going 2-0 with a 3.68 ERA and striking out 20 batters in 22 innings
“Zander and Matt are big, physical and athletic guys that each have tremendous upside,” said Loggers general manager Chris Goodell. “We’re always excited to have the opportunity to work with John Savage and the quality student-athletes that he sends us from UCLA each year.”
With the additions of Clarke and Trask, the Loggers continue a long association with Pac-12 and NCAA Division I power UCLA. Former Bruins who have played in La Crosse include Daniel Miltenberger (2003), Dean Espy (2010), Trevor Brown (2011), Kevin Kramer (2012), Chris Keck (2013), Scott Burke and Luke Persico (2014).
###
The La Crosse Loggers are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Preparing for its 22nd season of summer collegiate baseball, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 18 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, more than 115 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (DET) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (WAS), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Allen Craig (BOS) and Ben Zobrist (TB). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League YouTube channel. For more information, visit www.lacrosseloggers.com.