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Gallo Earns Pre-Season All-America Honors

Bishop Gorman's Joey Gallo, to the surprise of no one, has been honored on the MaxPreps 2012 pre-season All-America high school team, announced this week.

Gallo, a senior, hit .471 last season with 25 home runs, 64 runs and 78 RBI. He was a member of the U.S. 18-and-under team that recently won a gold medal.

Here is the MaxPreps pre-season team:

P -- Kayden Porter, Spanish Fork HS, UT
P -- Lance McCullers, Jesuit HS, Tampa, FL
P -- Troy Conyers, El Capitan HS, Lakeside, CA
P -- Lucas Giolito, Harvard-Westlake HS, North Hollywood, CA
P -- Carson Kelly, Westview HS, Portland, OR
P -- Keegan Thompson, Cullman HS, AL
P -- Hunter Virant, Camarillo HS, CA
P -- Taylore Cherry, Butler HS, Vandalla, OH
P -- Max Fried, Harvard-Westlake HS, North Hollywood, CA
P -- Ty Hensley, Edmond Santa Fe HS, Edmond, OK
C -- Nelson Rodriguez, Washington HS, New York City
C -- Christian Stewart, Providence Christian Academy, Lilburn, GA
C -- Jeremy Martinez, Mater Dei HS, Santa Ana, CA
1B -- Matt Olson, Parkview HS, Lilburn, GA
1B -- Keon Barnum, King HS, Tampa FL
1B -- Ryan Ripken, Gilman HS, Baltimore, MD
IF -- Addison Russell, Pace HS, FL
IF -- David Thompson, Westminster Christian HS, Miami, FL
IF -- Gavin Cecchini, Barbe HS, Lake Charles, LA
IF -- Alex Bregman, Albuquerque Academy, NM
IF -- Rio Ruiz, Bishop Amat HS, La Puente, CA
IF -- Trey Williams, Valencia HS, CA
OF -- Courtney Hawkins, Carroll HS, Corpus Christi, TX
OF -- Anthony Alford, Petal HS, MS
OF -- Albert Amora, Mater Academy Charter, Hialeah Gardens, FL
OF -- Byron Buxton, Appling County HS, Baxley, GA
OF -- Nick Williams, Ball HS, Galveston, TX
OF -- Jesse Winker, Olympia HS, Orlando, FL
Util. -- Joey Gallo, Bishop Gorman
Util -- James Winston, Hueytown HS, AL

NOTES -- Ripkin is the son of Cal, the Hall of Famer and McCullers is the son of Lance McCullers, Sr., a former MLBer . . . Of the 30 players picked, 12 played on the U.S. 18-and-under gold medal team . . . Winston is rated the No. 1 prep quarterback in the country and has committed to Florida State, although he lives in Alabama . . . Martinez (Mater Dei) and Keegan Thompson (Cullman, AL) are the lone juniors. No sophs were picked.

DID YOU KNOW . . .

. . . That Adam Koglin (Silverado HS) is playing at Saint Xavier University in Chicago. Koglin is a senior who spent the last two seasons at UNLV and a year at Chandler-Gilbert JC in Arizona before that. Koglin got just two ABs in three games for Uncle Timmy's club a year ago, so he moved on. In 2010 at UNLV, Koglin hit .500 (5-for-10) in 21 games. Saint Xavier, a member of the NAIA Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference, was 28-27-1 last year, 19-11 in conference play. Koglin is an infielder.

. . . That LHP Matt Klein (Sierra Vista HS), after two years at Oklahoma State, has transferred to NAIA Park University in Missouri. Klein, who spent his freshman season at Northeastern JC in Colorado, saw just one-third of an inning of work for OSU last year. Park U. is a member of the American Midwest Conference and is located in Parkville, MO.

. . . That UNLV has updated its roster (but not accurately). One, Uncle Timmy's team still has a 2011 label atop its roster; and two, TJ White also is listed as Taylor White, both with the same number, of course.

. . . That former MLB pitcher Joe McGrane's daughter, Shannon, a 15-year-old, got past the first round in the Savannah, GA segment of American Idol. She's headed for Hollywood! McGrane, who pitched for the Cardinals, is a color commentator with the MLB Network and was formerly (10 years) a broadcaster with the Tampa Bay Rays. Shannon is a middle hitter in volleyball for a Tampa high school.

. . . That Daniel Sexton (Damonte Ranch HS) begins his senior season at Cal Tech having never won a game. Cal Tech, in fact, is winless in probably close to 10 years. In Sexton's previous three seasons, Cal Tech is 0-90 overall, 0-77 in SCIAC play. Sexton, an infielder, hit .286 last season. He can look forward to a pretty good career after this season. But it won't be in baseball.