CAL STATE FULLERTON NOTEBOOK / MIKE DiGIOVANNA : Titans Fail to Lure Baseball Prospect Away From Miami

George Horton, Cal State Fullerton’s associate head baseball coach, seems pleased with the Titans’ recruiting haul so far.

Three players with plenty of potential--Norwalk High School pitcher Jose Peraza, Modesto Downey shortstop Jack Jones and Fresno Hoover pitcher Ryan Campbell--have signed with the Titans, and Horton believes he could sign two or three more players before the early signing period ends Wednesday.

But no matter what contributions these players make to the program, Horton will always remember this recruiting class for the one that got away.

His name is Alex Rodriguez, and he’s a shortstop at Miami’s Westminster Christian High School. Rodriguez is 6 feet 3, 190 pounds. He hit .477 with 42 stolen bases, 51 runs and 22 runs batted in last season to lead his school to a 33-2 record and the No. 1 ranking in USA Today’s national high school baseball poll.

Many project Rodriguez as a first-round pick in next June’s draft, and some believe he could be among the first 10 players selected.

Last week, Rodriguez narrowed his college choices to Miami, Arizona and Fullerton. He visited Fullerton one weekend in October, and Titan Coach Augie Garrido traveled to Miami for a home visit.

Westminster Christian Coach Rich Hoffman said Rodriguez was impressed with Fullerton and thought it would be a major coup for the Titans to steal one of the nation’s top recruits right from under Miami’s nose.

But, alas, Rodriguez decided to stay home and signed with Miami, a decision Horton hopes doesn’t deter future efforts to lure national recruits to Fullerton, where limited recruiting dollars must be spent wisely and efficiently.

“He was a very expensive recruit--we invested as much in him as we would to start the recruiting process for 10 other guys,” Horton said. “We don’t have the budget to fly guys around the country, like some schools do. We made the decision to go after him thinking we had a good shot to get him, and I think we did. It went down to the wire.”

Rodriguez might never play a game for Miami, and even if he had signed with Fullerton, he might have never played a game for the Titans. He could sign a professional contract next year and skip college altogether.

“It’s a rough business, but if this did prevent us from recruiting guys like that, we might as well get out of the business,” Horton said. “This won’t discourage us.”

Future Titans: Josh King, a 6-7, 200-pound small forward from Sacramento Jesuit High, has made an oral commitment to play basketball at Fullerton and was expected to sign a letter of intent late Monday night, Jesuit Coach Hank Meyer said.

King averaged 12 points and seven rebounds per game last season to help Jesuit (31-3) win the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I championship and advance to the Northern California title game, where Jesuit lost to Alameda St. Joseph.

“He’s a tremendously skilled player who can handle the ball and shoot the three-pointer--if you leave him open, it’s down,” Meyer said of King, who chose Fullerton over Nevada. “He’s not a bruiser or a banger, but I think he’ll get bigger because he wears size 17 shoes.”

Temecula Valley High pitcher Trinity Johnson and Santee Santana High utility player Teresa Stippey have signed letters of intent to play softball at Fullerton.

Johnson went 14-8 with an 0.68 earned-run average and 110 strikeouts last season for Temecula Valley. She threw five no-hitters and had one perfect game while earning All-Riverside County and All-Sun Belt League honors. Stippey was a first-team, All-East San Diego County selection.

The great debate: The Fullerton Athletics Council will conduct a pair of open forums to discuss the future of Titan football Wednesday from 3 to 5 p.m. and 7 to 9:30 p.m. in the Titan Pavilion of the University Center, located near State College Boulevard and Dorothy Lane.

Dr. Lee Gilbert, faculty athletic representative, will chair the forums and has asked that persons wishing to address the eight-member council provide written materials to support their positions.

School President Milton A. Gordon, who Monday attended a meeting of schools that are forming a Division I-AA, cost-containment conference for next season, plans to announce his decision on the future of football no later than the second week of December.

The options include remaining in Division I-A, dropping to Division I-AA or eliminating the sport altogether. Fullerton, which is 2-8 and suffering through its third consecutive losing season, closes the 1992 season Nov. 28 at Nevada Las Vegas.

High honors: Former Titan baseball standout Phil Nevin is the favorite to win the Golden Spikes Award, which will be presented to the nation’s outstanding amateur baseball player today at a luncheon in New York City’s Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.

Nevin, who batted .402 with 22 home runs and 86 RBIs to lead Fullerton to the College World Series championship game and was the No. 1 pick of the June draft by the Houston Astros, is one of nine finalists for the award, which is based on athletic ability, sportsmanship, character and overall contribution to the sport.

Titan Notes

The Fullerton basketball team will play host to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes in an exhibition game at 7:30 Saturday night. The Titans will also play host to the Melbourne Tigers in a Nov. 24 exhibition. . . . Fullerton punter Noel Prefontaine, who had a 49.8-yard average in four punts Saturday against New Mexico State, won the AT&T; Long-Distance Punt Award for the longest average of the week. AT&T; will donate $400 in his name to the NCAA’s degree completion scholarship fund and send Prefontaine an engraved plaque in recognition of his achievements. . . . Former Titan standout Leon Wood, who has played in the NBA and CBA, is currently playing professional basketball in France. Agee Ward, the Titans’ starting power forward last season, has returned home after an unsuccessful attempt to play professionally in Germany.