Knight Passes on USC to Sign With Rangers

Brandon Knight of Ventura College, the state junior college co-player of the year, has signed a contract with the Texas Rangers, giving up a scholarship to USC.

Knight, selected in the 14th round of the amateur draft last week, will be assigned to Hudson Valley, the Rangers’ Class-A affiliate in Fishkill, N.Y.

Knight, who has been drafted three times, said the lure of professional baseball finally got too great to resist.

“It was getting hard for me to hold it off any longer,” said Knight, adding that his bonus includes money for college.

A 6-foot right-hander from Buena High, Knight was 14-3 with a 1.46 earned-run average for the Pirates. He was Western State Conference player of the year.

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Cal Poly San Luis Obispo second baseman Andy Hall, a Camarillo High graduate, has signed with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Hall, a 16th-round draft pick, will be assigned to Class-A Augusta, N.J.

The Cardinals also signed Cal State Sacramento catcher Brian Sturges, who played at Thousand Oaks High and Pierce College, to a free-agent contract. He reports this week to St. Petersburg, Fla., and will later be assigned to Johnson City, Tenn.

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Southern California College outfielder Ryan Seidel has agreed to terms with the Chicago Cubs and will sign later this week, he said.

Seidel, a graduate of Westlake High, was drafted in the 34th round last week. He was named the Golden State Athletic Conference most valuable player and batted .376 with 13 home runs and 39 runs batted in.

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Monroe High pitcher Wayne Nix has been selected player of the year in the Mid-Valley League. Nix had a record of 11-2, a 0.39 ERA and two no-hitters.

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Cal Lutheran will hold six five-day baseball camps this summer for players ages 6 to 16.

Information: 805-493-3404.

Soccer

Cal State Northridge has signed Wendy Nakashima, a transfer from Cal State Dominguez Hills, and Amy Gill of Alta Loma.

Golf

Susan Rennie of MountainGate Country Club finished with a 36-hole total of 162 to win the first flight of the 19th Women’s Southern California Golf Assn. Senior Championship at Calabasas Country Club.

Rennie beat Reiko Watanabe of Wood Ranch Golf Club in Simi Valley by four shots. Betty Bross of Braemar Country Club in Tarzana won the first flight at 182.

Track and Field

Neisha Henderson of Cleveland High, the City Section champion in the girls’ triple jump, will attend Tuskegee (Ala.) University.

Henderson bounded a school-record and region-leading 38 feet, 3 3/4 inches to place sixth in the triple jump in the State championships at Cerritos College on Saturday.

She has a best of 17-2 3/4 in the long jump and finished third in the City championships.

Contributing: Steve Elling, Jeff Fletcher, Dana Haddad, John Lynch, John Ortega.