Mikie Mahtook officially confirmed last night his signing with the Rays for $1.15 Million in bonus cash, a well deserved windfall for one of our best ever and for a family that's gone through so much over the years. Mikie said the following from his twitter account:
Thank you to everyone who has been there throughout my LSU career. It has been a blast and I will miss everything that goes with LSU. I am happy to say I am a Ray and I can't wait to get started and move up the ranks. I will always be a TIger and now I am on to the next phase in my life.
There was also confirmation of Signee P/OF Jake Cave signing with the Yankees for $825K. Overall, LSU held on to 8 of 15 drafted underclassmen and signees.
There was some thought that MLB's insistence to clubs that they try to keep signing bonuses down this year would effect how much they would spend, but that didn't happen. MLB clubs shelled out nearly $70 Million last night to lock up 21 of the remaining 1st round picks alone, including a record 6 players receiving over $5 Million dollars each.
It was mostly a good night for the rest of SEC baseball, as Vandy and Ole Miss both held on to highly drafted signees.
There is little to say about practice from now on as they were closed to the media starting yesterday, a week earlier than expected. There was some good news yesterday afternoon, however, as RG Will Blackwell told the media he is back at practice now after missing the last few practices, along with Saturday's scrimmage. The team is done with 2-a-days for now and has another scrimmage planned for the weekend.
LSU has announced that the Shaqtue will be officially unveiled at 6pm Thursday Sept. 8th, the week of the 1st home game v Northwestern St. It'll be part of a week of festivities, including Shaq's annual charity golf tourney at the University Club and the induction ceremonies for the LSU Sports Hall of Fame.
Matt Derenbecker, after a brief visit to Tulane, has announced he's transferring to Dayton, despite never having set foot in the state of Ohio.
Volleyball was unanimously picked by the coaches to win the SEC West again this year, with Florida picked to win the overall title. They start play at home on Aug. 26th.
The big, but expected step happened in College Station, TX yesterday as the Aggie Board of Regents essentially handed the keys over to their president, bowtie-enthusiast Bowen Loftin, so that he may take any actions regarding A&M's conference affiliation. No timetable has been set for any decision, but almost no one thinks they'll let this drag on more than a few weeks.