MIAMI (Dec. 14, 2020) – With the 2021 season just weeks away, FIU baseball's Mervyl Melendez and his staff turned their sights to the future as they welcomed a new claw of Panthers into the mix.
 
The 2021 signing class features 10 players from three states, including the usual talented haul from Florida, plus two players from New York and one from Iowa. A total of six signees are slated as pitchers, while four will arrive on campus as position players. 
 
"This is an important class for our program since they will be replacing some seniors next year," Melendez said. "Our coaches have worked very hard in securing this class. It involves some high-caliber offense, defense, and pitchers. The future is very bright for our program."
 
David Eckaus (LHP | Brandon, Florida | Bloomingdale HS)
Pitching Coach Willie Collazo on Eckaus: "David will be coming in showing his good pitch ability on the mound. He has a clean arm action that can throw any pitches for strike and the ability to throw the slider at any time on the count while keeping hitters off balance. His changeup is one of the last pitches he developed and is looking really good."
 
Juhlien Gonzalez (RHP | Southwest Ranches, Florida | American Heritage)
Coach Collazo on Gonzalez: "As a pitcher he is very athletic with a delivery that is very nice and quiet. He has a longer arm stroke with good whip and throws from a high three-quarters arm slot. His breaking ball has good shape to with 11/5 depth to it. He has good sink on his fastball and will be coming in as a two-way player. He was not able to pitch in 2020 but has the right attitude and pitch ability on the mound while being clocked at 89 mph two years ago. We are excited to have him on our team. He will make a big contribution in our pitching staff."
 
Matthew Gonzalez (C | Manhattan, New York | P27 Academy)
Hitting Coach Dax Norris on Gonzalez: "He is a catcher who has really made strides in the last year as defensively adding to his gap-to-gap approach. Along with Jayden, we have definitely filled our needs at the catcher position. Matthew is also a guy who people will enjoy watching play and we are very excited about his future."
 
Dalton Hurst (INF/OF | Port Orange, Florida | Spruce Creek HS)
Coach Norris on Hurst: "He's another player who comes from a baseball family, with his dad being a college coach. Dalton has good baseball IQ and plays the game the right way. He is a switch hitter and throws right, that can swing it from both sides. Line-drive hitter who can work the gaps and uses the whole field. He fits well in our offensive approach and gives very good ABs with a low strike-out rate. He is a middle infielder who is athletic enough play the outfield too, while being a hard-nose player who will have a bright future with the Panthers."
 
Bryan Loriga (3B | Hialeah, Florida | ESB Academy)
Coach Norris on Loriga: "Bryan is a third baseman who is very physical and strong, while being a very advanced hitter with loose hands who uses his lower half well. He has power and will be a middle of the order guy who will drive in a lot of runs. He is very good defender at third base who moves well and has a strong arm and is very accurate. Just a very good all-around player that is another big sign for us."
 
Jayden Melendez (C | Palmetto Bay, Florida | Westminster Christian)
Coach Norris on Melendez: "Jayden is a front-line catcher who comes from a baseball family and is a very good defensive catcher with a strong arm. He is ranked 92nd overall for the 2021 class and is the number two catcher in the state of Florida. Jayden is a gap-to-gap hitter who uses all fields and has power in his swing. He is also a very vocal catcher with leadership skills to run not only the pitching staff but the whole team. We very excited to have him and the Panther fans will love watching him for three years."
 
Jose Pena (RHP | Winter Haven, Florida | Tampa Prep)
Coach Collazo on Pena: "Jose will be coming in as one of the most polished pitchers in the state of Florida. He has a very good feel of his pitches that can throw for strike at any count. His fastball has been clocked at 94 mph and has a really good feel of his curveball while his changeup has really good depth. He will be coming in to make a big impact on our team. He works really hard and has made some big gains since the first time we saw him."
 
Joel Pineiro (RHP | Pinecrest, Florida | Westminster Christian)
Coach Collazo on Pineiro: "Joel is the son of a former big leaguer and has very smooth mechanics with the ability to pitch both sides of the plate. He has been clocked at 90 mph with a big 11/5 breaking ball that gets hitters off balanced. He will make big strides in our program and we are very excited to have him."
 
Owen Puk (RHP | Cedar Rapids, Iowa | Marion HS)
Coach Collazo on Puk: "Owen is long and lanky athletic build with a young look and is very projectable physically. He has smooth mechanics on the mound with a high leg lift start and stays tall throughout his delivery with an easy on-line arm action. He has been up to 89 mph and works up and down in the zone well with his fastball. He has a good feel of a CB, that is 12/6, while he is also developing a changeup. We are very excited to see him grow and be a big piece of our pitching staff. His brother AJ Puk is an MLB pitcher for the Oakland A's."
 
Justin Rodriguez (RHP | New York, New York | George Washington Educational)
Coach Collazo on Rodriguez: "Justin has electric stuff on the mound and has a repeatable delivery with a fast-live arm. He throws from a mid 3/4 arm slot with whippy arm action. The fastball comes out of the hand with ease and has been clocked at 93 in the past and has a really good feel of the strike zone. He has the "go-getter" attitude when he is pitching on the mound."
 
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