Van Aken signs with South Alabama

Cody Van Aken, a sidearm relief pitcher for SBCC, has signed a National Letter of Intent to play baseball for the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Ala.

Van Aken went 3-0 with two saves in 22 appearances for the Vaqueros this year as a sophomore. He had a 1.80 ERA in 40 innings with 24 strikeouts and 10 walks. He had 13 scoreless appearances and held opponents to a .187 batting average.

Van Aken is a 6-1 right-hander from Morgan Hill, Calif.

"Cody has been a rock holding down a solid Vaquero bullpen the last two years," said SBCC coach Jeff Walker. "He came to us a converted position player from a Division 2 program and left a Division 1 pitcher. It's another great job by pitching coach Justin Aspegren and the fantastic work he does developing pitchers at Santa Barbara City College."

SBCC enjoyed its best postseason ever this season, winning two best-of-3 series and advancing to the Southern Cal Sectionals. They finished fifth in the state with a 27-15 record.

Eight members of the 2014 Vaquero squad have committed to four-year schools with four getting NCAA Div. 1 scholarships. Three of the four are pitchers -- Tyler Gilbert (USC), Lucas Benenati (Kansas State) and Van Aken – and the fourth is catcher Patrick O'Brien, who's going to UCSB.

Van Aken is having an outstanding summer with the Santa Barbara Foresters in the California Collegiate League. He's 3-0 with two saves In 24.1 innings. He has 31 strikeouts against just four walks with a 1.11 ERA and and has held opponents to a .186 batting average.

"Cody is a sidearm reliever who is low-to-mid 80s with a good slider and has good sink," said South Alabama coach Mark Calvi in a press release. "He is a great addition to our bullpen. Cody is an older guy with experience and he has put up great numbers. We are glad to have him here."

The Jaguars went 22-33 in 2014 and tied for sixth in the 10-team Sun Belt Conference.