Football is over and I am not really into hoops, so it's time to start looking at the emerald chessboard...

Baseball America Ranks USC at #11 in Recruiting.

USC is No. 11 in the 2011 Recruiting Class Rankings released by Baseball America on October 20. The Trojans class had been ranked as high as No. 5 by Collegiate Baseball Magazine earlier this fall.

The 19-man USC recruiting class includes 12 position players and seven pitchers. Six of the players were drafted in the 2011 MLB Draft and two undrafted players were All-Americans, all of whom decided to enroll at USC instead of beginning a professional career.

"We are very excited about our incoming class of players," said USC Head Coach Frank Cruz. "There is a lot of talent in this recruiting class with a good balance of pitching and offense. We are obviously very excited when this many players who were drafted decide to come to school instead."

I know Frank Cruz wasn't the coach that many wanted to guide USC Baseball back to prominence, me included, but I am more than willing to give him a chance.

Before you know it the season will start!