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The 2016 Acadiana Cane Cutters are bringing in another deep SEC class this year. Acadiana will welcome Alabama's Sam Finnerty, Zac Rogers, Chandler Taylor, and Cobie Vance. The Cane Cutters will have Brandon Browning from Ole Miss along with Texas A&M's Trey Jimmerson. 

Finnerty, a freshman OF at Alabama, was ranked as the No. 3 recruit in the state of Alabama coming out of Pelham High School in Pelham, Alabama. Finnerty was named the Birmingham Metro Player of the year, Alabama State Hitter of the Year and was selected as a Rawlings All-American in his junior year. He also helped lead his team to the 6A State Championship in 2013. Finnerty is studying biology.

Rogers, a sophomore pitcher at Alabama, garnered an 11.57 ERA with eight strikeouts in his six appearances as freshman. Rogers attended Benjamin Russell High School in Alexander City, Alabama, where he was rated as the 20th overall player in Alabama and the seventh-ranked right-handed pitcher by Perfect Game USA. In two seasons with BRHS, Rogers collected a 9-2 record with a 0.79 ERA in 57 innings. Rogers is studying management.

Taylor, OF, is ranked as the No. 2 player in the state coming out of high school, one spot behind fellow signee Brock Love. Taylor was the top-ranked outfielder in Alabama by Perfect Game USA and was named three times to the first team all-state by the Alabama Sports Writers Association in 2013, 2014 and 2015. Taylor was named All-Metro by the Montgomery Advertiser all four years of high school while earning 2014 All-Metro Player of the Year accolades by the Advertiser. The Advertiser also named Taylor to its All-Metro First Team each of his first three seasons and the young man improved on his stats every year of high school, batting .330, .340 and .400 as a freshman, sophomore and junior, respectively. In Alabama, Taylor was eam leader with 6 homeruns and walks with 28, 16 of which came during Southeastern Conference play. 

Vance, IF, was drafted in the 16th round, 484th overall, by the Cleveland Indians in the 2015 Major League Baseball Draft. The INF ranked as the ninth-best player in North Carolina and the No. 2-ranked second baseman in the state coming out of high school and led Pine Forest High School to a conference championship and a third-round finish in the state tournament as a senior Vance was 2013 and 2014 Underclass Honorable Mention honoree by Perfect Game. For the Crimson Tide, Vance ranks second on the team in his hits with 46 and is third in walks with 15. Vance has hit safely in 15 of 18 SEC games and leads the team in hits with 22 hits and a .306 average against conference foes. 

Ole Miss LHP Browning spent two years at Northwest Florida State College and was coached by Doug Martin where he went 8-3 with a 2.90 ERA and 55 strikeouts as a sophomore to help the team win a NJCAA National Championship. The lefty was named FCSAA State Baseball Tournament Outstanding Pitcher and to the all-tournament team after allowing one run on five hits with 11 strikeouts in a complete-game victory. Browning threw 68 innings as a freshman, finishing the season with a 6-2 record to go along with a 3.20 ERA to earn all-conference honorable mention. Browning attended Homewood High School where he lettered two years where he was an All-metro honorable mention as a senior, going 8-2 and recording 108 strikeouts over 55 innings. 

Jimmerson, OF, a freshman at Texas A&M, was a four-year letterwinner at Concordia Lutheran High School in Tomball, Texas. In high school, Jimmerson posted a .435 career batting average with five home runs and helped lead his team to a state championship in 2015. During his senior year, he was awarded Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools (TAPPS) All-District 3-5A First Team as both a pitcher and an outfielder. He also made 5A All-State first team as a junior and 5A All-State honorable mention as a sophomore. Jimmerson is studying business administration.

The Cane Cutters are excited the SEC wants to play in Acadiana once again this summer. These specific players should be an intrical part to this year's team. 

The season opener is on May 27th as the Cane Cutters take on the three-time defending champion Brazos Valley Bombers in Bryan, Texas. 

For more information on the Cane Cutters, please log onto canecuttersbaseball.com.