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By John Nolan
Assistant Director of Scouting/Content Management 

Stone Bridge third basemen and righthanded pitcher David Mocabee has committed to attend James Madison University in the fall of 2016. Mocabee and teammates Brett Kreyer (LHP, 2016, Lafayette) and John Callahan (MIF, 2016, George Mason) will form a strong core in 2016 for the defending 5A State Champion Bulldogs. Mocabee and Kreyer were a devastating one-two punch on the mound and Mocabee anchored the lineup for Stone Bridge, which will again be one of the most talented teams in 5A this spring.

On the mound, Mocabee throws from a three-quarters slot and has a tall-and-fall delivery. He has a short arm action that is very fast. His shoulders are closed and slightly downhill as he strides down the mound and he lands square before falling off as he finishes. During the 5A Regional Tournament in June, his fastball sat 87-89 in his first two innings of work with slight armside run and good downhill plane. He held 85-86 with the ability to grab an 87 throughout the game. He threw a slow 11/5 curveball that he sometimes slowed his arm down a bit on and came in 67-72. The pitch was good when thrown with similar action to his fastball.

At the plate, Mocabee hit from a tall and athletic stance. He has a small stride that maintained its line and balance. He has a slight load back with lower half explosion to the ball. Mocabee maintains his balance throughout the swing and he showed a fast bat with an exit velocity of 89 mph at the Pre-Season All-State Showcase. Mocabee’s swing path stayed level with good extension. His stroke should result in line drives with gap to gap power. In the field, he threw from a three-quarters arm slot with a loose arm action. His throws were accurate with a positional velocity of 84 mph. He showed soft hands and fluid footwork and played through the ball well, demonstrating clean exchanges.

When he arrives at James Madison, Mocabee will be a member of new James Madison Head Coach Marlin Ikenberry’s first recruiting class. Coach Ikenberry has taken advantage of the strength of the 2016 class in Virginia and has also gotten commitments from Kevin Kelly (RHP, 2016, Paul VI) and Fox Semones (MIF/RHP, 2016, C.D. Hylton) in the last few weeks. While at James Madison, Mocabee will be a corner infielder that should end up as a middle of the lineup run producer with power. There is an outside chance that he will continue in the role that he has at Stone Bridge and help the Dukes on the mound.

Congrats David!