Mount Pleasant Pitcher Michael Kopech Commits to Arizona

Mount Pleasant senior right-handed pitcher Michael Kopech, one of the nation's top-rated prospects in the 2014 class, has committed to Arizona.

Kopech (6-4, 190) said he chose Arizona over offers from Rice, TCU, Texas, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, George Washington, Army, Navy and Oregon. He also said he'd been in contact with Texas A&M, Baylor, Arkansas, Miami, North Carolina and UC Santa Barbara.

The hard-throwing pitcher is a 2013 Perfect Game All-American, 2013 Under Armour All-American and a two-time member of the Texas Rangers Area Codes team. Kopech said his fastball consistently sits between 92-96 mph.

Kopech is also expected to be a high-round pick in June's MLB draft. He said he's seen one mock draft in which he's selected with the 16th overall pick, but that most have him going within the first two rounds.

The East Texas 2014 baseball class is developing into one of the deepest and most talent-rich in recent memory. Kopech joins four other area seniors who have committed to Division I programs -- Whitehouse RHP/INF Patrick Mahomes (Texas Tech), Texas High LHP Ryan Fant (Arkansas), Hallsville RHP Connor Reich (TCU) and Chapel Hill LHP Pat Day (Houston). Mahomes is also committed to Texas Tech for football as a quarterback.