Posted by Andrew Drennen

Randal Grichuk is gearing up for the future. The Lamar Consolidated (Sugar Land, Texas) midfielder stands at 6-foot and 195 pounds.

	Courtesy of the Grichuk Family
	Grichuk is off to Arizona next fall.

Last year, the Mustangs finished 29-9-1, and lost a best of three series to Friendswood (2-1), which knocked them out of advancing to the state tournament. This year, Grichuk and the Mustangs look to get into the state tournament.

"We are predicted to make state this year," Grichuk said. "We have a pretty good team."

The Mustangs are going to get a couple of players back this year who got hurt last year.

This year, the team's strength looks to be on the offensive side of the ball. Not only do the Mustangs get Grichuk back, but they also get Cody Robinson back. Robinson is a 6-foot-2, 195-pound outfielder who played with Grichuk on the 2008 Texas Rangers Area Code Baseball Team.

"We have me and Cody Robinson. We both committed to DI schools. We should be able to put some numbers up offensively."

That may be an understatement. Last year, Grichuk put up some solid offensive numbers, including a .406 average with 17 homers and a .924 slugging percentage.

"In high school I would consider myself a power hitter, but maybe at the next level maybe not," he said when asked about his junior year stats. "If I see the right pitch and put a good swing on it, the ball will take care of itself.”

Like many other top high school baseball players -- Grichuk is ranked No. 69 by Baseball America -- he has the opportunity to go this June's amateur draft.

When asked whether there was any pressure to perform this year because of the draft, Grichuk said, "I am going out on my senior year, play and have fun. When draft time comes and if the offer is there and it is right, than that is a possibility, too.”

Before that happens, though, Grichuk committed to the University of Arizona.

"I have already committed and signed with Arizona and I have a great scholarship there,” he said.

He chose Arizona because the coaches showed a lot of interest in him. "I liked the phone conversations we had," he said.

When he went to Tucson and visited the school, Grichuk was able to talk to other players, tour the facilities and get acquainted with the school.

"I went down there, and the facilities they have there are really nice," he said. "I got to talk to some of the players and they liked the way the coaches conducted themselves and the practices. It seemed like a perfect fit for me.”

The Arizona signing class for 2010 is strong. "I met Tommy Joseph and Matt Helm at the home run derby [in Tampa] and then a couple more players when I went on my official visit.”

He said he didn't mind leaving the state to play; he just wanted to go to a winning program. The opportunity to possibly play and contribute right away were keys in his decision.

"We [Arizona] have a chance to go pretty far next year,” he added.

And it looks like Grichuk has a chance to go far this year, too.