Trio of ASU baseball players to play with summer collegiate team

Arizona State baseball players Brandon Bonilla, Kasey Coffman and James McDonald have been added to the Newport Gulls 2012 roster. The Gulls are the four-time champions of the New England Collegiate Baseball League.

Bonilla, from Geenwich, Conn., and graduate of IMG Academy-Pendleton School, is a left-handed freshman pitcher for the Sun Devils. During his senior year of high school, Bonilla struck out 97 batters in 78 innings and had a 2.51 ERA. He was then drafted in the 37th round (1,128th overall) by the Colorado Rockies in the 2011 MLB Draft.

Coffman, a sophomore and native of Phoenix, graduated from Brophy Prep in 2010 and will help patrol the outfield for the Devils this coming season. Coffman was a member of the Don Mattingly World Series Champs in 2009 as well as the Connie Mack State Champs in 2010. Coffman had three appearances for the Sun Devils last season, going 1-for-3 with an RBI.

Finishing out the trio is Phoenix native McDonald. McDonald is a sophomore infielder for the Sun Devils who graduated from Chaparral High School, where he was a 2010 First Team All-State and All-Region selection. He earned MVP honors in the 5A-II All-Star Game and helped Chaparral win a state title in 2008. McDonald was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 11th round (338th overall) of the 2010 MLB draft. He appeared in five games for the Devils last season and recorded his first career hit, a double, at Washington.

All three Sun Devils will head to the Newport Gulls after the Sun Devils' regular season ends. The Gulls begin their season with a home opener on June 8 and will be led by their returning coaching staff. The coaching staff consists of head coach Mike Coombs and assistant coaches Kevin Long and Al Leyva. Long and Leyva will be returning for their second seasons, while Coombs will be returning for his eighth season at the helm of the Gulls.