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BYU baseball coach Mike Littlewood has had a big smile on his face this week.
The third-year coach landed the biggest recruit of his short tenure at BYU on Wednesday, getting a signature from Kyle Dean, a 6-foot-2, 215-pound outfielder from Rancho Bernardo High School in San Diego, Calif.
Dean was selected as a 2014 Under Armour All-American and participated last summer in the All-Star Classic in Chicago. He was rated as the No. 1 outfielder in California by Perfect Game, and hit .355 with five home runs and 25 RBIs last season at Poway High before transferring to RBHS for his senior season.
"We can build our program around a guy like that," Littlewood said on BYU SportsNation on Thursday.
Littlewood's task now will be to hold on the prep superstar. Dean, who is not LDS, is projected to be taken in one of the early rounds of June's Major League Baseball draft.
He said on SportsNation that it will take a "significant and life-changing" amount of money to get him away from BYU, however.
"Kyle is a tremendous baseball player and has received many accolades for his performance on the field," Littlewood said. "That being said, he is an even better person off the field and will be a great fit here at BYU."
Among his many achievements, Dean was a member of the USA Baseball 15-under national team in 2012.
Dean had committed to BYU's WCC rival, San Diego, before recommitting a few days ago and deciding on BYU.