TAMPA, Fla. - Head Coach Lelo Prado and the University of South Florida baseball coaching staff were honored by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper on Tuesday with the 40th-best baseball recruiting class in the country.

"To me, rankings don't mean a whole lot, because Fresno State never had a recruiting class ranked, but they won the national championship last year," said Prado. "The only thing I care about is winning the BIG EAST Championship and winning the National Championship."

Prado, along with assistants Lazer Collazo and Bryant Ward, added 12 newcomers to the 2008 USF squad, including 10 freshmen and two transfers.

"This Top 40 ranking is a credit to Bryant and Lazer, and how hard they worked," said Prado. "They have done a great job recruiting."

USF has the third-best class in the BIG EAST Conference and fourth in the state of Florida. In the league, Louisville (No. 36) and Notre Dame (38), edged out the Bulls, while Miami (7), Florida State (8) and Florida (18) are ranked higher in the state.

"When this will pay off for us is in the future, when these players are sophomores and juniors," Prado added. "Along with the class we brought in last year, I feel real good about where USF is going."

The staff has recruited what looks to be one of the best-ever for USF, a lineup that includes five players selected in the Major League Baseball Draft, a Florida Junior College All-Star, the Pasco County Pitcher of the Year, prospects ranked by Baseball America and 11 all-county players.

The MLB draft included five incoming Bulls in Andrew Robinson, Sean Buckley, Alex Mendez, Sam Mende and Matt Reed. USF's top pick of the 2008 draft, Robinson was selected by Seattle in the 25th round, while the Chicago Cubs drafted Buckley just four rounds later. Minnesota picked Mendez in the 38th round, followed by Mende in the 40th by the Yankees and Reed in the 44th by the Dodgers.

"Every kid we bring in here is a good baseball player, it's a matter of if they are going to do the right things in the classroom and the right things on the field, and get better by working hard and becoming a team," Prado said. "If we do that, we have a chance to meet all of our goals."

A complete list of USF's newcomers is listed below.

The Bulls officially start the fall season at Red McEwen Field on Sunday, Sept. 28.