MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - In Phase I of what could be his strongest recruiting class to date, Middle Tennessee men's golf coach Whit Turnbow announced the signing of three of the top golfers in the country to join the 25th ranked Blue Raiders as freshmen next fall.

The trio includes Brett Patterson of McMinnville, TN, and a pair of standouts from Kentucky in Paul Sansom of Russellville and Sammy Thompson of Paducah.

"These three are certainly a great way to start our signing class," declared Turnbow. "All three young men, first and foremost, are great students, ranked highly in their class, and they are exactly the kind of student-athlete that we are looking for at Middle Tennessee."

"We expect these three to come in and contribute right away, which is why we recruited them," added Turnbow.

Patterson is ranked as the No. 28 prospect in the nation in the Class of 2010. He was first in the Tennessee Section Junior PGA, second in the Press Thornton Future Masters, 15th at the National PGA Junior Championships, and second in the Class AAA Tennessee State High School Championship tournament.

He was recruited by Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Memphis, Kentucky, Wisconsin and Iowa State.

"Brett Patterson actually committed to us over a year ago, so he believes in us, and we believe in him," said Turnbow.

Sansom and Thompson dominated the Kentucky high school season last spring, and both were named to the KHSAA All-State team.

"Between these two, I am guessing that they won 15-20 individual tournament titles this past year alone," said Turnbow.

Sansom was sixth at the AJGA Bluegrass Junior tournament, 3rd in the Florida Junior Championship, 2nd at the PGA Junior Series Championship and third in the Kentucky High School Championship.

"Paul is a very solid player with a knack for playing well on difficult golf courses," said Turnbow.

Sansom, who was also recruited by Purdue and Louisville, will be a Presidential Scholar at Middle Tennessee.

Thompson was 9th at both the AJGA Lessings Classic and the Kentucky High School Championship. He is a friend of former Blue Raider star Rick Cochran.

"Sammy is a well-rounded player with tremendous potential," added Turnbow.

Turnbow said a major factor in the signing of these three stars was the Middle Tennessee facility at Champions Run Golf Club.

"It has been huge for us in recruiting, and is a tremendous facility. It's the first thing prospective recruits want to see when they get here. It's been great," said Turnbow.

Middle Tennessee, the defending Sun Belt Conference champions, finished the fall season with two wins in four tournaments and are ranked 25th nationally. The Blue Raiders will open the spring season in February.

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