MORGANTOWN —
West Virginia University’s new baseball coach Randy Mazey has landed his first recruiting class of 19 players.
“We are very excited about our first recruiting class for Mountaineer baseball,” Mazey said. “Our coaching staff was not in place until mid-July, but coach (Derek) Matlock and coach (Steven) Trout did an unbelievable job of finding some good quality players in a short period of time. This year’s recruiting class will be the nucleus of West Virginia baseball for the years to come.”
The class is made up of nine pitchers, two catchers, four infielders and four outfielders, including two players who were previously chosen in the Major League Baseball draft.
The two chosen in the draft were 6-foot, 8-inch, 225-pound Brock Dykxhoorn of Goderich, Ontario, Canada, selected in the 20th round of the 2012 draft by the Cincinnati Reds, and John Means, a 6-3, 225-pound left-hander out Fort Scott Community College in Kansas, taken in the 46th round of the 2011 draft by the Atlanta Braves.
The other pitchers chosen were Sean Carley (Melbourne, Fla.), Corey Holmes (Waco, Texas), Ryan Hostrander (Williamsport, Pa.), Stephen Miele (Allentown, Pa.), Pascal Paul (Merrill, Wis.), Cale Russell (Norman, Okla.) and Michael Teagle (Houston, Texas).
The position players include Nick Chafin (Lexington, Ky.), Michael Constantini (Yardville, N.J.), Ray Guerrini (Highland Heights, Ohio), Taylor Munden (Lewisville, Texas), Dan Pappas (Chicago, Ill.), Jacob Rice (Tulsa, Okla.), Billy Sager (Kenova), Alex Stephens (Wheeling), Ryan Tuntland (Des Plaines, Ill.) and Shaun Wood (Arlington, Va.). Munden will see time on the mound as well.
Two West Virginians are in the class, outfielder Sager of Spring Valley High, where he batted .505 as a senior with six homers and 31 RBI, and infielder Stephens of the Linsly School in Wheeling, who hit .533 with six homers, 34 RBI and a school-record 33 stolen bases.
The class certainly represents America as there are 12 states represented, plus Canada. The breakdown is two West Virginians, three from Texas, two from Pennsylvania, Oklahoma and Illinois, and one each from Florida, Kansas, Wisconsin, Kentucky, New Jersey and Virginia.
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Dan McLean has joined the Mountaineer Athletic Club staff from Fresno State as a major gifts officer.
The announcement was made by athletic director Oliver Luck.
McLean comes to WVU after spending the last two years at Fresno, serving as the director of major gifts before ascending to the assistant athletic director for development position in July 2011. At WVU, he will work toward securing high-end annual gifts and funds for major capital projects, as well as endowing student-athlete scholarships.
In his last year at Fresno State, McLean managed the day-to-day operation of the Bulldog Foundation, including the annual fund, major gifts and sports clubs. He also was the administration’s operational liaison with the BDF Board of Directors and assumed responsibility for the organization. McLean led fundraising efforts that raised more than $7 million annually for Fresno State athletics as a part of the $200 million University “Campaign for Fresno State.”
Within the past year at Fresno State, McLean was the lead solicitor on a $205,000 gift and two $100,000 gifts toward construction of the Sports Medicine Center. He also collaborated on a $1 million gift for the linguistics program and oversaw a $1 million planned gift for the women’s softball program.
Throughout his first year at Fresno State, McLean was a driving force behind the Bulldog Stadium FieldTurf project, including direct contributions of $100,000 in gifts, other capital campaigns and significant donations for student-athlete scholarships.
McLean received his bachelor’s degree in applied arts from Central Michigan University in 2004 and his master’s degree in sport administration from Wayne State University in 2007. He and his wife, Lindsay, have one son, Moxon.
Also within the MAC, Matt Borman has been elevated to associate athletic director/executive director. John Matsko is now the assistant athletic director/director of annual giving, and Ben Murray will assume the role of assistant athletic director/director of major gifts.
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The West Virginia University volleyball team opens its 2012 season with the Mountaineer Invitational today and Saturday at the WVU Coliseum.
The Mountaineers begin competition today with matches against St. Francis at 2 p.m., and Central Connecticut at 7 p.m. Competition continues Saturday with a match against Loyola-Maryland at 5 p.m.
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With the WVU Nike Classic slated to begin this Saturday, West Virginia officials are planning several promotional days this fall for the Mountaineer men’s soccer team.
WVU’s home opener at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium with Hartford on Saturday at 7 p.m., is one of three matches designated as “Dollar Days,” with all tickets, hot dogs, popcorn and Coca-Colas available for purchase for just one dollar each. The following games also are scheduled as “Dollar Days” – Sept. 15 vs. American, 7 p.m.; Oct. 7 vs. Buffalo, 1 p.m.
The home opener against Hartford also is “Poster Night” with free 2012 men’s soccer schedule posters featuring seniors Peabo Doue, Pat Eavenson, Uwem Etuk, Francis Molasoko, Travis Pittman, Eric Schoenle and Shadow Sebele available for fans.
Area high school teams are invited to attend West Virginia’s match with Oakland on Sunday, Sept. 9, at 1 p.m., by completing the high school form on wvusports.com’s promotion page. The Oakland match also is WVU faculty-staff appreciation day.
Area youth soccer teams are invited to attend the Florida Atlantic match on Sunday, Sept. 23, against Florida Atlantic at 2:30 p.m., as part of a celebration of U.S. Youth Soccer Month.
Sunday, Oct. 14, will be “Senior Day,” with all senior players being recognized prior to the 1 p.m. kickoff against Hartwick.
WVU Sports
WVU baseball lands big recruiting class
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