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Ohio Baseball Inks Five More for Next Season
April 22, 2008
ATHENS, Ohio - Ohio Head Baseball Coach Joe Carbone has announced that five student-athletes have committed during the late signing period to play ball at Ohio University next fall. Michael Dillon (Bel Aire, Md.) and J.R. Reynolds (Cincinnati, Ohio) will join the Bobcats as freshman next season after playing for nationally ranked high school programs, along with junior college transfers Cody Young (Bellefonte, Pa.), Rex Ingham (Colorado Spring, Colo.), and Bryce Butt (Omaha, Neb.). "We feel very good about the pitchers that we have signed during the late signing period," said Carbone. "We also were able to pick up an outstanding infielder and catcher as well." The five signees round out a class of nine, including outfielder Douglas Holmes (Twinsburg, Ohio) pitcher/infielder Nick Egan (Wheaton, Ill.), infielder Julian McWilliams (New York), and infielder Bobby Martin (Crystal Lake, Ill.), all of whom signed during the early signing period in the fall. "This group is a real good addition to what we feel is an outstanding class that we brought in during the early signing period," said Carbone. "Everyone we are bringing in has the ability to contribute immediately." Dillon is a senior pitcher at national powerhouse Calvert Hall Prep in Maryland. Considered one of the top pitchers in the state, the 5-foot-11, 210-pound Dillon has helped lead Calvert Hall to three straight MIAA A Conference championships and a No. 4 national ranking in the final USA Today High School Baseball Poll in 2007. Earlier this season Calvert Hall was ranked No. 1 in the nation in the USA Today rankings. Reynolds currently plays for powerhouse Moeller High School in Cincinnati, Ohio. Reynolds is a 6-foot-1, 175-pound catcher/outfielder for Moeller where he is currently batting .346 with a .433 on base percentage. Last season Reynolds hit .313 with eight runs scored and five RBI. Moeller is currently ranked in the top 30 in the country by Baseball America. Young, an infielder, is transferring to Ohio from Allegany College (Md.), the same school that current Bobcat Matt Smith transferred in from. Young is a sophomore at Allegany, where he is batting .500 on the season (47-for-94), currently third in all of NJCAA Division II in batting average. Young played high school at Bellefonte Area (Pa.), where he batted .427 as a junior and .422 as a senior. Sophomore teammates Ingham and Butt, both right-handed pitchers, will transfer to Ohio from Garden City Community College (Kan.). This year Ingham has started nine games on the mound with a 4-4 record, working 54.1 innings, including five complete games. Ingham has a 3.64 ERA and has struck out 37 batters on the year. Last year as a freshman, Ingham ranked third on the team in starts and fourth in wins. Ingham played high school ball at Cheyenne Mountain High School (Colorado Springs, Colo.). Butt has a team-high six victories on the season and a 2.50 ERA in 57.2 innings on the hill. The right-hander also has a team-high 53 strikeouts and four complete-game shutouts. As a freshman at Garden City, Butt made 24 appearances on the mound and tied a school record with 10 saves. Prior to Garden City, Butt attended Cheyenne Mountain High School, where he recorded four saves as a senior. Holmes currently plays for Twinsburg High School and head coach Don Jones while also competing with the Ohio Yard Dogs summer league team. The 6-foot-1, 185-pounder has played in numerous baseball all-star games and also plays basketball in high school. He plans to major in business management. Egan is a member of the starting rotation for Wheaton Warrenville South and head coach Tim Brylka and the Illinois Sparks summer league team. The 6-foot-1, 190-pounder also played football (tight end and quarterback) for the powerhouse Tigers. He plans to major in business. McWilliams plays for the Beacon School and head coach Tom Couotsos and the NY Nine summer league team. The 6-foot-2, 165-pounder was rated the 28th best prospect in the Northeast by pgcrosschecker.com and also competed in the 2002 Little League World Series on the Harlem team that his father, Morris McWilliams, co-managed. McWilliams was batting leadoff for the squad and scored on a wild pitch to beat Pennsylvania and send Harlem to its first LLWS. He plans to major in English or communications. Martin plays at Prairie Ridge High School for head coach Chuck Lowitzki. The 5-foot-11, 180-pounder plays shortstop, second base and third base and was an all-area honorable mention following his junior season. Martin, who plans to major in business, has also lettered three times in basketball. ---------------------------- |
