Nov. 24, 2008

ATHENS, Ohio - Ohio baseball head coach Joe Carbone has announced the signing of nine student-athletes during the early recruiting period. Brett Barber, Bryan Barnes, Ryan Bores, Jeff Hunt, Sam Mahoney, Marck Paliotto, Matt Robin, Seth Streich and Brock Trimbur, part of Ohio's 2009 recruiting class, will join the Ohio baseball team at the start of next school year.

"Our number one goal in the early recruiting season was to replace the eight pitchers we'll be losing with this year's graduating class. We feel that we've signed six outstanding arms, and along with that, we signed three tremendous hitters that will really help our team next year," Carbone said. "I want to give credit to Andrew See, our recruiting coordinator, and Scott Malinowski for getting out and doing a good job of evaluating talent and convincing the recruits to visit Ohio University. We're real excited about this year's recruiting class."

Brett Barber, RHP/SS
6-1/170 pounds ~ Bats: R/Throws: R
Hurricane, W.Va. ~ Hurricane High School
Barber, a native of Hurricane, W.Va., plays shortstop and pitcher for Hurricane High School, while starting all three years under the direction of coach Billy Joe Hicks. The 6-1, 170-pounder was named the Daily Mail Kanawha Valley Freshman of the Year in 2006 and was Honorable Mention All-West Virginia in '06 and '07. In three years, Barber has compiled a 14-1 career record and had a 1.26 ERA in 2008. The right-hander has a 3.5 GPA and hopes to study in the medical field at Ohio.

Bryan Barnes, SS/3B/2B
5-10/170 pounds ~ Bats: L/Throws: R
Mountlake Terrace, Wash. ~ Bellevue Community College (Wash.)
Barnes, a native of Mountlake Terrace, Wash., is a shortstop in his first year at Bellevue Community College, coached by Mark Yoshino. Prior to Bellevue, the 5-10, 170-pounder spent two years at Gonzaga, one of which he redshirted. At Mountlake Terrace High School, Barnes earned four varsity letters while playing for head coach Andrew Watters. In high school, Barnes posted a .485 batting average and was named Second-Team All- 4A Washington and All-Wesco South Division First Team as a senior. He earned a 3.75 GPA in high school and plans to major in marketing.

Ryan Bores, RHP
6-3/195 pounds ~ Bats: R/Throws: R
Strongsville, Ohio ~ Strongsville High School
Bores, a right-handed pitcher from Strongsville, Ohio, is in his senior year at Strongsville High School and is coached by former Bobcat All-American Josh Sorge. In 2008, the 6-3, 195-pound hurler was 5-1 with two saves and was named First-Team All-Northeast Ohio Conference. Bores also lettered in basketball at Strongsville and is an honor roll student. He hopes to major in engineering at Ohio.

Jeff Hunt, 3B/1B/OF/RHP
6-3/170 pounds ~ Bats: L/Throws: R
Cambridge, Ont. ~ St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School
Hunt, an infielder from Cambridge, Ont., attends St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School, where he also plays basketball and volleyball. The left-handed batter plays first and third base for the Intercounty Terriers summer league team, which is coached by Dan Thompson. At 6-3, 180 pounds, Hunt is ranked the second-best position prospect in Canada in the class of 2009 by pgcrosschecker.com and plays for the Canadian Junior National Team. He has a 3.5 core GPA and plans to major in business while attending Ohio.

Sam Mahoney, C
6-5/220 pounds ~ Bats: L/Throws: R
Mt. Pleasant, S.C. ~ Okaloosa-Walton College (now Northwest Florida State College)
Mahoney, originally from Mt. Pleasant, S.C., is in his first year at Okaloosa-Walton College, now called Northwest Florida State College, and is coached by Doug Martin. Prior to Okaloosa-Walton, the 6-5, 220-pound catcher spent two years at the University of South Carolina, where he redshirted his first year. The left-handed batter, right-handed thrower was named a Puma Preseason All-American in 2006 as a senior, and he earned all-conference honors in both football and baseball at Wando High School. He also garnered 2006 All-Impact Team honors by impactbaseball.com. Under the direction of head coach Jeff Blankenship at Wando High, Mahoney had 21 RBIs, scored 19 runs and hit eight doubles in his senior campaign, helping the team to a district championship. He hopes to major in English at Ohio.

Marck Paliotto, LHP
6-1/185 pounds ~ Bats: R/Throws: L
Columbus, Ohio ~ Bishop Watterson High School
Paliotto is a left-handed pitcher from Bishop Watterson High School and is coached by Tony Cleveland. The Columbus, Ohio native is a three-year varsity letterwinner, who was selected second-team all-conference last year as a junior and led the team in innings pitched and strikeouts. The 6-1, 185-pound left-hander was also named a First-Team Legion All-Star, while playing on the Post 82 Legion summer league team, which is coached by Mark Fester. Paliotto also plays basketball and tennis. He has a 3.2 GPA at Watterson High and is undecided on what he will study at Ohio.

Matt Robin, LHP
5-10/170 pounds ~ Bats: L/Throws: L
Buffalo Grove, Ill. ~ Stevenson High School
Robin, a left-handed pitcher from Buffalo Grove, Ill., plays for Stevenson High School under coach Paul Mazzuca. The 5-10, 170-pounder was named to the 2008 North Suburban Conference All-Star Team and the 33rd-best player from Illinois in the class of 2009 by prepbaseballreport.com. As a junior in 2008, Robin was 4-3 in 10 games and compiled a 2.68 ERA in 36.2 innings pitching, while striking out 59 batters and walking just 17. He has a 3.2 GPA in high school and plans to study business and Spanish.

Seth Streich, RHP/IF
6-3/200 pounds ~ Bats: L/Throws: R
Johnsonburg, Pa. ~ Johnsonburg Area High School
Streich, a right-handed pitcher and infielder at Johnsonburg Area High School in Pennsylvania, is a three-time first-team all-district selection. The left-handed batter helped lead his team to the 2007 state championship game under coach Jeff Peterson by hitting .449 from the plate, with eight home runs, eight doubles and 24 RBIs. He also went 7-1 on the mound in his sophomore season, with a 1.45 ERA in 58 innings pitched, and struck out 78. Last year, Streich hit .475 with five home runs, eight doubles and 20 RBIs, while throwing 27 innings and ringing up 50 batters with a 2.85 ERA. The Johnsonburg, Pa. native was named the top pitcher and top prospect by baseballfactory.com at the Pittsburgh Under Armour Training Camp in 2008 and was a Pennsylvania Region 8 Legion All-Star in 2007. Streich, a 6-3, 200-pounder, also plays basketball in high school. He has a 3.64 GPA and plans to study English and public speaking at Ohio.

Brock Trimbur, RHP
6-4/175 pounds ~ Bats: L/Throws: R
New Albany, Ohio ~ Gahanna Lincoln High School
Trimbur, the younger brother of current Bobcat Ben Trimbur, is a right-handed pitcher from New Albany, Ohio and attends Gahanna Lincoln High School, where he is coached by Brian Hall. The 6-4, 175-pound hurler was named first-team all-district and first-team all-conference last season, when he went 9-1 on the mound with a 1.82 ERA, while striking out 58 batters in 60 innings of work. As a junior in 2008, his nine wins set the school's single-season wins record and helped lead his team to a district title. At the plate, Trimbur hit .315 with two home runs, two triples, six doubles and 32 RBIs a year ago. He is ranked as the third-best pitching prospect in Ohio for the class of 2009 by pgcrosschecker.com. Trimbur plans to major in business while attending Ohio.

Ohio begins its 2009 season Feb. 20, when the Bobcats travel to Davidson, N.C. to take on the Davidson Wildcats.