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 First-year head coach Bobby Moranda signed three for this season and five for his recruiting class next season. |
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Jan. 23, 2008
Cullowhee, N.C. - Western Carolina first-year head coach Bobby Moranda today announced the signing of eight student-athletes, three of which will play for the Catamounts in the rapidly approaching 2008 campaign. Junior transfer Iain Sebastian (Georgia), sophomore Stephen Notaro (Pierce College) and freshman Ryan Mathews (Florida) each enrolled in WCU for the spring semester, with five signing National Letters of Intent for next season.
Garrett Baker (Rome, N.Y./Rome Free Academy), Andrew Blackwell (Pisgah Forest, N.C./Brevard HS), Trevor Collias (Marietta, Ga./Young Harris College), Kyle Stewart (Onalaska, Wisc./Onalaska HS) and Jason Sullivan (Shelbyville, Ill./Kaskaskia College) each signed a NLI with Moranda's Catamounts for next season, he and his staff's first official recruiting class.
"By adding Ryan (Mathews), Stephen (Notaro) and Iain (Sebastian), we have addressed our needs and have added solid people to our program this year," said Moranda of his three transfers joining the roster immediately. "The three of them will compete for playing time immediately. We are happy they are part of the Catamount family and look forward to them contributing as we work toward our goals."
About the incoming class for next season, Moranda added, "I feel like my assistant coaches Nick Mingione and David Haverstick have assembled a great recruiting class. From the time they were hired in late July, the two of them were relentless in their efforts. This class features players from five different states - for our coaches to be able to go into that many areas and sign players with this talent is remarkable, and says something about Western Carolina University and our baseball program."
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Iain Sebastian
6-4, 240 lbs., RHP, Jr.
Columbus, Ga. / Columbus HS / Univ. of Georgia
Prior to Western: Played his first two years as a part of the Georgia Bulldog pitching staff making his collegiate debut in the starting role against Garner-Webb on April 4, 2006 ... In an exhibition game against the Atlanta Braves, posted three strikeouts (Chipper Jones, Brian McCann and Pete Orr) in two innings pitched allowing one run on one hit ... Was a part of the 2006 squad that advanced to Omaha ... In two seasons at Georgia, pitched 23 innings, including 14 relief appearances ... Twice pitched a career-high 2.2 innings as a sophomore.
High School: Was a highly recruited prospect out of Columbus HS in Columbus, Ga. ... Posted a 9-3 record and hit seven HRs in helping the Blue Devils to the state title as a senior ... Went unbeaten with a perfect 13-0 record as a junior with a 1.86 ERA, 116 Ks in 79 innings pitched while also hitting .355 ... Selected in the 29th round of the 2005 Major League Baseball draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Personal: Son of John and Amaree Sebastian ... His father, John, was drafted and played two years of professional baseball with the Kansas City Royals organization.
Coach Moranda's Comments:
"I absolutely loved Iain out of high school. He brings maturity and confidence to an already solid pitching staff. We plan on having Iain swing the bat for us this spring, as well, which will add another left-handed bat option to our lineup."
Stephen Notaro
6-0, 175 lbs., C, So.
Thousand Oaks, Calif. / Pierce College / Westlake HS
Prior to Western: Played as a freshman for the Los Angeles Pierce College Brahmas, a member of the Western States Conference South Division (WSC South) ... Hit .333 last season as a rookie while also catching both games for PC in the California State Tournament ... Was a three-year Big League All-Star, belting a three-run home run in helping Thousand Oaks capture the Section 2 title.
Coach Moranda's Comments:
"Stephen makes the third player we have on our roster from California. He brings much needed experience behind the plate which will pay big dividends for us this spring. He can really play the game and works well with pitchers."
Ryan Mathews
6-4, 190 lbs., Inf., Fr.
Orlando, Fla. / Univ. of Florida / Boone HS
Prior to Western: Signed last fall to play at Florida before the Gators went through a coaching change at the end of the 2007 season ... Transferred into WCU prior to the Spring 2008 semester.
High School: Earned honorable mention all-state recognition in Class 3A at Boone HS when he was 4-1 on the mound and turned in a stellar batting average of .406 as a first baseman for head coach Pete Post ... Collected All-Central Florida, All-Orange County and All-Metro Conference accolades ... As a sophomore, was a second-team all-state selection after leading the 6A state runner-up squad in hitting (.429), runs batted in (36) and doubles (11) ... On the hill, he sported a 5-1 mark and a 1.05 ERA on his way to first-team All-Central Florida, All-Orange County and All-Metro Conference kudos ... He was also a member of Chet Lemon's Orlando Juice squad that captured the World Wood Bat Association (WWBA) Championship and was part of AAU national title teams in 1999 and 2002 ... 2007 Perfect Game ranked him the #123 prospect in the nation and #36 ranked positional player.
Coach Moranda's Comments:
"I really liked Ryan out of high school. He has played against some of the best competition in the country, which should prove to be helpful as he competes for playing time this spring. Ryan's ability to hit for power is something our team welcomes and we are excited he is here."
Western Carolina 2008-09 Signing Class:
Garrett Baker
6-5, 190 lbs., LHP
Rome, N.Y. (Rome Free Academy)
High School: Enters his senior season as a three-time Rome Free Academy Pitcher of the Year, ranking third on the school's all-time career strikeouts list (135) ... Rated as the 19th-best player in the state of New York by Perfect Game ... Was selected to play in the 2005 and 2007 East Coast Professional Baseball Showcase ... One of 16 players from the Northeast region to play against Team Japan at Doubleday Field in the Goodwill Games XVII ... Off the diamond, is also the captain and three-time MVP of the RFA basketball team.
Coach Moranda's Comments:
"Garrett is extremely athletic and has a very high ceiling. He comes from a baseball family and has tremendous make-up and ability that should help him pitch early in his collegiate career."
Andrew Blackwell
6-2, 215 lbs., RHP/INF
Pisgah Forest, N.C. (Brevard HS)
High School: A two-time Western Athletic Conference (WAC) selection in 2006 and '07 ... Named Times News Player of the Week en route to being named All-Area by the same publication ... Was a two-time Citizen-Times All-Area selection as an honorable mention ... Played in the North Carolina State Games in 2007.
Coach Moranda's Comments:
"Andrew is a two-way player that we feel has an excellent future on the mound. He has been pitching for such a short time and has progressed at an incredible rate."
Trevor Collias
6-3, 200 lbs., OF, Jr.
Marietta, Ga. / Young Harris / Pope HS
Prior to Western: Is coming off a year in which he took a medical hardship after suffering an injury that forced him to miss the entire 2007 season ... As a freshman hit .314, with three doubles, two homeruns, eleven runs batted in, and four stolen bases ... Mentored under former WCU player and graduate assistant, Alan Beck, while at Young Harris.
Coach Moranda's Comments:
"Trevor is an exciting player - he combines power and speed. He has fully recovered from the injury that kept him out last season and we look forward to him having a good red-shirt sophomore season at Young Harris for Coach Robinson."
Kyle Stewart
6-5, 190 lbs., RHP/INF
Onalaska, Wisc. / Onalaska HS
High School: Enters his senior season as a three-year starter ... Rated as the #7 player in Wisconsin by Perfect Game ... Earned all-conference accolades each of the past two seasons, garnering a first team nod in 2006 and a second-team selection a year ago ... Has hit over .350 each of the past two years including a .396 average in `06 ... Has additionally played for the Onalaska American Legion and Midwest Blazers Scout Teams during the summer ... Is also a three-year letter winner in basketball where he averaged 17 points and seven rebounds per game in 2006-07 to earn first team all-conference honors.
Coach Moranda's Comments:
"Kyle is another two-way player that is extremely athletic, which is further demonstrated by his basketball statistics. We feel he has an excellent future on the mound, and can help us offensively, as well."
Jason Sullivan
6-2, 205 lbs., RHP, Jr.
Shelbyville, Ill. / Kaskaskia College / Shelbyville HS
Prior to Western: Enters his sophomore season at Kaskaskia College ... As a freshman, went 3-0 with a 2.88 ERA and struck out 33 batters in 25 innings ... Overall, including two fall and one spring season, has gone 8-1 with 72 strikeouts with a cumulative ERA around 2.50 ... While at KC, he was a member of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society ... Last summer, pitched for the Medicine Hat (Alberta, Canada) Mavericks of the Western Major Baseball League (WMBL) tossing 51.1 innings with 42 strikeouts.
High School: As a senior, posted an overall record of 7-2 with an earned run average of 2.17 with 95 strikeouts earning all-conference, all-area, and all-state accolades.
Coach Moranda's Comments:
"Jason is a winner. He provides valuable experience on the mound and has won at every level at which he has competed. He will be counted on to make an immediate impact for us next season."
