JMU BASEBALL WELCOMES SEVEN IN FALL SIGNING PERIOD

HARRISONBURG, Va., Nov. 13, 2009 – James Madison baseball head coach Spanky McFarland announced today the signing of seven student-athletes to national letters of intent to join the Diamond Dukes for the 2010-2011 academic year.

“We're extremely happy with the guys we're bringing in this year,” commented McFarland, who will coach his 13^th season at JMU in 2010. “They fit the general qualities that we look for in our players. They're all athletic. They come from winning programs. They're all leaders in their schools and in their communities. They are the type of people that we like here with JMU baseball.”

The seven newly-signed Diamond Dukes include five right-handed pitchers, two that also play shortstop. The other two signees include another middle infielder and a first baseman/outfielder. They include Conner Brown (Henrico, Va./Godwin), Trent Cundiff (Roanoke, Va./Northside), Michael Howerton (Chesterfield, Va./Matoaca), Ryan Kilmon (Virginia Beach, Va./Kellam), Tyler McFarland (Bridgewater, Va./Turner Ashby), Jarred Tate (Bluff City, Tenn./Virginia H.S.), and Tyler Thornton (Merrick, N.Y./Calhoun).

McFarland added, “All of the pitchers are tall, lean, and possess great upside. They all throw 86 to 91 miles per hour. They all have a chance to gain some weight and mature and become guys to regularly throw in the low 90s. We also have three guys who play shortstop. We've always recruited a lot of shortstops, because typically they are the best athlete on the team. They can shift to other positions as we see fit. We'll see who actually ends up playing shortstop for us, but at the same time, they are athletic enough that they can move around. We're really happy with what we got in the early signing group.”

JMU had nationally-ranked recruiting classes for each freshman class for the 2007 through 2009 seasons. McFarland feels this group will also prove worthy, adding “Athletically, they are right up there with any other recruitin