University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Photo by: Pitt Athletics
Pitt Begins Fall Practice, Welcomes 14 Newcomers
10/11/2020 8:04:00 PM | Baseball
PITTSBURGH – Pitt baseball had its first practice of the 2020 fall season Monday at Charles L. Cost Field. The practice served as the first for its 14 newcomers of the 2020 recruiting class.
"We are extremely excited to be back working together and continuing to build and develop for the 2021 season," said Pitt head coach Mike Bell. "Our players and staff have worked diligently in the early periods of phasing in our student-athletes from skill and strengthening periods that put us in a great position for the next 5 weeks of our fall development/practice period. Our staff (Ty Megahee and Drew Linder) did a phenomenal job with our 14 newcomers. They most definitely add a lot of depth and balance to our lineup as we continue to build each and every day."
BREAKDOWN OF THE NEWCOMERS
The Panthers signed a mix of players from the high school ranks, junior colleges and DI grad transfers. David Ferguson, CJ Funk, Lucas Ismaili, Jackson Phinney, Dom Popa and Cole Zak come straight out of high school and will be freshmen. Josh Collett, Davis Swenson, Dominic Verrastro and Brock Franks come to Pittsburgh from their respective junior college.
Stephen Hansen (Iona), Jordan McCrum (Monmouth), Ramon Padilla (Little Rock) and Matt Tarabek (Fordham) will finish their collegiate careers as Panthers. With the NCAA granting an extra year of eligibility to all spring sport athletes due to COVID 19 ending the season in March, all four have one more year after graduating from their previous DI schools.
Recruits by Position:
Recruits by State (Hometown):
FIRST PRACTICE FOR COACHING STAFF
Not only was it the official beginning for the 14 newcomers as a Pitt Panther, three coaches had their first official practice on Cost Field. Assistant coach Matt Reida, volunteer assistant Devin Mesoraco and student assistant Nick Yarnall are guiding their respective position groups through individual drills. Reida works with fellow assistant Ty Megahee with the offensive efforts, Mesoraco is primarily with the catchers' position and Yarnall helps Megahee with the outfielders and first basemen.
The Panthers have five weeks of official practice starting Monday, Oct. 12. Due to university rules and local law, all practices are closed to the public.
While not permitted to play outside competition this fall per NCAA rules, the Panthers will still conclude their fall workouts with the annual Blue & Gold Series (Dates are TBA).
FULL NEWCOMER INFO
JOSH COLLETT Right-Handed Pitcher (Seminole State/Dunedin/Dunedin, Fla.)
DAVID FERGUSON – Right-Handed Pitcher (Downingtown East/Downingtown, Pa.)
BROCK FRANKS – Shortstop (Northwest Florida State/Rancho Bernardo/San Diego, Calif.)
CJ FUNK – Outfielder (Bellefonte Area/Bellefonte, Pa.)
STEPHEN HANSEN – Right-Handed Pitcher (Iona/Manalapan/Manalapan, N.J.)
LUCAS ISMAILI – Shortstop/Right-Handed Pitcher (East Lake/Dunedin, Fla.)
JORDAN MCCRUM – Right-handed Pitcher (Monmouth/Dallas Senior/Dallas, Pa.)
RAMON PADILLA - Catcher (Little Rock/Illinois Central College/Andrew/Tinley Park, Ill.)
JACKSON PHINNEY – Catcher (Greenough/Marshfield, Mass.)
DOM POPA – Outfielder (Seton LaSalle/Pittsburgh, Pa.)
DAVIS SWENSON Right-Handed-Pitcher (Gordon State/Stephens County/Toccoa, Ga.)
MATT TARABEK – Infielder (Fordham/Hempfield/Irwin, Pa.)
DOMINIC VERRASTRO Right-Handed Pitcher (Lackawanna College/Lakeland/Scott Township, Pa.)
COLE ZAK - Outfielder (Mayfield/Gates Mills, Ohio)
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram
"We are extremely excited to be back working together and continuing to build and develop for the 2021 season," said Pitt head coach Mike Bell. "Our players and staff have worked diligently in the early periods of phasing in our student-athletes from skill and strengthening periods that put us in a great position for the next 5 weeks of our fall development/practice period. Our staff (Ty Megahee and Drew Linder) did a phenomenal job with our 14 newcomers. They most definitely add a lot of depth and balance to our lineup as we continue to build each and every day."
BREAKDOWN OF THE NEWCOMERS
The Panthers signed a mix of players from the high school ranks, junior colleges and DI grad transfers. David Ferguson, CJ Funk, Lucas Ismaili, Jackson Phinney, Dom Popa and Cole Zak come straight out of high school and will be freshmen. Josh Collett, Davis Swenson, Dominic Verrastro and Brock Franks come to Pittsburgh from their respective junior college.
Stephen Hansen (Iona), Jordan McCrum (Monmouth), Ramon Padilla (Little Rock) and Matt Tarabek (Fordham) will finish their collegiate careers as Panthers. With the NCAA granting an extra year of eligibility to all spring sport athletes due to COVID 19 ending the season in March, all four have one more year after graduating from their previous DI schools.
Recruits by Position:
- Outfielders: Funk, Popa and Zak
- Infielders: Franks, Ismaili and Tarabek
- Catchers: Padilla and Phinney
- Pitchers: Collett, Ferguson, Hansen, McCrum, Swenson and Verrastro
Recruits by State (Hometown):
- California: Franks (San Diego)
- Florida: Collett (Dunedin) and Ismaili (Dunedin)
- Georgia: Swenson (Toccoa)
- Illinois: Padilla (Tinley Park)
- Massachusetts: Phinney (Marshfield)
- New Jersey: Hansen (Manalapan)
- Ohio: Zak (Gates Mills)
- Pennsylvania: Ferguson (Downingtown), Funk (Bellefonte), McCrum (Dallas), Popa (Pittsburgh), Tarabek (Irwin) and Verrastro (Scott Township)
FIRST PRACTICE FOR COACHING STAFF
Not only was it the official beginning for the 14 newcomers as a Pitt Panther, three coaches had their first official practice on Cost Field. Assistant coach Matt Reida, volunteer assistant Devin Mesoraco and student assistant Nick Yarnall are guiding their respective position groups through individual drills. Reida works with fellow assistant Ty Megahee with the offensive efforts, Mesoraco is primarily with the catchers' position and Yarnall helps Megahee with the outfielders and first basemen.
The Panthers have five weeks of official practice starting Monday, Oct. 12. Due to university rules and local law, all practices are closed to the public.
While not permitted to play outside competition this fall per NCAA rules, the Panthers will still conclude their fall workouts with the annual Blue & Gold Series (Dates are TBA).
FULL NEWCOMER INFO
JOSH COLLETT Right-Handed Pitcher (Seminole State/Dunedin/Dunedin, Fla.)
- Made five starts in eight appearances with Seminole State in 2020 with a 3-2 record, 3.19 ERA, 31 strikeouts and one save
- Appeared in 11 games in 2019 with five starts, a 3-0 record, 3.98 ERA and 28 strikeouts in 31.2 innings pitched.
- Helped Dunedin to a state championship appearance in 2017.
- Played for South West Florida.
DAVID FERGUSON – Right-Handed Pitcher (Downingtown East/Downingtown, Pa.)
- Heled Downingtown East to a league championship in 2019 and quarterfinal appearance in the state playoffs.
- Finished his senior season with an 8-1 record, 1.7 ERA, and 70 strikeouts in 51 innings.
- Named First Team All-Ches-Mont and second team all-area junior year.
BROCK FRANKS – Shortstop (Northwest Florida State/Rancho Bernardo/San Diego, Calif.)
- Played in 23 games in 2020 with a .314 on-base percentage and .382 slugging percentage, collecting eight extra-base hits with five RBI's and nine walks.
- Recorded a .349 on-base percentage in 2019 with three homers, 27 RBI's and seven stolen bases.
- Led Rancho Bernardo to conference championships in his junior and senior years.
- Named team's best defensive player in his senior year.
CJ FUNK – Outfielder (Bellefonte Area/Bellefonte, Pa.)
- Finished high school career with a .408 average, 13 homeruns, 84 hits, and 60 RBI's.
- Led the state in home runs in 2018.
- Named to the Mountain League All-Star in three years.
- Selected to the All-Tournament Team for Perfect Game three times.
STEPHEN HANSEN – Right-Handed Pitcher (Iona/Manalapan/Manalapan, N.J.)
- Was a four-year starting pitcher, including three seasons as a weekend starter, with a 3.95 career era, 157 strikeouts to 57 walks and 11-14 record.
- As a preseason All-MAAC Selection in 2020, made four starts with a 3.55 ERA with 24 strikeouts to six walks.
- Earned All-MAAC Second Team in 2019 with a 4-6 record, 3.23 ERA and 93 strikeouts to just 14 walks in 94.2 innings pitched.
LUCAS ISMAILI – Shortstop/Right-Handed Pitcher (East Lake/Dunedin, Fla.)
- Led East Lake to three district championships and a regional championship appearance.
- Named team offensive MVP and to the all-county team after leading the squad in home runs and stolen bases.
- Ended his senior career with a .400 average, three home runs and 20+ stolen bases.
- Selected a Perfect Game All American.
JORDAN MCCRUM – Right-handed Pitcher (Monmouth/Dallas Senior/Dallas, Pa.)
- Made 44 appearances with 10 starts in four seasons at Monmouth with a 3.85 ERA, four saves and 102 strikeouts.
- As a starting pitcher in 2017, led the Hawks in starts (10) with a 4-3 record, 5.04 ERA and 46 strikeouts in 55.1 innings pitched.
- Had the second-lowest ERA (3.22) on the team as a freshman with a 2-1 record while also starting 13 games as an infielder.
- Made only three appearances in 2019 due to injury and didn't play in the shortened-2020 season.
RAMON PADILLA - Catcher (Little Rock/Illinois Central College/Andrew/Tinley Park, Ill.)
- Started in both seasons at Little Rock with a .255 batting average, 22 RBI's and seven doubles.
- Posted a .400 slugging percentage and .389 on-base percentage last spring with a pair of doubles.
- Played two seasons at Illinois Central College, appearing in 79 games while batting .281 with three home runs, 14 doubles and 50 RBI's.
JACKSON PHINNEY – Catcher (Greenough/Marshfield, Mass.)
- Played at Marshfield High School, then finished his career at Greenough School.
- Was part of Team Mizuno USA from 2009-2018.
- Played for Nokona in 2019.
DOM POPA – Outfielder (Seton LaSalle/Pittsburgh, Pa.)
- Helped Seton LaSalle win the 2019 AA WPIAL Championship.
- Had a .450 batting average.
- Named Almanac Rookie of the Year and three-time all-section.
- Younger brother of senior Nico Popa, and their father played baseball for Pitt and graduated in 1988.
DAVIS SWENSON Right-Handed-Pitcher (Gordon State/Stephens County/Toccoa, Ga.)
- In his only season at Gordon State in 2020, he appeared in four games with three starts, a 2-0 record, 1.80 ERA and 23 strikeouts in 20.0 innings pitched.
- Helped Stephens County make the playoffs all four years and an elite eight run in 2017.
- Earned all-region and all-state awards.
- Played for the Lula Lugnuts and BodyShop Baseball.
MATT TARABEK – Infielder (Fordham/Hempfield/Irwin, Pa.)
- Was a four-year starter at Fordham, playing mostly at third base and also shortstop, with a career .377 slugging percentage, .321 on-base percentage, 78 RBI's and 34 stolen bases.
- Had a strong start to 2020, going 18-53 (.340) at the plate with two homers, 14 RBI's and four walks for a .422 on-base percentage.
- Served as a key player in 2019, helping the Rams win the A-10 Conference Tournament for an NCAA Regional Appearance, with 61 starts all at third base with 35 runs scored, 15 doubles, 32 RBI, 21 walks, and 14 stolen bases.
- Broke out as a sophomore with 16 extra-base hits for a .390 slugging percentage and 27 RBI as well as 16 stolen bases.
- A four-year letterwinner at nearby Hempfield and led the team to four WPIAL AAAA Section 2 Championships (2013-16) while earning all-section honors three times.
DOMINIC VERRASTRO Right-Handed Pitcher (Lackawanna College/Lakeland/Scott Township, Pa.)
- Appeared in four games last season with a 1.69 ERA and seven strikeouts in 5.1 innings pitched.
- Helped Lackawanna reach the Juco World Series in 2019.
- Appeared in 18 games with a 6-0 record, two starts and 32 strikeouts in 36.2 innings pitched.
- Guided Lakeland to an undefeated regular season in 2017 and Lackawanna League (AAA) title in 2018.
COLE ZAK - Outfielder (Mayfield/Gates Mills, Ohio)
- Led Mayfield to a conference championship.
- Earned all-conference honors.
- Finished career with .350 batting average.
- Played for Mayfield travel, Lightening Baseball, and Release Baseball.
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram
Players Mentioned
P
/ Baseball
P
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
P
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
P
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
P
/ Baseball
Pitt Baseball | The Cardiac Cats do it again and defeat Louisville 13-11!
Wednesday, May 21
Pitt's Jayden Melendez Hits The Bull
Wednesday, May 21
Pitt First Baseman Luke Cantwell's Beautiful Basket Catch
Wednesday, May 21
Highlights | Pitt 13, Louisville 11 | ACC Tournament
Tuesday, May 20