Ten To Join Oregon State Baseball In 2018

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon State baseball head coach Pat Casey announced Wednesday that 10 student-athletes will join the program for the 2018 season.

The 10 include three right-handed pitchers, Kevin Abel (San Diego, Calif.), Michael Attalah (Redmond, Wash.) and Nathan Burns (West Bend, Wis.), two infielders, Kyler McMahan (Lynnwood, Wash.) and Ryan Ober (Snohomish, Wash.), two outfielders, Darius Foster (Atlanta) and Kevin Watson (Beaverton, Ore.), two utility players, Christian Chamberlain (Reno, Nev.) and Zach Clayton (Oconomowoc, Wis.) and one catcher, Troy Claunch (Vacaville, Calif.).

"These 10 are the kind of student-athletes we look for," Casey said. "We feel like they're the right guys for this program. We think they can come right in and have an early impact with this club."

Abel will join the program from San Diego's Madison High School, where, as a junior, he went 9-2 with a 0.36 earned run average to be named first-team all-league and second-team all-state. The 6-foot-1 right-handed pitcher is the No. 110 high school senior, according to Perfect Game, and he played at the 2016 Area Code Games in addition to participating in the USA Baseball Tournament of Stars.

Attalah, a 6-foot-2 right-handed pitcher from Cedar Park Christian School, went 3-2 with a 3.42 ERA in 2016 as a junior, earning second-team all-state and first-team all-league honors. In three seasons at the high school level, he has amassed a 11-3 record. He is rated as the No. 7 high school senior in the state of Washington by Baseball Northwest and is No. 357 nationally by Perfect Game.

Burns comes from West Bend West High School in West Bend, Wis. He's lettered three seasons for the program and is considered the nation's No. 156 prospect by Prep Baseball Report. As a junior, he was named all-state and all-conference after going 7-0 with a 1.45 earned run average. He is 18-3 in his three seasons at West Bend West, and has struck out 168 in 142 innings while walking only 26.

Chamberlain will join the Oregon State program from Reno High School, where he has lettered three seasons. The 5-foot-10 utility player has been named first-team all-state and first-team all-league during his career, and participated in a junior-senior all-star game last season. That came on the heels of a junior campaign that saw him bat .444 with 21 doubles, 12 triples, five home runs and 45 runs batted in. On the mound, he was 8-0 with a 0.80 ERA in nine games.

Claunch will come to Corvallis after a stellar career at Vacaville High School. He's already lettered three seasons for the program, and is rated No. 214 nationally by Perfect Game. The 6-foot catcher was named first-team all-league after a junior season in which he batted .316 with five doubles and 21 RBI. In three seasons, he has accumulated 19 doubles and 50 RBI. Claunch played for the Athletics at the 2016 Area Code Games.

Clayton hails from Oconomowoc, Wis., and has lettered at the high school level for three seasons. He's ranked No. 178 by Prep Baseball Report, and as a junior, batted .422 and was named third-team all-state and first-team all-conference. He batted .418 as a sophomore and .417 as a freshman, earning all-league honors both seasons. A versatile student-athlete, he's also lettered in football for four seasons and basketball for three years.

Foster is a 6-foot outfielder from Norcross High School in Georgia. He's rated as the No. 326 high school prospect by Perfect Game, and he's coming off a season in which he batted .350 with eight doubles, three triples and 16 RBI en route to a selection as all-league honorable mention. In 2015, at Lambert High School in Suwanee, Ga., he batted .379 with eight doubles, three triples, two home runs and 18 stolen bases and was also named all-league honorable mention.

McMahan, a 5-foot-9 infielder from Lynnwood High School, is rated as the No. 100 high school senior nationally by Baseball America. He's also the No. 3 prospect in the state of Washington by Baseball Northwest and played for the Royals at the 2016 Area Code Games. He's earned three consecutive first-team all-league awards, and is coming off a season where he batted .299 with seven doubles, one triple, one home run and 13 RBI. In three seasons, he has collected 23 doubles, seven triples and 39 RBI.

Ober is a 5-foot-11 infielder from Glacier Peak High School. He's rated as the No. 9 prospect in the state of Washington by Baseball Northwest after batting .421 with 13 doubles and one home run as a junior. That earned him first-team all-area and first-team all-league honors. He was also named second-team all-league honors as a sophomore and was an all-league honorable mention selection after his freshman campaign.

Watson will join the program from Beaverton High School, where the 6-foot-2 outfielder earned second-team all-state honors as a junior after batting .314 with six doubles, six triples, 12 RBI and 13 stolen bases. He's rated as the No. 3 high school senior in the state of Oregon by Baseball Northwest. As a sophomore, he batted .351 with 11 doubles, one triple, 14 RBI and four stolen bases.

For more information on the Oregon State baseball team, follow the club's official Twitter account at Twitter.com/BeaverBaseball, by Facebook at Facebook.com/OregonStateBaseball or on Instagram at Instagram.com/BeaverBaseball.

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