Nov. 9, 2016
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Penn State baseball has received National Letters of Intent from seven signees, head coach Rob Cooper announced Wednesday. The class, which will begin participation in the 2017-18 academic year, ranks 50th in the nation and fourth in the Big Ten according to leading baseball scouting service Perfect Game.
The class includes four pitchers, one two-way player and two position players. Three -- Conor Larkin (Royersford, Pa.), Jeff Taylor (Pequea, Pa.) and Kyle Virbitsky (Media, Pa.) -- hail from Pennsylvania, while another three --Tyler Dearden (Lumberton, N.J), Ralph Gambino (Freehold, N.J.) and Tommy Gibson (Williamstown, N.J.) -- hail from New Jersey. Bailey Dees (Charlotte, N.C.) hails from North Carolina.
"Penn State baseball is excited to welcome seven new Diamond Lions," said Penn State head coach Rob Cooper. "While these young men have tremendous baseball ability, they are also young men with great character who will represent Penn State in a first class manner. These young men are committed to winning and seeing Penn State baseball succeed at the national level. Coach (Brian) Anderson and Coach (Ross) Oeder have worked extremely hard putting this class together. I appreciate their efforts and we believe the future is very bright for Penn State Baseball."
The Nittany Lions will announce additional members of the Class of 2021 later in the academic year. Below are Penn State's seven early decision additions:
Tyler Dearden
OF | L/R | 6-2/185 | Lumberton, N.J. | Rancocas Valley | South Jersey Elite (Travel)
Highlights: Ranked in Perfect Game Top 500 ... First team All-South Jersey and all-county and second-team All Group 4 following junior year ... Batted .481 ... Named all-conference as a freshman, sophomore and junior, including first-team honors the past two seasons ... Two-time Carpenter Cup selection ... Has made honor roll each semester ... Member of the Spanish National Honor Society.
Coach Cooper: "'Competitive,' `hard-working,' and `winner' are a few of the words that you can use to describe Tyler. He has the ability to play this game for a long time and we are ecstatic to welcome him to Happy Valley."
Bailey Dees
RHP | R/R | 6-7 / 230 | Charlotte, N.C. | Hough | South Charlotte Panthers
Highlights: Ranked No. 231 in the country by Perfect Game ... Named all-conference as a pitcher and a hitter following junior season ... Named to 2016 Greater Charlotte Top Prospect Team ... Led Hough to conference championship ... Helped Independence to conference championship as a freshman in 2014 ... Has a 4.25 GPA and is ranked in the top 20% of high school class.
Coach Cooper: "We are thrilled to add Bailey to our Nittany Lion Family. He is a competitive young man who is just now beginning to scratch the surface of his ability. He has an opportunity to make an immediate impact on our pitching staff."
Ralph Gambino
RHP | R/R | 5-11/175 | Freehold, N.J. | Freehold Township | New Jersey Marlins (Travel)
Highlights: Two-time Perfect Game High School All-America honorable mention ... Ranked as one of the top five right hand pitchers in New Jersey by Perfect Game ... Ranked in the Top 500 nationally by Perfect Game ... Struck out 80 batters in 46 innings pitched ... ... Played in the 2016 Carpenters Cup ... Academic Honor Roll student.
Coach Cooper: "Ralph is a first class young man who is just beginning to tap into his potential. He is a fierce competitor on the mound and can repeat three pitches for strikes. We are really excited about Ralph's future here in Happy Valley."
Tommy Gibson
SS | R/R| 5-10/165 | Williamstown, N.J. | Williamstown | MSI (Travel)
Highlights: Ranked in Perfect Game Top 500 ... Garden State Underclass Game Participant ... Three-year letterwinner ... Batted .324 with 13 RBI, 20 runs and 12 stolen bases as a junior ... Helped lead team to South Jersey Group 4 Championship ... Also a two-year letterwinner in football ... Voted Best Defensive Back in West Jersey Football League.
Coach Cooper: "Tommy is an exciting young player who has an extremely bright future in this game. He is a young man who is passionate about winning and making his teammates better. We are extremely excited about having him in our program."
Conor Larkin
RHP | R/R | 6-1 / 200 | Royersford, Pa. | Spring-Ford Area | Tri-State Arsenal
Highlights: Ranked by Perfect Game as the fifth-best RHP in Pennsylvania and eighth-best overall ... Ranked nationally in Perfect Game's top-150 for RHPs and in Top 500 overall ... As a junior, was ranked third in strikeouts and tenth in ERA (1.01) in Southeastern Pennsylvania with a record of 6-2 ... Was named Pottstown Mercury All-Area second team and Philly Inquirer All-Southeastern PA second team in 2016 ... Pottstown Mercury also named him the Comeback Player of the Year after returning from Tommy John Surgery ... High school won conference championship during sophomore year ... Led school to win in state semifinal game in first career start as a freshman ... Represented the Texas Rangers at East Coast Pro ... Represented the New York Yankees at the Yankees-Red Sox Rivalry Classic game at Fenway Park ... Owns a 3.8 GPA.
Coach Cooper: "Conor is a competitive, coachable, winning young man. He will have the opportunity to make an immediate impact in our program and we are excited to welcome him to our Diamond Lion family."
Jeff Taylor
LHP | L/L | 6-1/185 | Pequea, Pa. | Penn Manor | Mid-Atlantic Rookies (Travel)
Highlights: Ranked in Prep Baseball Report top 20 in Pennsylvania ... Perfect Game Top 500 ... First-team All-Lancaster-Lebanon League as a sophomore and junior ... Had 53 strikeouts, 0.72 ERA and a 7-1 record sophomore year ... Threw a one-hit, complete-game shutout in league playoffs, complete-game three-hitter in district playoffs and a game four hitter in a district legion championship game during sophomore year ... Had 87 strikeouts, 0.55 ERA and a 7-1 record during junior year ... Pitched a complete-game, three-hitter in league playoffs and struck out 14 and walked one in district playoffs during junior year ... Named to the all-tournament team at the WWBA Underclass Championship in 2015 ... Named to the all -tournament team for the WWBA World Championship (Jupiter) in 2015 and 2016 (only player from Pa. to do so) ... Student council for three years and Varsity Club for two years.
Coach Cooper: "Another young man who has an extremely bright future ahead of him. He is super competitive and has the ability to be an impact pitcher as a freshman. We feel honored to have Jeff in our program."
Kyle Virbitsky
RHP/IF | R/R | 6-5/220 | Media, Pa. | Episcopal Academy | Philly Bandits (Travel)
Highlights: Ranked in Top 10 Pennsylvania players for the class of 2017 and Top 250 nationally by the Prep Baseball Report ... Perfect Game Top 500 ... One of Pennsylvania's top-25 high school baseball players by PennLive.com ... Named first-team All-Inter-Ac, All-Delco, All-Main Line and All-Southeastern PA team following junior season ... Led Delaware County with 66 strikeouts, Episcopal with three home runs and finished the season with a 1.76 ERA ... Led team as starting pitcher and posted wins over two nationally ranked top 15 high school teams ... ... Selected to the Inter-Ac Carpenter Cup Team ... Attended PG National Showcase ... Also plays on the varsity football and basketball teams.
Coach Cooper: "The son of two Penn Staters, Kyle is a tough-minded pitcher who has the ability and mindset to be a frontline starter for us. He was one of the most sought after pitchers on the East Coast and we are excited to welcome him home to Happy Valley!"