UMBC

Head coach John Jancuska will welcome four new players for the 2010 season.

BALTIMORE-UMBC head baseball coach John Jancuska announced that four players—Tyler Drinkard, Mike Linskey, D.J. Ream and J.R. Seader—have signed National Letters of Intent to play for the Retrievers for the 2010 season.

“After having a very large incoming class for the 2009 season, we didn’t have as many needs in terms of numbers for this class,” Jancuska said, “but the freshmen we’ve brought in should be able to have success immediately and help provide depth for the team.”  

Seader, 6-foot-3, 230 pound pitcher from Piscataway, N.J. plays for the Piscataway Chiefs where he has been a three-year varsity starter through 2008 and should be able to compete for a spot in the starting rotation. He was named to the 2008 Home News Tribune, Star Ledger and Courier News All-Area teams. Seader was also named to the 2007 Star Ledger All-Area Freshman/Sophomore team.

Another area Jancuska looked to help round out was the outfield, where he found two left-handers to help give the lineup more depth. Linskey, a 5-foot-10, 190 pound outfielder from Stanhope, N.J. plays for the Pope John XXIII Lions and was named the New Jersey Herald Player of the Year in 2008. He was also named First-team All-Sussex County Interscholastic League and Third-team All-New Jersey.

Ream, a 5-foot-11, 185 pound outfielder from Columbia, Pa. plays for the Hempfield Black Knights who could also see time as a pitcher for the Retrievers. The former All-Lancaster Lebanon League performer helped lead the Black Knights to the LLL championship and the state semi-finals this past year. The two-sport athlete was also named All-Section as a linebacker his sophomore year.

Rounding out the class, the Retrievers will have to look to fill the void left by senior first baseman Shawn Retz. Drinkard, a 6-foot-6, 225 pound athletic first baseman from Glen Burnie, Md. helped lead the Northeast Eagles to the Anne Arundel County Championship in 2008 and should compete for the starting first base position. Before Northeast, he played on the varsity team at Glen Burnie his freshman and sophomore seasons.

The Retrievers open the 2009 season March 4th at the U.S. Naval Academy at 2:30 p.m.