FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood baseball head coach
Chad Oxendine announced 19 commitments for the 2024 season during the early signing period on Tuesday.
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Joining the Lancers in the fall will be Gabriel Alvarez (West Haverstraw, N.Y./St. Joseph Regional), Alec Bashardoust (Loveland, Ohio/Archbishop Moeller), Tyler Bassett (Manassas, Va./Charles J. Colgan), Nathan Barnes (Parksley, Va./Arcadia), Jake Chadwell (Chesapeake, Va./Hickory), Nick Franklin (Troy, Ill./Father McGivney Catholic), Justin Gunter (Buckingham, Va./Buckingham County), Jacob Krebs (Cary, N.C./Green Hope), Cam Lamb (Mechanicsville, Va./Mechanicsville), Blake McElyea (Lenoir, N.C./Jimmy C. Draughn), Jacob Moore (Moseley, Va./Cosby), Jayson Nash (Columbia, S.C./Richland Northeast), Dawson Newman (Chesapeake, Va./Great Bridge), Jorden Olivera (Richmond, Va./Benedictine College Preparatory), Evan Reese (Powhatan, Va./Powhatan), Alex Strickland (Miller Place, N.Y./Miller Place), Kaiden Takahashi-Trader (Yorktown, Va./Tabb), Maclain Tufts (Mendham, N.J./Pope John XXIII Regional) and Mikey Urbaniak (Chesapeake, Va./Greenbriar Christian Academy).
"We are excited to bring in these young men to the Lancer baseball program," said Oxendine, now in his third year leading the team. "This is a talented, deep group, and they all are competitive which lines up with how we want to compete as a program. We recruited in Virginia hard, which is a must for our program with the talent that is here, and we also had the chance to bring some guys in from the north as well."
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Gabriel Alvarez
6-1 | 210 | RHP
West Haverstraw, N.Y.
St. Joseph Regional
Alvarez will head to Longwood out of St. Joseph Regional High School in Montvale, N.J., where he is a two-year varsity hurler for the Green Knights as a 6-foot-1, 210-pound right-handed pitcher.
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The West Haverstraw, N.Y., native also plays travel ball for Northeast Pride National 24.
His dad, Nelson, played professionally in the minor leagues.
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Alec Bashardoust
6-4 | 200 | RHP
Loveland, Ohio
Archbishop Moeller
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Bashardoust will come to Longwood from Loveland, Ohio, and Archbishop Moeller where he pitches and plays first and third base for the Crusaders.
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Brother, Luke (Bluffton, baseball), and sister, Maria (Cleveland State, women's soccer) both were collegiate student-athletes.
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Tyler Bassett
5-10 | 185 | INF
Manassas, Va.
Charles J. Colgan
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Bassett will join the Lancers from Charles J. Colgan High School in Manassas, Va., as a middle infielder.
Bassett earned first team all-district and all-region as a junior in 2023, hitting .468 with 26 RBIs. He led the Sharks to a district title and state tournament appearance.
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Bassett's father, David (1996-97), and uncle, Brian (1992-95), played baseball at Longwood.
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Nathan Barnes
6-5 | 210 | RHP/1B
Parksley, Va.
Arcadia
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Barnes, a Parksley, Va., native, attends Arcadia High School where he has played four years of baseball and one of basketball for the Firebirds.
He has been baseball team captain from 2020-23 and an all-district selection over the same span.
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Academically, Barnes is a four-year honor-roll student.
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Jake Chadwell
6-4 | 195 | RHP/1B
Chesapeake, Va.
Hickory
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Chadwell is a Chesapeake, Va., native and attends Hickory High School, playing baseball for four years for the Hawks.
He was named to the 5A all-region team at first base as a junior, batting .403 with five home runs and 22 RBIs and a 1.210 OPS.
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Chadwell is an honor roll student and National Honor Society member and has volunteered at Centerville Baptist Church and the Chesapeake Commonwealth Attorneys Step Up to the Plate baseball clinic.
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Nick Franklin
6-2 | 230 | C/1B
Troy, Ill.
Father McGivney CatholicÂ
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Franklin will come to Longwood after his time at Father McGivney Catholic High School in Troy Ill. Franklin helped the Griffins to a 37-2 record and a Gateway Metro Conference championship at the Class 2A Roxana Regional championship last spring.
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As a junior, he hit .361 with two home runs and 28 RBIs. He led the team with eight doubles and was second on the team with a .578 on-base percentage. As a sophomore, Franklin hit .330 with four home runs and 26 RBIs.
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A two-sport student-athlete, also playing one season of basketball along with four of baseball, Franklin was the Griffins' team captain and an honorable mention all-conference selection.
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He is a National Junior Honor Society member, honor-roll student and has done over 75 hours of community service, assisting with various initiatives.
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Justin Gunter
6-2 | 200 | 3B/RHP
Buckingham, Va.
Buckingham County
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Gunter will come to the Lancers from Buckingham, Va., and Buckingham County High School where he has played four years of baseball and three of basketball.
He was named all-state at both third base and pitcher as junior in 2023, hitting .420 with six home runs at the plate and going 7-0 with 92 strikeouts over 54 innings on the mound.
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Gunter is the Knights' team MVP and captain.
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Jacob Krebs
6-1 | 203 | OF/1B
Cary, N.C.
Green Hope
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Krebs is a product of Green Hope High School in Cary, N.C., where he has played four years of baseball for the Falcons.
Krebs hit .448 as a junior with 26 hits, six doubles and three home runs on his way to being named an honorable mention all-Southwest Wake Athletic Conference selection. Krebs was named team MVP as a sophomore and junior.
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Krebs was a dean's list honoree as a freshman and also volunteers at Saint Michael's Catholic Church.
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Cam Lamb
5-9 | 180 | OF
Mechanicsville, Va.
Mechanicsville
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Lamb will join the Lancers following his time at Mechanicsville High School.
He earned first team all-state, all-metro and all-region honors as well.
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Blake McElyea
6-7 | 195 | RHP
Lenoir, N.C.
Jimmy C. Draughn
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McElyea is a four-sport student-athlete at Jimmy C. Draughn High School in Valdese, N.C., playing four years of baseball, three of basketball, one of football and running one of cross country. He is a two All-Western Highlands Conference selection as a sophomore and junior and all-state pick as a junior.
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He pitched to a 1.60 ERA with an 8-3 record, 94 strikeouts against 12 walks with two saves as a junior. McElyea played basketball at West Cardwell High School in Lenoir, N.C., winning the Catawba Valley Conference regular-season, tournament and section championships.
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He also won the league and section titles in baseball with Daughn.
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McElyea is currently a volunteer firefighter and has also volunteered at a local rehab home.
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Jacob Moore
5-10 | 190 | OF
Moseley, Va.
Cosby
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Moore will come to Longwood from Moseley, Va., and Cosby High School as an outfielder and three-year varsity letterwinner for the Titans.
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Moore plays his travel ball with Virginia Seminoles.
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He is an honor-roll student and has volunteered at Lighthouse Family Retreat and HopeRVA.
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Jayson Nash
6-2 | 202 | 3B
Columbia, S.C.
Richland Northeast
Nash, a product of Richland Northeast High School in Columbia, S.C., has played five years of baseball and one of football. He captained the Cavaliers and was a three-time all-region selection.
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Nash batted .304 with 35 hits, four home runs, 16 runs scored and 33 RBIs while getting on base at a .387 clip as a junior.
Nash is a part of National Honor Society and is in the top 25 percent of his class academically.
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Dawson Newman
6-2 | 175 | LHP
Chesapeake, Va.
Great Bridge
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Newman will come to Longwood from Great Bridge High School in Chesapeake, Va., where he has lettered in baseball for four years, earning first team all-region honors at the Virginia Commonwealth Games.
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As a junior, he pitched to an 8-0 record, surrendering just five earned runs in 37 innings with 42 strikeouts. Newman batted .359 with 21 RBIs and a .434 on-base percentage, as well.
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Newman is an honor-roll student at Great Bridge, winning an academic excellence award.
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Jorden Olivera
5-11 | 179 | INF
Richmond, Va.
Benedictine College Preparatory
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Olivera is a Richmond, Va., native who attends Benedictine College Preparatory, winning the 2021 Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association state championship in Division I. He also earned first team all-state honors in 2022.
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Olivera also plays for PDG Academy and hit .320 with a .428 on-base percentage as a junior.
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He won a Corporate Internship Program scholarship at Benedictine Prep and has also volunteered with a local food drive as well as Little League.
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Evan Reese
6-4 | 205 | RHP
Powhatan, Va.
Powhatan
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Reese will join the Lancer family following his time at Powhatan High School where he plays as a pitcher.
He worked as a closer out of the bullpen and helped his team go 14-7 in his junior season.
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Alex Strickland
6-0 | 190 | SS/3B/P
Miller Place, N.Y.
Miller Place
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Strickland is headed to Farmville following his time at Miller Place High School where he has played varsity baseball in each of his high school seasons to go with varsity basketball as well.
A team captain, Strickland earned all-league honors and was both the team Cy Young award winner and rookier of the year honoree as well.
As a junior, he batted .357 with a 1.442 OPS and eight stolen bases. On the mound, he went 5-1 with a 1.2 ERA and 57 strikeouts in 40.1 innings of work while holding opponents to a .182 batting average. He also hit .319 as a sophomore with 11 stolen bases.
Off the diamond, Strickland is an honor roll student and has volunteered at charity events for domestic violence shelters.
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Kaiden Takahashi-Trader
6-0 | 180 | P
Yorktown, Va.
Tabb
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Takahashi-Trader will join the Lancers following his time at Tabb High School in Yorktown, Va.
He has played baseball at Yorktown as a pitcher, and he was a captain last year as a junior and will serve the same role as a senior this year.
A season ago, he posted a 1.18 ERA with a 1.146 WHIP on the mound for Yorktown.
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Maclain Tufts
5-10 | 170 | INF
Mendham, N.J.
Pope John XXIII Regional
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Tufts will come to Longwood from Mendham, N.J., and Pope John XXIII Regional High School where he is a middle infielder for the Lions. A four-year starter and three-year captain, Tufts is a two-time all-Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference selection, earning first team as a junior and second team as a sophomore.
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Last spring, he batted .407 with 25 runs scored, two home runs, 15 RBIs, 15 walks and 22 stolen bases. Tufts holds the school record for career steals with 55.
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He was named to the league's all-academic team as a sophomore and junior.
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Mikey Urbaniak
5-9 | 185 | C/1B
Chesapeake, Va.
Greenbriar Christian Academy
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Urbaniak will come to the Lancers from Greenbriar Christian Academy where he played four years of baseball for the Gators, helping them to a Metro Conference title as a freshman.
Urbaniak was named co-league player of the year last spring, earning first team all-conference and all-state recognition.
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Urbaniak batted .358 with four doubles, 23 RBIs, four home runs and a .567 on-base percentage as a junior.
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Academically, Urbaniak is a member of the National Beta Club.
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