Evan Danieli Class: Freshman Hometown: East Hanover, NJ High School: Seton Hall Prep Height / Weight: 6-7 / 230 Position: Righthanded Pitcher Birthdate: 08/12/1989 Bats/Throws: R/R

Highly-rated and projectable pitching prospect who would have been high pick in '07 Major League draft, if not for his strong commitment to Notre Dame ... ultimately was selected in 33rd round, by Minnesota Twins ... Baseball America had projected him as '07 draft's #157 overall prospect (including college players) while Perfect Game rated him 40th among all high school prospects for '07 draft ... tremendous physical specimen (6-8, 225) who is noted for ability to consistently repeat his pitching motion and for his devastating curveball ... throws tight, late-breaking and well-controlled curve that can be legitimate "out pitch" ... also has a heavy, over-the-top fastball that touches the low-90s, plus a developing changeup and slider ... benefits from loose arm and downward angle to the plate ... battle-tested competitor with good poise ... made strides in '07 fall workouts with his situational pitching ... his signing with ND helped rest of the class (ranked #4 in nation) fall into place ... athletic pitcher who fields well for his size ... overcame rough start in game-3 of Blue-Gold intrasquad series (fall '07; 4 IP, 6 R, 7 H, 2 BB, 2 WP, 2 Ks; 7-5 loss, with Blue) ... lifelong ND fan who joins Irish baseball program that features 46 previous monogram winners from New Jersey ... inherits #22 jersey worn most recently by RHP Dan Kapala (CF Eric Danapilis and RHP Aaron Heilman, both All- Americans, also wore #22, as did top RHPs Erik Madsen and Grant Johnson) ... his former Seton Hall Prep teammate Luis Fernandez plays in the BIG EAST at Seton Hall while several of his N.J. Twins teammates play for teams on ND's '08 schedule (Boston College's Jim and Dave Laufer, Michigan's Eric Katzman, DJ Anderson of Rutgers, and Seton Hall's Nick Natale ... posted 3.07 GPA in '07 fall semester.

PREP & PERSONAL: Named '07 All-American by Collegiate Baseball, Aflac, Playstation and Rawlings ... first team all-state, first team allcounty and named most valuable pitcher on talented '07 staff at Seton Hall Prep (nation's top-ranked team) ... his '07 season included 11-0 record (SHP record for wins), 0.45 ERA and 3-to-1 ratio of strikeouts (81) to walks (27), plus more than twice as many innings (62) as hits allowed (28) ... helped SHP win third straight state title in '07 (10-1 over St. Joseph's) ... one of four players on '07 team who signed with D-I programs (RHP Rick Porcello was '07 national player of the year) ... went 6-plus innings to beat Immaculata in sectional final, 3-0 (3 H, 3 BB, 6 Ks) ... outdueled Immaculata's Sean McKeown, who had 19 straight wins ... '07 highlights included two wins over Randolph and postseason win over St. Peter's ... named USA Today national pitcher of the week in early May, after pair of shutout wins (13 Ks, 3 H, 11 IP) ... helped SHP go 32-1 (1.53 staff ERA; .353 team batting avg.) ... had spot starts in summer of '07 with N.J. Twins (also played with them in summer/fall of '05) ... played for Mike Sheppard, Jr., who has guided SHP to six state titles in 22 seasons (he is son of former longtime Seton Hall Univ. coach Mike Sheppard, Sr., whose son Rob Sheppard is current SHU coach) ... had unique chance to visit with Yogi Berra and Alex Rodriguez at '06 Aflac All-America Game (at San Diego State) ... his junior season included 1.10 ERA, 5-1 record and 59 Ks in 39 IP (13.6 Ks/ 9 IP) ... threw no-hitter for SHP team that won '06 state title (ranked #25 in nation) ... named most valuable pitcher on '04 team ... selected for '06 East Coast Pro Showcase (Wilmington, N.C.) and Area Code Games (Long Beach, Calif.) ... helped Vailsburg American Legion reach state playoffs in summer of '04 ('05 district playoffs) ... avid chess and ping-pong player ... honors student (3.71 GPA) and member of student council ... born Aug. 2, 1989, in Manhattan, N.Y. ... Evan Alexander Danieli ... son of Steven and Janet Danieli ... enrolled in First Year of Studies ... intends to major in finance.