Brian Dupra Class: Freshman Hometown: Rochester, NY High School: Greece Athena Height / Weight: 6-3 / 200 Position: Righthanded Pitcher Birthdate: 12/15/1988 Bats/Throws: R/R

Elite pitching prospects whose saw his stock - and velocity - rise during senior season at Greece Athena High School ... selected by Texas Rangers in 36th round of '07 MLB draft, after falling significantly from projected talent level due to "signability" issues and his strong commitment to playing for Notre Dame ... had been projected by Baseball America as #116 overall prospect (including college players) for '07 draft while Perfect Game had him slotted #162 ... combines pinpoint command of all three of his pitches with tremendous pitching aptitude ... features heavy, low-90s fastball to go along with quality slider and changeup ... throws from 3/4 power arm slot, with clean arm action and fluid mechanics ... a poised competitor and true student of the game ... has a projectable 6-foot-3 frame, with boost to his strength over the past year ... delivered game-2 win (3-1) for Gold team that eventually won annual Blue-Gold intrasquad series (fall '07), becoming first ND freshman since '01 to win a BGS start (5.2 IP, UER, 3 H, 2 BB, HB, 3 Ks) ... allowed only three baserunners in scoring position (none on third base) in that game (his 17 outs included seven via groundballs, plus a pickoff and two popups) ... could become 84th New York native to earn a monogram with ND baseball, following in the footsteps of 2006 All-America first baseman and Plainview native Craig Cooper (current junior DH Ryan Connolly hails from Binghamton) ... former ND All-America centerfielder Dan Peltier ('87-'89) grew up in Clifton Park, N.Y. ... inherits #6 jersey worn past four seasons by OF Danny Dressman ... could face his lifelong best friend Ryan Mosher when the Irish play St. Bonaventure early in '08 (he and Mosher were teammates since they were six years old, including with the East Coast Grays) ... several of his other former teammates play for teams on ND's '08 schedule: Jaren Mathews of Rutgers (South Florida Bandits); UConn's Joe Pavone (GAHS, SF Bandits, Rochester Grays, Ferris Goodridge) and Dusty Odenbach (EC Grays); Pitt's Dan Pfister (EC Grays); and St. Bonaventure's Anthony Randich (Ferris Goodridge), Aaron Meindl and Mike Weingarten (both with EC Grays and Empire State team).

PREP & PERSONAL: Compiled 0.21 ERA, 9-1 record and 11.6 strikeout-to-walk ratio (93/8) in '07 at Greece Athena High School, with his other stats including 27 more innings pitched (65.1) than hits allowed (38) and pair of saves (also hit .443 with 27 RBI, 9 doubles, a home run and only 5 Ks) ... led Trojans to 22-3 record and state semifinals (2- 1 loss to North Rockland) ... had allowed only one earned run all season and was undefeated before semifinal loss, finishing with six runs allowed (two earned) ... his '07 honors included Gatorade New York State player of the year, first team all-state, honorable mention All-America (Collegiate Baseball), county player of the year, area player of the year, sectional playoff MVP, scholar-athlete award and team MVP ... helped team rack up 40-3 scoring margin in four sectional tournament games, as Trojans advanced to state tournament for first time since '99 ... beat Fairport in state qualifier (8-1, 8 Ks, BB) ... had two-run single and K'd final batter to save Section V title game (4-0 vs. Hilton) ... beat Brockport earlier in section tournament, 11-2 (5 IP, 3 H, 5 Ks) ... K'd 11 Fairport batters in regular season (6 IP, 5 H, 2 BB; 9-0) ... one week earlier, he played lead role in 2-1 win over Hilton (12 Ks; 2-out RBI single) ... played in summer of '07 with Ferris-Goodridge American Legion district finalist (he lost only twice while posting 0.80 ERA, 81 Ks and 20 BB in 50 IP, also batting .400) ... gifted all-around student-athlete who owned 3.68 cumulative GPA and is talented trombone player, in addition to signing in GAHS nationally-renowned show choir that toured Italy (summer '07) ... attended '06 USA Baseball tryouts ... first team allcounty as a junior, second team as a sophomore ('05) ... played at '05 and '06 Empire State Games ... helped East Cobb Astros place third at '06 Wood-Bat World Championships (Jupiter, Fla.) ... also competed at '05 WBWC ... pitched in several top '06 showcases: Perfect Game Nationals (Arkansas), East Cobb Perfect Game Showcase (Georgia), East Coast Pro Showcase (Wilmington N.C.) and Goodwill Games (Cooperstown) ... competed with South Florida Bandits (Oct. '06) ... member of '04 and '05 Rochester Grays summer team ... played two seasons of JV basketball and ran varsity cross country in '03 ... earned scholarathlete honors throughout career ... member of National Honor Society (3.5 GPA), symphonic band, select choir and pit orchestra ... involved in various community-service activities, including Special Olympics, youth baseball, reading programs and youth group ... current ND fencer Zach Scirtz also attended GAHS ... his sister Lyanne Dupra served as a senior captain with James Madison's '06 women's soccer team ... son of John and Kim Dupra ... full name is Brian Martin Dupra ... born Dec. 15, 1988, in Rochester, N.Y. ... enrolled in First Year of Studies ... intended major is undecided.