Elon, N.C.- Head coach Mike Kennedy and the Elon baseball program have announced the arrival of eight transfers to booster the 2024 Elon baseball roster. Elon is coming off a second-place finish in the CAA regular season along with their most wins in a season since 2019 (33).
 
The eight transfers coming into the program include four pitchers, one catcher, two outfielders and one two-way player. Two of the incoming players hail from North Carolina "Big Four" schools, Duke and UNC. Two players join the Phoenix following stints at the JUCO level and one joins from Division III.
 
A pair of players will join Elon following break out seasons and careers in the CAA. Tank Yaghoubi will join the Phoenix after a standout freshman season at William & Mary while Shane Paradine joins the program following four years at Stony Brook.  
 

Henry Cone- McLennan CC

• Ranked as the 47^th best player in Texas and the 20^th best right-handed pitcher in the Lone-Star state coming out of high school.
• Cone spent freshman season at Baylor, making nine appearances with two starts. Cone went 0-1 and sported a 7.94 ERA. He threw two scoreless innings against Houston Baptist and earned his first career start with 1.2 scoreless innings at Rice.
• Cone spent the 2023 season at McLennan Community College making 14 appearances. Cone pitched 18.2 innings during the 2023 season and finished with a 2-2 record with one save.

 
Coach Kennedy on Henry Cone: "Big, power arm, we got him in August and might be one of the most important ones we got. Super excited about him and what he can bring to the table, he's a lot like Szestowicki in that he's got a power arm, but he also has the ability to throw two pitches, three pitches for a strike and can go deep in games. Over the course of the fall, we will learn whether that's a starting role for him, he'll pitch for us, his arm is too good not too no doubt about it."
 
 
Vince Fattore- Duke
 

• Ranked as the 11^th best player in the state of Pennsylvania and the second-best outfielder as ranked by Perfect Game in the class of 2022.
• Fattore began his collegiate career at Duke where he was redshirted during the 2023 season. His Duke teammates would take the Blue Devils to the Charlottesville Super Regional where they would be defeated by Virginia.
• Fattore gained experience with his new teammates over the summer when he played with the Burlington Sock Puppets of the Appalachian League. Fattore shared the outfield with Kenny Mallory Jr. and played in the same lineup as fellow Phoenix: James Broderick, Tanner Holliman and Troy McGirt.

 
Coach Kennedy on Vince Fattore: "(on playing with Elon players in the summer) I think that plays a huge role and truthfully that's probably why he's here. He was able to develop those relationships early on with those guys and it turned out to be a really good fit. He was a high-profile kid out of high school, and he's got a ton of ability. He hits for power, he runs really well, plays a very good center field, and I think he is a great fit for us. I think he can hit at the top of the order; I think he can steal bags as, evident this summer, but he will also hit for some power. In this league, if you have a guy who can drive the ball, he can put up some good numbers for us.
 

Tate Ostrowski- Grove City College
 

• Ostrowski joins the Phoenix following a five-year stint at Division III Grove City College. The former Wolverine was a two-time DIII All-American for Grove City, earning 2^nd Team All-American and 4^th-Team All-American in 2023.
• The right-hander finished his career with the Wolverines compiling a 26-4 record and a 2.17 ERA over five seasons. Ostrowski finished his career with 288 strikeouts and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of better than three to one.
• Ostrowski finished his last two years at Grove City earning All-American honors by combining for a 17-2 record in those final two seasons. Ostrowski finished top-10 Division III in strikeouts and finished top-15 in victories during the 2023 season.

 
Coach Kennedy on Tate Ostrowski: "He's got great angle on the ball, he spins a really good breaking ball and you can see why he has a high number of strikeouts at that level. I think he's going to be very successful here at this level…time will tell whether he can maintain velocity over seven or eight innings and stay competitive deep into games, but he's got great stuff, works extremely hard, super kid, so I am really excited about him."
 

Shane Paradine- Stony Brook
 

• Paradine joins the Phoenix after a stellar career at Stony Brook. During the 2023 season, he started all 51 games for the Sea Wolves tallying five homers, 13 doubles, 58 hits and 41 RBI. In the series against the Phoenix last season, Paradine slashed 8-12 with six RBI and four runs scored.
• The backstop has the reputation of being one of the toughest strikeouts in the country. Paradine ranked seventh nationally last season in players that were the toughest strikeout. He averaged 16.7 plate appearances per strikeout, best in the CAA and seventh in Division I. In 200 plate appearances, the Bayonne, N.J. native struck out just 12 times.
• He finished his time at Stony Brook with a .295 batting average over 150 games with 58 extra-base hits. Paradine completed the season with top-25 finishes in the CAA in fewest strikeouts (2^nd), RBI (21^st) and doubles (22^nd).

 
Coach Kennedy on Shane Paradine: "He's had a lot of success against everybody, if you look at his career and his numbers they have been very, very consistent (and) very, very steady. What I love about him is that he doesn't swing and miss, his strikeout ratio per at bat is phenomenal. He brings some much-needed experience to the middle of the lineup, and he fills an immediate gap. He's got some power, he'll hit some doubles, he doesn't strikeout, and he's a veteran. He's had a great career at Stony Brook he brings that presence here and has done it in this league."
 
 
Kolby Pascarelli- UCONN  
 

• Pascarelli joins the Phoenix following his freshman season at the University of Connecticut. He redshirted his first year at UCONN and joins the Phoenix with four years of eligibility left.
• Hailing from Durham, Conn., he was the 44^th best player in the state coming out of high school and the sixth best left-handed pitcher.
• Pascarelli played in his home state over the summer in the Futures League for the Norwich Sea Unicorns. He made five starts for Norwich, pitching 15 innings and striking out 12 batters over six appearances.

 
Coach Kennedy on Kolby Pascarelli: "We had seen Kolby out of high school and knew some people that had seen him. We are very familiar with his breaking ball, he's got a great breaking ball and from there it (the recruitment) went pretty smooth. We were limited in left-handed pitching, and we needed a guy who could come in and, at worst, would be a matchup versus left-handed hitters and with his breaking ball he can do that. I think he is going to be a very tough matchup left-on-left (and) I think he is going to help us tremendously in that role."
 
 
Nolan Straniero- Gaston College
 

• Straniero began his career at UNC-Charlotte before transferring to Gaston College before the 2023 season. The Raleigh native did not make an appearance for the 49ers during his freshman season in Charlotte.
• At Gaston, Straniero made 18 appearances and 16 starts, accumulating an 11-4 record with the Rhinos. Straniero pitched 78.1 innings during the 2023 season and had a WHIP of 1.11. Straniero led the Rhinos in wins, innings, and strikeouts.
• He ranked in the top-50 of many JUCO categories including games started, wins, innings pitched and strikeouts. He helped lead the Rhinos to a 50-13 record and a trip to the NJCAA College World Series in Grand Junction, Colo. Although coming up short, Straniero and his teammates would compile a 32-1 home record during the 2023 season.

 
Coach Kennedy on Nolan Straniero: "We're excited about Nolan, he's got a good arm, it's easy, and it works well. (Straniero) throws a ton of strikes, I think he's got a great opportunity to be a frontline guy for us. He'll have to earn that…but the ability's there, the arm's easy…he's got a chance to be special and we are going to try to push him to be that guy. I think there's a few more miles per hour in there and if we can get them (extra velocity) he's going to have a bright future, not only here but down the road."
 
 
Justin Szestowicki- UNC
 

• Szestowicki spent two years at the University of North Carolina before making the jump to Elon. Szestowicki pitched in eight games last season for the Tar Heels for a total of 6.1 innings. He made his UNC debut on opening day with 1.1 scoreless innings against Seton Hall.
• The Mount Royal, N.J. native was the ninth best player in the state according to Perfect Game in the class of 2021. He was rated as the second-best shortstop in the state before committing to North Carolina.
• Szestowicki appeared in 28 games for South Jersey in the Atlantic Coast Baseball League this past summer. He had an on-base percentage over .350 and collected seven extra-base hits.

 
Coach Kennedy on Justin Szestowicki: "He has the ability to do a lot of different things, he could end up playing some shortstop for us. He is very athletic, moves well, good glove, good arm from short, so time will tell how that pans out. Certainly, on the mound he'll help us, and he could help us in a number of roles, he's got a power arm, throws the ball hard and a pretty good slider. He has the ability to maybe go deeper into games, but he'll help us in some role whether it be in the bullpen or as a starter, but he will provide some on the back end."
 
 
Tank Yaghoubi- William & Mary  
 

• Yaghoubi joins the Phoenix after a breakout freshman season at William & Mary. He was selected to the all-CAA Rookie team along with new teammates Justin Mitrovich and Ryan Sprock.
• Tank was rated as the 17^th best outfielder in the state of New York before committing to William & Mary. For the Tribe, he made 37 starts in 50 games, hitting .364 and scoring 35 runs. Yaghoubi played one of his best games against the Phoenix a season ago, hitting 3-4 in the rubber match including the walk-off base hit.
• Tank finished the season fourth in the CAA in batting average and fifth in on-base percentage. He successfully dropped down 10 sacrifice which was good for first in the CAA and top-25 nationally. His .459 OBP was good enough for seventh best in the CAA.

 
Coach Kennedy on Tank Yaghoubi: "Obviously Tank's a talented player to put up the numbers he did in our league as a freshman, to play every day and put up those type (of) numbers tells you a little bit about what he does offensively. What I like about him is (that) he uses the whole field, and he has great ball to bat skills. I think where he will benefit us, we need a top of the order type guy who can set the table and create opportunities for our 3-5, 3-6 guys to drive in runs."
 
Elon will showcase the new talent on the roster during the Fall ball season with games against UNCG on Oct. 1 and Wake Forest on Oct. 22. The Fall ball slate will conclude with the fall world series from Oct. 27-29.