STEPHENVILLE – Tarleton head baseball coach Bryan Conger has announced the signing of Matt Shannon to a National Letter-of-Intent to play baseball for the Texans beginning in the spring of 2011.

Shannon, a right-handed pitcher, transfers to Tarleton from Chandler Gilbert Community College out of Chandler, Ariz., where he went 5-1 his sophomore season with a 2.23 earned run average. He was named an Arizona CC All-Region selection and was a NJCAA Academic All-American as well.

The 6-1 pitcher played his high school baseball at Mountain View High School in Mesa, Ariz., which continues to be one of the nation's elite programs in the country. Mountain View has been recently ranked as high as No. 17 in the nation and No. 1 in Arizona among high school baseball programs.

During his senior year at Mountain View, Shannon went 9-0 with a 2.13 ERA. He was then named to multiple post-season teams, which included First Team All-Arizona Republic honors, a first team all-region selection and a Second Team Arizona Baseball Coaches Association selection.

The incoming Texan was an ABCA all-star selection and was named the East Valley Pitcher of the Year as well.

 
“We are very excited to add a pitcher of Matt's ability to our roster for next year,” Conger said. Matt has a proven track record of being a winner everywhere he has been and he was extremely successful in one of the toughest JC conferences in the country. We feel that he will be able to step in immediately and compete for a spot in our rotation.”

The Texans will begin off-season workouts when school resumes in the fall.