RELEASE DATE: 6/25/07

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Chris Francis to Join Mountaineer Coaching Staff

MANSFIELD – Christian Francis will join the Mansfield University baseball program as a full-time assistant coach. The announcement was made today by Mountaineer head coach Harry Hillson.

“We’re excited about having Chris join our program,” said head coach Harry Hillson. “He’s an outstanding coach and recruiter who has improved the pitching staff at every school he’s coached. He will have an immediate impact on our program.”

Francis comes to Mansfield after serving five seasons as an assistant coach at Virginia Wesleyan College. At VWC, Francis directed the pitching staff and was the athletic center supervisor. His tutelage helped Virginia Wesleyan to five straight winning seasons while he was on the staff including three conference tournament championships and two outright championships. The team finished in the top five in the NCAA South Regional three times during his tenure including 2003 when the squad carried a 2.19 ERA, the second best in the nation in NCAA Division III.

He played four years of college baseball at Ithaca College where he captained the team in 1997 and was named to the All-Region second team. Francis was named the Carlton "Carp" Wood Award winner for his attitude on the field. He used that attitude to remain a part of the baseball world, working two years as an assistant coach for the University of Rochester where he headed the recruitment of players.

Francis would return to Ithaca in 1999 and would return to the Bombers' dugout serving as a graduate assistant on the coaching staff while working towards his masters degree in sport psychology.

Francis has experience managing baseball clubs as well as he served as the head coach of multiple summer league teams including a stint in the New York Collegiate Baseball League, a wood bat league that current members of the Mountaineers Ryan Giblin and Ryan Riley are actively playing this summer.

Francis' main duties with the Mounties will be working with the pitching staff and recruiting.

Francis will jump in to coach a young pitching staff with no senior member on the squad. The Mountaineers top returning starter from last season, Eric Rosenberger, will be just a sophomore in 2008. Rosenberg is joined by fellow returners Tyler Noel (junior), Shane Ryan (sophomore), Zach Ullrich (sophomore), and Josh Michalko (sophomore).

Francis will officially begin his responsibilities at the University on July 2, 2007, assisting with Mountaineer summer camps and tournaments throughout the summer.