Xavier Baseball Announces Fall 2024 Signing Class

CINCINNATI - Xavier baseball head coach Billy O'Conner announced the Fall 2024 signing class this week. Xavier added six in the class, set to join the Musketeers in Fall 2025 ahead of the 2026 season.

Joey Arend is an outfielder and left-handed pitcher from St. Charles, Illinois, where he attends St. Charles East High School.

Arend has spent three years as a member of the varsity program at St. Charles East, playing for coach Derek Sutor. He's helped the team to 40 wins over the past two seasons, including a Regional Championship in 2023. Arend has earned all-conference honors in the DuKane Conference, and has also earned Pitcher of the Year honors during his prep career. He also has club experience playing for Top Tier Americans.

Arend plans on majoring in Finance at Xavier. He is the son of Catherine Arend and Daniel Arend and has two siblings, Abby and Bentley. His sister Abby plays softball at Keiser University.

Lincoln Causero is a right-handed pitcher from Arlington Heights, Illinois, where he attends John Hersey High School

Carusero is a four-year member of the varsity program at John Hersey, playing for coach Wally Brownley. He's helped Hersey collect 49 wins over the past two season, winning a regional championship as a sophomore. Causero also has club experience playing for Top Tier North, East Cobb Astros and the Padres Scout Team. He's helped his club teams collect over 60 wins over the past three years.

Causero plans on majoring in Business at Xavier. He is the son of Kelly and Luke Causero and has one sibling, Kendall. His mother played collegiate volleyball at Valpariso and soccer at Eastern Illinois.

Ryan McDonagh is right-handed pitcher from Milton, Ontario, Canada, where he attends Milton District High School.

McDonagh is a four-year member of the varsity program under coach Andrew Puffer at Milton, playing infield and pitching. He helped the team to the Halton Championship and earned Player of the Month honors during his prep career. He also has three years of experience playing club baseball with the Ontario Blue Jays and is coming off a 2024 season where the team went 32-8 and won the Boston Classic Championship. The team also won 31 games in 2023, winning the CPBL Championship.

McDonagh plans on majoring in Business at Xavier. He is the son of Jason McDonagh and Cathy Gallagher, and has an older sister, Meaghan.

Luke Mensik is a right-handed pitcher from Mokena, Illinois, where he plays for Lincoln-Way Central High School.

Mensik plays for coach Ryan Kutt at Lincoln-Way Central and is a four-year member of the varsity team. Last season, he finished with a 1.00 ERA through 51.0 innings pitched, collecting 68 Ks for a squad that went 24-7. He earned Third-Team All-State honors following the season. He also has experience playing club baseball for the Cangelosi Sparks.

Mensik is the son of Heather and Todd Mensik and has a brother, Landon. His father played baseball at the University of Mississippi. His brother, Landon, is also a member of the Xavier Baseball program.

Mitchell Morton is a catcher from Plano, Texas, who plays for Plano West Senior High School.

Morton is a four-year member of the varsity program at Plano West, where he plays for coach Kevin Clark. He's coming off a junior season where he batted .300, with a .448 on-base percentage and an .888 OPS, while playing as the full-time catcher. During his prep career, Morton has earned First Team All-District honors at the catcher's spot. He also has club experience playing for Five Star Performance National, helping the team collect 65 wins over the last three summers.

Morton plans to major in Criminal Justice and Forensic Science at Xavier. He is the son of Sam and Valerie Morton and has two siblings, Merritt and Madelyn. His father played collegiate soccer at Sam Houston State.

Josh Stonehouse is a first baseman and outfielder from Camarillo, California, where he attends Crespi Carmelite High School.

Stonehouse has been a member of the varsity program at Crespi Carmelite for four years, playing for coach Mike Glendenning. He has a .317 batting average with a .481 on-base percentage during his prep career. Stonehouse also played two seasons of varsity football at Crespi Carmelite. He has two years of experience playing club baseball for the SoCal Giants, helping the team earn a No. 4 national ranking during his time with the team. He earned the squad's "SoCal Giant" award twice.

Stonehouse plans on majoring in Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Xavier. He is the son on John and Sue Stonehouse, and has three siblings, Brooke, Jack and Jessie. His father played football at USC and his mother played soccer at UCLA. All three of his siblings are also collegiate athletes, Brooke played soccer at Toledo, Jack is currently a member of Syracuse's football team, and Jessie plays soccer at Sacred Heart.

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