EASTON, Pa. – Lafayette head baseball coach Joe Kinney has announced the signing of nine student-athletes to the Lafayette Class of 2024.

The Lafayette Nine welcome Adam Bogosian,  Blaze Fadio, Bo Planeta, Drew Smiley, Mike Mallas, Joe Pence, Justin Grech and Luke Benneche as its newest incoming class.

Bogosian comes to College Hill from Brooklyn, New York where he attends the Beacon School. He has been in the starting rotation for three years. In his junior season, Adam led all juniors in the NYC Public School Athletic League (PSAL) AAA in ERA (0.52), strikeouts (68), and wins (6). He has been selected as team captain for his senior year and was invited to play for the PSAL Select Team.

He is the son of David and Deborah Bogosian.





Cope hails from Chevy Chase, Maryland, where he attends and plays for the Landon School in Bethesda, Maryland. He is a three-year varsity starter as a pitcher, third baseman and first baseman, pitching 32 innings with a 1.97 ERA, 32 strikeouts and holds a .417 batting average with 10 RBI's and a .525 on base percentage. Cope was unanimously elected as senior captain as well as was named Rookie of the Year his sophomore season and offensive player of the year his junior season.

He is the son of Greg and Bea Cope and has one younger sister, Lillie Beau.



Fadio comes to College Hill from Audubon, New Jersey where he is a three-year varsity starter for Audubon Junior-Senior High School as a second baseman and shortstop. At Audubon, he was a member of the 2017 South Jersey Group 1 Championship team, the 2018 Colonial Conference Championship team and in 2019, was named First Team All-Conference.

He is the son of Barry and Robin Fadio and has an older sister, Chelsea.



Planeta hails from Clearwater, Florida where he is a two-sport athlete at Calvary Christian High School, playing football and baseball.  He was a starter at first base and outfield on the 4A State Championships team in 2019.  

He is the son of Chris and Kerry Planeta and has two sisters, CeCe and Ava. His father played baseball at Virginia Military Institute.



Smiley is a Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania native and graduated from Holy Ghost Prep. At Holy Ghost, Drew was a right-handed pitcher as well as played short stop, helping the team in 2019 to a 23-2 overall record and a District Championship.

He is the son of Peter and Deborah Smiley and has one older brother, Jack, and one younger brother, Cole.



Mallas, a Lutherville, Maryland resident, is a three-year varsity baseball starter at catcher for the Gilman School in Baltimore, Maryland. He appeared in two championship games and was a two-time conference runner up.  He also played volleyball and ran indoor track for Gilman. 

He is the son of Georganne and Dino Mallas and has one brother, Will.



Pence arrives at College Hill from Mount Laurel, New Jersey.  He was a three-year starter as an outfielder and right-handed pitcher for Lenape High School and is attending Bishop Eustace High School in his senior year.

He is the son of Stephen Pence and Danuta Kor and has one sister, Celina.



Grech, hailing from Southlake, Texas, attends Carroll Senior High School.   Justin is a two-year varsity starter at right field and as a left-handed pitcher. At Carroll, he was a member of the 2019 Texas 6A state championship team and was named MVP of the state tournament. 

He is the son of John Grech and Karen Heese and has one older brother, Adam.



Benneche is a two-way player from Simsbury, Connecticut.  At Simsbury High School, he has played outfield, first base, and was named to the CCC All-Academic Team both seasons.

Benneche is the son of Tom and Joyce Benneche and has two older siblings, Sarah and Thomas.



Lafayette opens up its 2020 season with a three-game series at High Point University, in High Point, North Carolina, February 14-16.