Stephen Faris Class: Junior Hometown: Richmond, VA High School: Tucker High School Height / Weight: 6-1 / 190 Position: RHP

Junior righthander who was used primarily as a long reliever and spot starter in 2004 and early on in 2005, but improved to become the Friday starter late in the 2005 season...will compete for a starting spot in the weekend rotation in 2006...control and competitive pitcher who must hit his spots to be effective...gets good movement on all his pitches...has a 7-7 record and 3.88 ERA in 139.0 innings pitched over 37 appearances (15 starts)...has 103 strikeouts against only 36 walks and has allowed just five home runs...his 2.33 walks per nine innings pitched mark is seventh-best in Clemson history and his 2.86 strikeout-to-walk ratio is 10th-best in Clemson history...preseason second-team All-ACC by SEBaseball.com.

Head Coach Jack Leggett on Faris: "Stephen is a righthanded pitcher who showed us some great things last year. He became very consistent down the stretch and pitched in some big games. He has a good feel for his breaking ball, and has great command of his fastball and changeup. He is a control-type pitcher that can sneak it by you and is a great competitor as well. He fields his position very well, and we look for him to pitch in many big games again this year. With him on the mound, we have a chance to win every time out."

2005: Second-Team All-ACC selection...had a 6-4 record and team-best 2.60 ERA (sixth-best in the ACC) along with a save in 10 starts and 10 relief appearances (97.0 innings pitched)...started the season in the bullpen, but moved into the weekend rotation late in the season...had three complete games, tied with Josh Cribb for the most by a Tiger since 1996 (Kris Benson (7) and Ken Vining (3)) and tied for the most in the ACC, among his 10 starts...had a .251 opponents' batting average and allowed only one home run along with just 16 extra-base hits...had a 2-0 record and 0.44 ERA in 20.2 innings pitched in March...had 79 strikeouts against only 25 walks...had a 0.92 ERA and .192 opponents' batting average in non-conference, regular-season games...had a team-best 2.54 ERA and .238 opponents' batting average in games away from home...only allowed 11 walks with 54 strikeouts in 67.1 innings pitched over his 10 starts...in his 10 relief appearances, he had a 1.21 ERA and allowed only 18 hits (all singles) in 29.2 innings pitched...only allowed two of eight inherited runners to score...had three pickoffs...pitched 2.1 hitless and scoreless innings in relief against #18 California-Irvine on Feb. 27...pitched 5.1 innings in relief, allowing only one run against Winthrop on Mar. 9...pitched 5.0 scoreless innings with four strikeouts against only four hits and no walks in a start to earn the win against Furman on Mar. 16...pitched 1.1 perfect innings in relief with three strikeouts against #9 North Carolina on Mar. 20...recorded his first career save by pitching 2.0 scoreless and hitless innings with three strikeouts at Old Dominion on Mar. 22...earned the win in relief by pitching 6.0 scoreless innings of two-hit ball in the first game of a doubleheader at Maryland on Mar. 26; he also struck out six and worked out of several jams in extra innings...pitched 4.0 scoreless innings in relief at #6 Florida State on Apr. 2; he also allowed just one hit and two walks while striking out six...pitched his first career complete game against Georgia on Apr. 6; he allowed five hits, one earned run, and three walks while striking out eight in 9.0 innings pitched...earned the win at Western Carolina on Apr. 12; in the final 5.0 innings pitched, he allowed three hits and no earned runs...pitched a complete game five-hitter to earn the win against #4 South Carolina on Apr. 13; he allowed two runs and one walk while striking out seven; he became the first Tiger to pitch complete games in back-to-back starts since 2000 and the first Tiger to pitch a complete game against South Carolina since 1997; he earned ACC Pitcher-of-the-Week honors for his efforts...pitched a complete game to earn the win at Wake Forest on May 13; he allowed six hits, one run, and one walk with five strikeouts...pitched 7.0 innings, allowing one earned run and no walks with five strikeouts to earn the win against #4 Miami (FL) on May 19; he picked up the victory in a head-to-head matchup against Cesar Carrillo, who suffered his first collegiate loss in 25 decisions...despite suffering the loss, he pitched 7.1 innings, allowing two earned runs, eight hits, and no walks with four strikeouts against Virginia in the ACC Tournament on May 25...did not factor in the decision, but struck out 10 against only one walk, and allowed two runs in 6.2 innings pitched against North Carolina A&T in the Clemson Regional on Jun. 3...played for Falmouth in the Cape Cod League in the summer, where he was 2-1 with a 3.06 ERA in 35.1 innings pitched (five starts).

2004: Had a 1-3 record and 6.86 ERA in 12 relief appearances and five starts...allowed just 11 walks in 42.0 innings pitched...had two pickoffs...threw 60 ground-ball outs compared to just 33 fly-ball outs...was 1-0 with a 3.95 ERA in 13.2 innings pitched against SEC teams...allowed just one hit and no runs in 6.0 innings pitched in the second inning...pitched 2.2 scoreless innings in relief at #5 South Carolina on Mar. 6...in his second career start, he pitched 6.0 innings, allowing two runs on five hits, to earn his first win against Georgia on Mar. 31...pitched 2.0 scoreless innings in relief at Duke on May 20...started the championship game in the second game of a doubleheader at #10 Georgia in the Athens Regional on Jun. 6; he pitched 4.0 innings and allowed three runs on four hits...played for New Market in the Valley League in the summer, where he was 5-2 with a 2.26 ERA in nine appearances (eight starts); also pitched a complete game and struck out 55 while allowing only 56 hits and 10 walks in 63.2 innings pitched.

BEFORE CLEMSON: Earned second-team all-state honors as a senior at Tucker High...had an 8-2 record and 0.88 ERA in 48.0 innings pitched as a senior...struck out 71 against only 12 walks and had a .475 batting average as a senior...in four seasons, he was 30-9 with 229 strikeouts...played in the Virginia High School Coaches Association All-Star game as a senior...named the district and region player-of-the-year as a senior, and region player-of-the-year as a junior...as a junior, he pitched and won the region title game...named all-metro co-player-of-the-year and honorable mention all-state as a junior...lettered four times in baseball at Tucker High School...coached by Will Hicks.

PERSONAL: Member of the ACC Academic Honor Roll in 2004-05...majoring in community recreation management...pronounced FAYR-ihs...born Stephen Wayne Faris on Jun. 30, 1984 in Richmond, VA.