As a freshman, John showcased the potential that made him one of the top recruits in Pennsylvania in 2006, especially toward the end of the season. With a solid summer under his belt as well as experience during a tight conference race at the end of last year, Karr should once again be in the mix for a weekend rotation spot in what should be a loaded and deep rotation this year. After making his first seven appearances out of the bullpen, John made his first start of the season in a midweek start in late April and then started in the final three conference weekends as well as in the Big Ten Tournament. He never allowed more than three runs in any appearance, culminating with his season-long outing of 5.1 innings with just two runs allowed in a key elimination game against Illinois in the Big Ten Tournament.

Summer 2007: Pitched for the Southern Ohio Copperheads of the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League, joining the team after attending the first summer session of classes at Penn State....Appeared in five games during the regular season, making four starts, and compiled a 3-0 record with a 1.48 ERA....Pitched 24.1 innings and allowed just four runs while striking out 20 and limiting opposing hitters to a .230 average....Also started the first game of GLSCL playoffs and threw seven innings, allowing just two hits and no runs and struck out two to pick up the win.

"John gained a lot of valuable experience as the season went on last year and ended up playing a key role in our team's conference success. He also pitched a couple big games in a Big Ten Tournament that helped him gain more confidence in his abilities at this level. Hopefully John will be able to help solidify our bullpen and have another successful year." From the Coaches' Suite

2007 (Freshman): Did not allow a hit for his first six full innings of work as a collegiate pitcher, which were spread over his first five appearances....Made seven straight relief appearances to begin his career before starting his last five games, including three Big Ten starts and one in the Big Ten Tournament....Had a 3.03 ERA in 32.2 innings of work, allowing just 11 earned runs and fewer hits (29) than innings pitched....In Big Ten play, had a 1.65 ERA in five appearances, spanning 16.1 innings of work....Allowed just five runs and two earned runs in Big Ten play while limiting opposing hitters to a .185 average.
Game-by-Game Highlights: Made his collegiate debut with a perfect 1-2-3 inning at No. 1 North Carolina (3-2)....Pitched another scoreless inning and struck out one at Oral Roberts (3-15)....Saw his first action in conference play as he threw two-thirds of an inning and got two straight fly ball outs vs. Minnesota (3-31)....Tossed 2.1 scoreless innings without allowing a hit as the first reliever out of the bullpen in a win over Kent State (4-4)....Finally allowed his first hit but only allowed two runs and no walks while striking out four in a three-inning stint vs. Mount St. Mary's (4-18)....Picked up his first collegiate win by allowing just one hit in 1.2 innings of work as the first reliever out of the bullpen once again vs. Northwestern (4-21)....Earned his first career start and pitched well, allowing four hits and just one run while striking out three vs. Duquesne (4-24)....Awarded his first Big Ten start vs. Purdue (5-6) and allowed just one earned run in five innings of work and also struck out four....Struck out four for his second straight start and left the game with the lead after going four innings and allowing four hits and two earned runs at Michigan (5-13)....Equaled his career high with five innings of work vs. Ohio State (5-20), allowing four hits, and just one unearned run....Set a new career high with a 5.1-inning performance in which he allowed just two earned runs on six hits in a no decision to help Penn State top Illinois in an elimination game in the Big Ten Tournament (5-25).

Pine Richland HS: Was a three-year letterwinner at Pine Richland High School in Gibsonia, Pa. and was also a team captain his senior year....Compiled a career record of 27-1 with 273 career strikeouts....Was a three-time All-District selection and was named All-WPIAL his junior and senior seasons....Named the Pittsburgh Post Gazette Player of the Year and the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Player of the Year his senior season....Went 14-0 with 146 strikeouts as a senior as the team went 23-4....Threw a complete game, one-hitter and struck out 13 in the state championship game to lead Pine Richland to the State AAA Championship....Team won sectionals and the WPIAL during each of his three years on the varsity as well....Went 6-1 with five complete games, a 2.90 ERA and 58 strikeouts as a sophomore and then went 7-0 with six complete games, a 2.16 ERA and 69 strikeouts as a junior, as he started and won the WPIAL championship game in both seasons....Threw a one-hitter in his first varsity start as a sophomore....Played in the Keystone State Games and was also selected to play for the Allegheny Pirates fall select team sponsored by the Pittsburgh Pirates....Also played basketball for one season and football for three seasons.

Background: John William Karr was born on October 16, 1987....He is the son of John and Gwenn Karr and has a younger sister, Kaitlyn (15)....His father attended and played tennis at Penn State....Intends to major in business and marketing with career aspirations of having a career in marketing after a professional baseball career....He plays the guitar and drums as a hobby.