Lou showed a lot of promise and potential during his limited playing time last year, as he, much like Landon Nakata, was stuck behind future draft picks Matt Cavagnaro and Scott Gaffney. He made the most of his playing time, however, and showed that he could be a very solid starter in the middle infield for any of the next three years at Penn State. He should have a chance to start or at least get a lot of playing time at shortstop or second base this year. Picconi showed a knack for getting on base last year, as he would have had the highest on-base percentage on the team if he had enough at bats to qualify. He should be a top or bottom of the order hitter in the lineup as he can both get on base and advance runners.

While Lou played sparingly last season, he has proven to us that he is ready with the bat as well as with the glove. His enthusiasm for baseball and life in general stands out by the way he plays the game. He is exciting to watch and is one of our team's spark plugs. Louie is a quick learner and has been very responsive to what we have asked him to do. He will once again see almost all of his time as a middle infielder, specifically at second base. His overall game has improved and we feel confident that he can get the job done for us this year." From the Coaches' Suite

2007 (Freshman): Got six starts, all at second base, three of which came when Scott Gaffney pitched and Matt Cavagnaro moved over to short....Reached base safely in all six of his starts, amassing an on-base percentage of .433, which would have been tops on the team if he had enough at bats to qualify....Recorded more walks (4) than strikeouts (3) and also was plunked four times in just 28 plate appearances....Went 5-for-14 (.357) with four runs and five RBI in his last five starts of the year and hit in three straight games to end the year.
Game-by-Game Highlights: Drew a walk in his first career plate appearance at No. 1 North Carolina as a pinch hitter and scored a run (3-2)....Reached base with a walk and drove in a run in his first career start at Oral Roberts (3-17)....Went 1-for-2 and scored two runs while reaching base safely in three out of his four plate appearances and also recorded a career-high five defensive assists vs. Kent State (4-4)....Reached base safely once again and drove in another run in the series finale win over Michigan State (4-16)....Drove in two runs with a double, his first career extra-base hit, and also reached base two other times on hit by pitches vs. Mount St. Mary's (4-18)....Scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning on Rick Marlin's game-winning single after pinch-running for Joe Blackburn to complete the four-run rally in the win over Northwestern (4-20)....Went 2-for-3 with a run in the series finale win over Northwestern (4-22)....Collected his second multi-RBI game with two more driven in and went 1-for-4 vs. Duquesne (4-24)....Came into the game as a defensive replacement when Scott Gaffney made a relief pitching appearance in the final game of the regular season vs. Ohio State (5-20) for his first game in nearly a month.

Chaminade HS: Was a two-year letterwinner on the varsity squad at Chaminade High School in Mineola, N.Y., serving as a captain his senior year, and also was a member of the junior varsity and freshman squads....Was captain and MVP of his freshman squad that went 16-5 and was also captain of the JV team that went 18-3....Both his freshman team and JV team won CHSAA Championships....Was named All-League as a junior and senior as the team compiled a 53-9 combined record in his final two years....As a junior, hit .480 with four home runs, 46 RBI and 20 stolen bases as Chaminade won the Catholic League Championship....Was a member of the honor society at Chaminade....Played in the Empire State Games for three years....Was named one of the top 10 players in the Metro Area and one of the top 400 recruits in the country by Baseball America....Also played shortstop on the Long Island Titans summer league team, which was ranked No. 3 in the country and won a national championship during his time on the team.

Background: Louis James Picconi was born on January 27, 1988 in Queens, N.Y....The son of Gregory and Jane Picconi, he has a younger brother, Keith (17), and a younger sister, Christie (14)....His father is a New York City firefighter....He plans to major in business and would like to work on Wall Street in his career....He lists playing the guitar and surfing as his hobbies.