The Gastonia Grizzlies announced today the signing of three Western Carolina University players including returnee Tyler White and newcomers Tyler Powell and Cody Jones.

White, a 5’11”, 220 pound Junior will be returning to the Grizzlies once again in 2012 after having an impressive season last summer. He finished second in overall batting average .291 and led the team with 60 hits and while bringing in 35 runs.

Powell, a 6’5”, 220 pound Freshmen will begin his first season at Western Carolina after attending Myers Park High School in Charlotte. While at Myers Park he won 45 games on the mound during his three seasons and was selected for the All-South Charlotte Team. Powell was drafted in the 46th round in 2011 by the Texas Rangers.

Jones, a 6’0”, 200 pound sophomore outfielder had a good start to his college career last season with the Catamounts. He finished his freshmen year with a .273 batting average and recorded 55 hits for the season. He recorded three multiple hit games and two multi-RBI outings.

“We are excited to have Tyler back for a second year. He is a great kid to be around and was a big part of our run at the Petit Cup last year. We look for Tyler to be a big contributor again this summer,” said Head Coach Kyle Surprenant.

“Powell is a big, strong kid that has a great career in front of him and we are excited to have him for the summer. He will be a key part of our pitching staff and our success.”

“Cody is another Western Carolina kid who we feel will have a great summer for us. He adds a solid left handed bat to our line-up and will be strong defensively in our outfield. We look forward to having Cody in Gastonia.”

Grizzlies Opening Night is set for May 29th vs. the Columbia Blowfish. A limited number of season tickets and “All You Can Eat Season Tickets” are available for the 2012 season. Season Tickets begin at less than $5 a game and All You Can Eat Season Tickets start at less than $9 per game. For more information about any of the Grizzlies ticket plans you can call the Grizzlies front office at 704-866-8622 or visit www.gastoniagrizzlies.com.

The Coastal Plain League is the nation’s hottest summer collegiate baseball league. Celebrating its 16th season in 2012, the CPL features 14 teams playing in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. The CPL gives college players the chance to refine their skills with the use of wooden bats. Players are housed with local host families for the summer and past experiences have been very positive for both players and hosts. Furthermore, the CPL has had over 930 alumni drafted and 46 alums make their Major League debut thus far. For more information on the Coastal Plain League, please visit the league website at http://www.coastalplain.com, and be sure to friend us on Facebook (at http://www.facebook.com/coastalplainleague) and follow us via Twitter (as cpleague).