FLORENCE, S.C. – Francis Marion University baseball coach Art Inabinet has announced that infielder Keon Graves of Dillon will join the Patriot baseball squad this fall after transferring from Spartanburg Methodist College.

Graves, 6-3 190-pounds, batted .246 this past spring for Spartanburg Methodist and helped lead the Pioneers to a 54-14 record and a third-place finish at the NJCAA World Series. He hit 10 home runs and 10 doubles and drove in 34 runs. At the World Series, he was named the Jay Tolman Defensive Player of the Series.

Prior to the 2007 season, he was named a pre-season Junior College All-American by Baseball America.

A standout performer at Dillon High School for coaches Gregg Dozier and Chris Johnson, Graves was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 27th round of the 2004 draft. He enrolled at Coastal Carolina University, where he batted .263 in 21 games during the 2005 season. He was redshirted in 2006 and then transferred to Spartanburg Methodist.

During the 2006 summer, he played for the Spartanburg Stingers in the Costal Plain League, batting .278 with five home runs, 16 stolen bases, and 24 RBIs.

He recently signed to play with the CPL’s New Bern squad.

“Keon possesses a lot of natural athletic ability and he is a very good sign for us,” said Inabinet. “He can run, throw, and hit. He is a very good defensive player and will add speed to our squad. A right-handed batter, he will play on the left side of our infield, hit in the middle of our order, and will be an impact player in the Peach Belt (Conference).”

Francis Marion finished the 2007 campaign with a 36-18 mark, the second-most wins in school history. The Patriots lose five seniors from that squad.

Graves joins a recruiting class that includes 11 other newcomers.