The second baseman/designated hitter batted .418 with nine home runs and a school-record 84 RBIs in his junior season in 2009. His 84 runs driven in are sixth-best in the nation, while his team-leading .519 on-base percentage is 13th in the country.
The Coatesville, Pa., native tallied 20 doubles and compiled a .648 slugging percentage. Belnome finished his junior campaign placing in the top five in four major offensive categories in the Big East - on-base percentage (first), RBIs (first), walks (second) and batting average (fourth). He is tied with Stan Posluszny for second place on the school's career RBI list with 174.
Belnome batted in the cleanup spot in all 55 games in 2009, and started the first 39 games at second base before making the switch to designated hitter. He surpassed 200 career hits as a member of WVU, and was named to the College Baseball Foundation National Allstar Lineup on May 12th after his historic 6-for-6 performance with two home runs and nine RBIs helped defeat Cincinnati, 18-3, on May 10.
The two-time all-Big East selection is one of two Mountaineers in school history to be drafted by the Padres. Former WVU pitcher Joe Filandino was selected with the 299th overall pick in the 12th round of the 1984 MLB Amateur Draft.
Belnome joins catcher Tobias Streich as the only WVU players selected through the first 30 rounds of the 2009 MLB Draft. The rest of the Draft, including rounds 31-50, will wrap up on Thursday beginning at 11:30 a.m. on MLB.com.