After spending the last five years as an  assistant coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Chris Jent is returning to his alma mater, Ohio State, to join Thad Matta’s staff as an assistant coach for the basketball team.

"This was the hardest decision I've ever had to make," Jent said during a press conference yesterday. "I loved every day I went to work, and for me to leave that, it could only have been this type of situation, where I'm basically going back to a home."

Jent joins a staff that recently felt the sting of departure when Brandon Miller, an assistant coach to the Buckeyes basketball team for six of the last seven years, stepped down from his position.

Jent was previously an assistant coach for the Orlando Magic during the 2004-2005 season before being promoted to an interim head coach position for 18 games. Shortly after that, he joined the Cavaliers and Mike Brown’s coaching staff before making his move back to Ohio State.

Jent is known for his tough, hard-nosed playing style, and is expected to be an effective recruiter for the Buckeyes.

For Jent, the decision seemed inevitable, “I bleed Scarlet and Gray, and that was it right there.”

11 former Ohio State student athletes have been named to the University’s 2011 Hall of Fame class. These outstanding individuals (six men, five women) will join the 346 members already inducted.

The 11 person class includes:

Orlando Pace -- an offensive tackle for the Ohio State Buckeyes football team from 1994-1996. Pace was a two-time first team All-American and a two-time Lombardi Award winner. After finishing fourth in the 1996 Heisman voting, Pace entered the NFL draft and was selected first overall by the St. Louis Rams. Pace is widely though of as one of the greatest offensive tackles in college football history.

Mike Doss -- a three-year starting safety for the Ohio State Buckeyes football team, enjoyed a career that stretched from 1999-2002. Doss was a three-time first team All American and a co-captain of the 2002 national championship team. Doss started 40 games during his tenure at Ohio State and racked up 331 tackles.

The nine remaining members to be inducted on September 9, 2011 are:

Didi Albrecht (rowing)
Raj Bhavsar (men’s gymnastics)
Mitch Clark (wrestling)
Katy Craig (women’s track and field)
Jessica Marshall (pistol)
Leo Raskowski (football)
Stacey Roth (softball)
Bobby Watkins (football)
Kristen White (women’s golf)

T.J. McFarland, SP-AKR: W (4-5), 6 IP, R (0 ER), H, 5 K, BB.

McFarland has been up and down since getting called up to AA Akron at the end of April, but has been simply outstanding his last two starts. He has allowed just 1 ER in 13 IP, given up 5 H and struck out 10 and walked 3. When McFarland is able to command his low-90’s fastball, he’s really tough to hit. His sinker has been effective, as he’s posted a 2.12 GO/AO rate for Akron. He had a scare back on June 11 when he felt a twinge in his elbow in the 1^st inning in a start against Harrisburg and had to leave the game, but fortunately there wasn’t any serious damage and he was able to make his next start after a couple extra days of rest. McFarland turned 22 earlier this month, and projects to be a solid middle of the rotation starter down the road.

• David Huff, SP-COL: W (8-2), 6 IP, ER, 4 H, 7 K, 4 BB. Huff now has his ERA down to 3.74 on the season, and is finally starting to miss some bats. In his last 4 starts, he has 24 K in 26 2/3 IP.
• Jason Kipnis, 2B-COL: 3-4, 2 RBI, BB, 3 R. Kipnis is now 9-16 in his last 4 games, and is doing everything he can to convince the Indians brass that he deserves to join Chiz in Cleveland. Antonetti spent the past couple of days in Columbus, and he has to like what he saw from Kipnis.
• Tim Fedroff, LF-COL: 3-5, HR (1), RBI, 2 R. Fedroff picked up in Columbus right where he left off in Akron. He’s 4-12 in AAA with a HR, a 2B and 3 RBI.
• Jason Donald, 3B-COL: 2-4, BB, 2 R. Finally healthy, Donald has a .303/.410/.439 line in 66 AAA at bats, and the Indians suddenly have a plethora of infield options between AAA and the majors.
• Luis Valbuena, SS-COL: 1-4, HR (11), 2 RBI, BB, R, K. Valbuena is up to .316/.380/.524 on the season, and I’m reluctantly including him as one of those infield options. He’s hitting as well as anyone in Columbus, and is still just 25 years old.
• Zeke Carerra, CF-COL: 3-4, 2 R, K. Zeke was 1-17 going into yesterday’s game, so it was especially good to see the Clippers leadoff hitter reaching base again.
• Adam Miller, RP-AKR: S (1), IP, 2 H, 2 K. That makes it 9 straight innings without allowing an earned run for Miller, who’s looking more and more ready for AAA with each appearance.
• Juan Diaz, SS-AKR: 2-3, 2B, 2 RBI, BB, R. Diaz is hitting a solid .316/.341/.421 over his last 10 games for the Aeros. There’s some thought that he will outgrow SS and end up at 3B as he is already 6’4”/200lbs.
• Bryce Stowell, RP-LCC: 1 2/3 IP, ER, 2 H, 3 K, 3 BB. The flamethrowing Stowell is still working his way back from injury. Yesterday’s ER was the first that Stowell has given up in 7 2/3 innings this year, and he now has 10 K (good) and 5 BB (bad).
• Jordan Casas, CF-LCC: 3-5, R, K. Casas was a 40^th round pick last year, and is putting up a solid .373/.377/.451 line in 11 games with Lake County this year.
• Aaron Fields, DH-LCC: 2-4, RBI, R. The son of Indians hitting coach Bruce Fields, Aaron was a 42^nd round pick out of Wright State last year and has now played 3 games for the Captains.
• Kirk Wetmore, SP-MVS: L (2-1), 5 IP, 3 R (0 ER), 4 H, 6 K, BB. Despite not allowing an earned run, Wetmore was the hard luck loser yesterday. He has yet to allow an earned run in 15 IP for the Scrappers this year, and has 15 K against just 3 BB.
• Bryson Myles, CF-MVS: 3-5, 2 2B. The 6^th round pick just keeps on hitting, and is earning a shot at the crowded Lake County OF down the road.

Jason Kipnis, 2B-COL: 2-4, 2 HR (11), 2 RBI, 2 R, 2 K.

Kipnis must be feeling left out after seeing Cord Phelps and Lonnie Chisenhall get the call to Cleveland and leave him in Columbus. He has three straight multi-hit games, and now 3 HR in his last 8 at bats. For the season, he’s hitting a solid .295/.377/.523, but he’s really come on in the month of June, going for a .309/.404/.608 line with 6 of his 11 HR. His numbers are actually better than Chisenhall’s, and it’s going to get really tough to justify keeping him in AAA much longer if this keeps up.

• Jenmar Gomez, SP-COL: W (8-2), 5 1/3 IP, 3 ER, 9 H, 8 K, 2 BB. Gomez is 4-1 with a 2.18 ERA in June. He has 36 K against 14 BB in his 41 1/3 IP this month.
• Zach Putnam, RP-COL: 1 2/3 IP, ER, H, 3 K, 2 BB. Putnam gave up a solo HR, but bounced back to record 3 of his 5 outs via the strikeout. He has 16 K in his last 13 1/3 IP.

• C.C. Lee, RP-COL: IP, H, 2 K. Two appearances for Lee, 2 1/3 scoreless innings, 4 K since being promoted to AAA Columbus.
• Josh Judy, RP-COL: S (12), IP, K. Judy hasn’t given up an earned run in his last 9 2/3 IP.
• Jared Goedert, 1B-COL: 3-4, HR (4), RBI, R. Goedert snapped out of an 0-19 slump with a big day. Not hitting for average, but does have 7 HR in 114 AB between AA and AAA.
• Austin Adams, SP-AKR: 7 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 6 K, BB. Like Josh Tomlin, Adams is a converted SS. Unlike Josh Tomlin, Adams routinely touches the high-90’s with his fastball. When he limits the walks, Adams pitches deep into games and has a lot of success. When he struggles to find the strikezone, he rarely makes it out of the 4^th inning.
• Cory Burns, RP-AKR: S (20), IP, H, 2 K. After struggling in May, Burns is back to his old self in June. He’s thrown 12 1/3 scoreless innings this month, with 12 K and just 4 H and 1 BB.
• Nick Weglarz, DH-AKR: 2-2, RBI, 2 BB. Weglarz continues to get on base and a borderline remarkable rate. His OBP in 17 games for the Aeros is .446. His OPS is .858. All this despite a .196 batting average. He has 10 hits, just 3 of which have been singles including the two last night.
• Jordan Henry, CF-AKR: 2-3, 2B, BB, R. Henry is up to .390/.468/.415 in his last 10, and even managed an XBH last night! Still waiting on his 1^st professional HR though, as the 7^th round pick in 2009 has yet to go deep.
• Steven Wright, SP-KIN: 8 IP, 3 ER, 9 H, 7 K, 3 BB. The knuckler must have been dancing yesterday, as Wright turned in 8 solid innings for the K-Tribe. He’s now appeared in 9 games in Lake County, 1 in Columbus, 1 in Akron and 2 in Kinston. They really need to work in an appearance at Mahoning Valley for him at some point this season.
• Roberto Perez, C-KIN: 2-3, 2 BB. Perez has been outstanding in June, hitting .313/.443/.500. Not sure I’ve mentioned it lately, but I love me some Roberto Perez.
• Chase Burnette, 1B-KIN: 1-5, HR (2), RBI, R. Burnett homered in the 9^th to bring the K-Tribe within one…
• Tyler Cannon, 2B-KIN: 1-4, HR (4), RBI, BB, R. …and Cannon followed with a solo blast of his own to tie the game and force extras.
• Cole Cook, SP-LCC: W (3-8), 5 IP, 3 R (2 ER), 7 H, 8 K, 2 BB. The 8 K for Cook represent his career high, and it’s good to see him missing some bats for a change.
• LeVon Washington, CF-LCC: 2-4, 3B, 2 RBI, BB, SB, 3 R. Washington really filled the stat sheet yesterday, and is starting to heat up a little. He has hit in 6 straight, and has gone 12-32 over that span with a pair of triples.
• Jesus Aguilar, 1B-LCC: 1-4, HR (14), 2 RBI, BB, 2 R, K. BBJA leads the organization in homers with 14, and is slugging .763 in June.
• Bryson Myles, RF-MVS: 2-4, 3B, RBI, 2 SB, 2 R. Myles is up to .300 on the season for Mahoning Valley, and has stolen 5 bags without being caught.
• Tony Wolters, SS-MVS: 2-5, 3B, RBI, R. Wolters has been on base in 10 straight games for the Scrappers, and has an impressive .924 OPS in his 11 games on the season.
• Alex Lavisky, DH-MVS: 2-4, RBI. Lavisky’s struggles have continued in Mahoning Valley, as even after yesterday’s 2-4 he’s hitting just .186/.271/.233 in 11 games in the New York-Penn League.

Around the Farm is back! After a medical related hiatus, we’re back here every morning to give you the rundown of the previous days’ action from across the Indians minor league system. As always, the positions listed below are where the player was playing in yesterday’s game.

Jordan Smith, 3B-Mahoning Valley: 2-3, 2B, RBI, 2 BB, R, K

Smith was the Indians 9^th round pick out of Division II St. Cloud State. He’s not a very polished fielder, and his bat is the tool that will make or break him as a prospect. Drafted as a sophomore, Smith led his team in pretty much every offensive category for the two years he spent at St. Cloud. So far with short season Mahoning Valley, the bat is doing more than enough to make people take notice. In 6 games for the Scrappers, Smith is hitting .400/.464/.480. He’s hit in all 6 games, and has 2 2B and 5 RBI.

• Cory Kluber, SP-COL: L (4-5), 7 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, 9 K, 2 BB. Kluber gave up 4 ER in the 2^nd inning on a pair of home runs, then settled down to end up giving the team 7 decent innings.
• Jason Kipnis, 2B-COL: 2-4, HR (9), RBI, R, 2 K. Columbus had 4 hits as a team, and Kip had half of those. His HR represented the only run in the 5-1 loss.
• Tim Fedroff, LF-COL: 1-3, 1B. Fedroff with a single in his AAA debut against a tough Gwinnett pitching staff.
• Cory Burns, RP-AKR: S (19), IP, 2 K, BB. Burns was about the only Aeros pitcher who could get anyone out yesterday, as he earned the save in a wild 10-9 victory over Bowie.
• Nick Weglarz, LF-AKR: 1-1, 2B, 2 RBI, 4 BB, 2 R. Wegz didn’t get much to hit yesterday, but when he did he made the most of it. Bizzare .163/.414/.388 line in AA includes 21 BB in 49 AB. It’s tough to have a .802 OPS when you’re hitting below the Mendoza Line.
• Kyle Bellows, 3B-AKR: 3-5, BB, 2 R. Bellows has hit in 8 of his last 10 and has a .417/.500/.528 line in that timeframe. Good to see his bat finally waking up, but his season OPS is still just .586.
• Jordan Henry, CF-AKR: 2-5, BB, SB, R. Henry now has 22 SB against just 5 CS. He’s hit in 9 of his last 10, with a .357/.500/.400 line in that span.
• Matt McBride, 1B-AKR: 3-5, 2B, 2 RBI. McBride is up to .285/.348/.511 overall on the season, with 12 HR and 44 RBI.
• Donnie Webb, RF-AKR: 3-4, 2 RBI, 2 BB. Webb has been disappointing so far this year, hitting just .221/.308/.295 in Akron. He’s 5-7 in his last two games, and hopefully heating up here in late June.
• Clayton Cook, SP-KIN: 6 IP, ER, 4 H, 4 K, 3 BB. Cook is following up a dominant month of May with an outstanding June. So far this month, he’s 1-1 with a 2.66 ERA, 24 K and 8 BB in 23 2/3 IP.
• Chris Jones, RP-KIN: 2 IP, ER, 4 H, 3 K. Jones has given up just 2 ER in his last 15 2/3 IP for Kinston.
• Tyler Cannon, DH/2B-KIN: 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI, K. Cannon has been hot lately for the K-Tribe, posting a .371/.439/.686 line in his last 10 games.
• LeVon Washington, CF-LCC: 2-4, BB. Washington has been on base in 9 of his last 10 games, and has now hit in 5 straight.
• Jordan Casas, LF-LCC: The 40^th round draft pick last year has been outstanding in his first taste of full season ball. In the 9 games he’s played for Lake County, he has hits in 8 of them and is at .366/.372/.463 overall.
• Bryson Myles, CF-MVS: 2-5, 2 1B. Myles has drawn comparisons to Kirby Puckett for his frame and game, as he is a speedster who can also hit for some power. So far he’s managed to live up to those lofty expectations, hitting .278/.366/.444 with a HR and 3 SB for Mahoning Valley.
• Jake Lowery, C-MVS: 2-3, 2B, 2 BB, K. The Indians 4^th round pick, Lowery is a bat-first catcher who needs to be able to hit enough to overcome his defensive deficiencies. He’s doing just that so far, batting .318/.400/.568 with 5 2B, 2 HR and 9 RBI for the Scrappers.
• Joseph Colon, SP-MVS: 5 IP, R (0 ER), 4 H, 4 K, 2 BB. A 12^th round pick in 2009, Colon missed all of 2010 with a torn UCL. After a rough 1^st start where he gave up 6 ER in 2 1/3 IP, he’s thrown 10 straight scoreless innings in his last 2 starts.

It is finally upon us. The day that some had called for since spring training is here. Lonnie Chisenhall, universally regarded as one of the top two position prospects in the Indians system, has been called up to the active roster. Veteran utility infielder Adam Everett is the 25-man casualty, designated for assignment and flying back East as the team prepares for another interleague series in Arizona. Everett hit .217 in his 60 at bats with the Indians this year, with one double and one RBI. He will not be missed on the field or in the clubhouse.

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Jensen Lewis was finally sent packing today, released off of the AAA Columbus roster. He joins Jess Todd as relief pitchers who were passed in the pecking
order after more or less failing when given major league opportunities in the past. Lewis was 3-2 with a 5.14 ERA for the Clippers, striking out 22 and walking 15 in 28 innings on the season. Josh Judy and Zach Putnam passed him in the RP pecking order in Columbus, and despite the early AAA struggles of lefty Nick Hagadone, it's pretty clear that he's a better arm than Lewis. 

Called up from Akron to replace the departed Lewis is the deceptive and powerful righty Chen Chang Lee, or CC Lee if you want to recall the Indians two most recent (and departed) Cy Young award winners. Lee has been lights-out for Akron this season, sporting a 2-1 record with a 2.50 ERA for the Aeros. He has a remarkable 56 K against just 11 BB in his 39 2/3 innings pitched. Lee throws from a low 3/4 delivery, often dropping all the way down to sidearm. But he has power stuff, with a fastball that sits comfortably in the mid-90's and touches 96. He compliments the fastball with a plus slider that often leaves righthanders looking foolish at the plate. He's one of the better relief prospects in the system, and the move to Columbus was long overdue.

By all accounts, Lewis was a good guy and teammate during his time in Columbus, but baseball is a business and his number was up. Having been passed by so many RP in the system, it was time to let Lewis move on and find an opportunity elsewhere.

Two Carlos Santana errors and one Carlos Santana baserunning mistake led to a 4-3 Indians loss last night in San Francisco.

But that wasn't the worst news.

Tribe RF Shin-Soo Choo broke his left thumb after being hit by Giant's starter Jonathan Sanchez with a pitch in the 4th inning. Choo had x-rays that confirmed the breal although, according to MLB.com's Jordan Bastian, there is no word yet on whether the Tribe's RF will require surgery and there's no definitive word on how long he'll be out.

The Indians have recalled Travis Buck (dude's rolling up serious frequent flyer miles) to replace Choo on the roster.

Several 2011 Buckeye recruits put their talents on display Saturday night in the "Big 33" game in Hershey, PA. The Pennsylvania all-stars were no match for the talent-laden group from Ohio, and the Buckeye State stars cruised to an easy 50-14 victory, the third straight win for Ohio in the series. Jeff Svoboda has a nice write-up of the game at buckeyesports.com.

OSU-bound wide receiver Devin Smith of Massillon suffered a knee sprain early in the game, but he returned to catch three passes for 103 yards, including touchdown receptions of 54 and 28 yards. Smith looked like a man among boys running through the Pennsylvania secondary. OSU fans have every reason to be excited about this kid.

With Ohio ahead 21-7 in the second quarter and Pennsylvania threatening, OSU recruit Doran Grant (pictured) picked off a pass in the end zone and the Akron SVSM cornerback returned it 100 yards for a touchdown, effectively putting the game away before the half.

Ohio quarterback Cardale Jones from Glenville, who is expected to enroill at OSU after a year in a prep school in 2011, threw two TD passes for the Ohio team, and future Buckeye defensive linemen Steve Miller (Canton McKinley) and Chase Farris (Elyria) set up shop in the Pennsylvania backfield all night and disrupted the PA offense.

U. of Cincinnati commit Akise Teague scored two TD's rushing and one receiving for Ohio, showing off the toughness and open-field elusiveness that helped him win Ohio's Mr. Football award.  And Akron-bound Tyler Williams of Cincinnati Colerain zipped around the field for 119 yards of total offense, adding to the futility and frustration of the overmatched Pennsylvanians.

The Cleveland Indians activated Designated Hitter Travis Hafner from the 15-day disabled list on Friday afternoon before their three game set with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

As Interleague play starts back up for the final stretch, and the Indians coming off another loss that knocked them out of first place again, Manny Acta will get to put Pronk back into his struggling lineup. Hafner was hitting .345 with five home runs in 32 games before being placed on the disabled list with a strained right oblique.

At the time he was one of the best hitters in the American League and although he no longer qualifies, his .409 on-base percentage would place him as third best in the league. Despite missing a full month, Hafner has walked 14 times, which is just three less than Asdrubal Cabrera and only two less than Travis Buck, Austin Kearns, and Shelley Duncan combined. 

Hafner originally injured himself taking batting practice during a road trip in Chicago on May 18th. Now exactly a day short of a month later, Hafner is ready to help aid an ailing offense. He completed two games of rehab with Akron this week, clubbing a double to right-center on Thursday and singling. He also scored two runs and walked in his two games.

To make room, the Indians have optioned outfielder Travis Buck to Columbus. Buck had been hitting .226 with a pair of home runs in 29 games. This is the second time he has been optioned. Buck, Kearns, and Duncan have been trying to fill the DH void, but only Kearns remains on the active roster.

Since Hafner last played, the Indians have gone 10-18. They've been shut out six times and have fallen all the way to 12th in runs scored in all of the majors. More importantly, they've gone from 15 games over .500 and easily leading their division, to trailing Detroit. At one point, the Indians had not only one of the best offenses, but the best run differential in the entire game.

Acta has continually talked about how needed Hafner is in this lineup and he'll now get to put Hafner in the cleanup spot. Hafner of course can now support one of the two hitters that haven't fallen off track, Asdrubal Cabrera, who will be in the three hole. All around, Hafner's addition isn't a cure-all, but his presence makes things tougher on pitchers and it may force them to give hitters like Choo and Santana, now hitting behind Hafner, instead of in front, better pitches to hit.

You can't blame Acta for being almost entirely giddy about Hafner returning. His two best hitters, Choo and Santana, have left a lot of be desired, and Sizemore, although pleasntly surprising, hasn't been able to get to a point to consistently carry the offense. Asdrubal Cabrera and Michael Brantley can only do so much, but the addition of Hafner may be able to get things going. 

And if his insertion into the middle of the order can spark Choo or Santana to turn it on, all the better.

Lucky for the Indians, Hafner returns ahead of schedule. Originally, it was thought he would miss at least another week, which would put his return at the same time the Indians would hit the road for 12 straight interleague games. Obviously, that would minimize his effectiveness as he would only be able to get one at-bat, at the most, as a pinch hitter.

Now Hafner has six games against Pittsburgh and Colorado to hopefully make an impact and turn around a struggling offense.