College Baseball 360 Two Sport Report #3

December 3, 2010
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The college baseball season is still a couple months away, but there are plenty of two-sport athletes still playing football. Baseball/football players like Coty Blanchard of Jacksonville State and others on this list are in action in the first round of the FCS football playoffs.

We also have a couple new additions to the Two-Sport Report. Tyler Gaffney earned All-Pac 10 honors on the baseball field last year for Stanford and he’s also helped the Cardinal to an 11-1 record this fall. Meanwhile, Brandon Weeden has helped Oklahoma State to a 10-2 record in 2010. At 27, he’s burst on the college football scene this fall after spending several years as a minor league pitcher.

Updated stats for these and other baseball players with “other” college sports are chronicled in our latest Two-Sport Report.

Alabama-Birmingham

Danny Volk – Sr. – Baseball/Football

Volk has played baseball at UAB since 2008. He is a walk-on tight end this year on the football team. He hit .200 with two RBIs in 2010.

Arizona State

Brandon Magee – Baseball/Football

Magee is a linebacker on the ASU football team and an outfielder on the baseball team. He served primarily as a pinch-hitter during the 2009 and 2010 baseball seasons. Magee had 34 tackles with two sacks during the 2009 football season.

With 60 tackles, Magee is ASU’s second leading tackler through 11 games in 2010.

Matt Campbell

Army

Matt Campbell – Sr. – Baseball/Football

Campbell is a kicker for the Army football team and an infielder on the baseball squad. He is a kickoff specialist with 47 kicks for a 58.2 average in 2009 and 57 kicks for a 60.1 average and three touchbacks in 2010. He played in one baseball game in 2010.

Jon Crucitti – Fr. – Baseball/Football

Crucitti is a running back and outfielder who is in his first year at Army.

Crucitti has played in seven of Army’s first 11 games of the 2010 football season. He has carried the ball 29 times for 87 net yards.

Butler

Will Schierholz – Fr. – Baseball/Football

Schierholtz is a freshman from St. Louis who is a back-up quarterback for the Bulldogs this fall. He’s slated to pitch next spring.

Cal Poly

Jono Grayson – Sr. – Baseball/Football

Grayson played football for the Mustangs from 2006-2009 and played baseball in 2010. He has exhausted his football eligibility, but will play one more season of baseball at Cal Poly in 2011.

Kyle Parker

Clemson

Kyle Parker – RS Soph. – Baseball/Football

Parker had arguably the best two sport year ever last year. He threw 20 touchdown passes with 2,526 yards in the fall of 2009 to help the Clemson football team beat Kentucky in the Music City Bowl in his redshirt freshman year on the gridiron. Then last spring he hit 20 home runs with 64 RBIs to help the Tigers reach the College World Series.

He is the first and only player in Division One history to throw 20 TDs and hit 20 HR in the same academic year.

Parker was taken by the Colorado Rockies with the 26th overall pick in this year’s MLB Draft. He has signed with the Rockies and will report to spring training in 2011.

After this year, he still has two years of football eligibility remaining.

Parker passed for 2,079 yards with 12 touchdowns and 10 interceptions for the 6-6 Tigers in 2010.  CLICK HERE to listen to an exclusive podcast interview with Parker.

Columbia

Alex Aurrichio – Sr. – Baseball/Soccer

Aurrichio hit .329 with 13 HR and 40 RBIs in 2010 for the Columbia baseball team. He also started all 17 games as the soccer team’s goalkeeper in 2009.

Aurrichio started in goal in 16 of Columbia’s 17 soccer games in 2010. He had a 1.32 goals against average with 54 saves and four shutouts.

Eastern Illinois

Cameron Berra – Fr. – Baseball/Football

Berra is a freshman from St. Louis who is just beginning his collegiate two sport career. He is a kicker on the football team and will play catcher next spring.  His grandfather was a cousin of Hall of Famer Yogi Berra.

Berra served as EIU’s primary kicker through in 2010. He connected on 8 of 11 field goal attempts and 19 of 20 PATs. He also averaged 52.5 yards with two touchbacks on 32 kickoffs.

Scott Riddle

Elon

Scott Riddle – Sr. – Baseball/Football

Riddle passed for 3,345 yards and 23 touchdowns in 2009. He is the Southern Conference record holder for career completions and passing yards. He hit .317 with six home runs and 31 RBIs in 2010.

Riddle passed for 3,241 yards with 28 touchdowns and 6 interceptions in 10 games in 2010. He was named First Team All-Southern Conference by the league’s coaches, while earning second team accolades by in the SoCon media poll.

Fairfield

Tucker Nathans – Sr. – Baseball/Soccer

Nathans played both baseball and soccer in his first three years at Fairfield, but he has decided to concentrate solely on baseball during his senior campaign. He hit .357 with seven HR and a team-best 50 RBIs in 2010.

CLICK HERE to listen to an exclusive podcast interview with Nathans.

Taiwan Easterling

Florida State

Taiwan Easterling – RS Jr. – Baseball/Football

Easterling had 35 receptions for 442 yards and two touchdowns for the football team in 2009. He had four receptions for 56 yards and a touchdown in the Seminoles’ 2010 season-opening win over Samford. He played in 23 games with one start on the baseball diamond in 2010, going 3 for 23 with two RBIs at the plate.

Easterling has 32 catches for 462 yards and 4 touchdowns through FSU’s first 12 football games in 2010. He and the Seminoles face Virginia Tech in the ACC Championship game.

George Washington

Marshall Seedorf – Jr. – Baseball/Swimming

Seedorf is a rare baseball player who also swims in college. He has been one of George Washington’s top freestyle sprinters during his first two years. Seedorf also pitched in 20 games in relief in 2010, going 1-1 with two saves.

Holy Cross

Josh Hauser – So. – Baseball/Football

Hauser is in his sophomore year with the Holy Cross football and baseball teams. He pitched in 12 games in relief in 2010, with a 4.34 ERA in 18 2/3 innings pitched. Hauser is also a tight end on the gridiron.

Hauser had five catches for 43 yards for the Crusaders in 2010.

Indiana

Matt Ernest – RS Jr. – Baseball/Football

Ernest pitched in six games with a 4.97 ERA in 12 2/3 innings in 2010. As a wide receiver in 2009 he caught seven passes for 69 yards. He’s moved to the defensive side of the ball in 2010 and is now a cornerback.

Ernest was IU’s 10th leading tackler with 29 in 2010.

Greg Heban – RS Fr. – Baseball/Football

Heban made two relief appearances for the Hoosiers in 2010. He is also a cornerback on the football squad.

Heban was IU’s seventh leading tackler with 40 in 2010.

Coty Blanchard

Jacksonville State

Coty Blanchard – Fr. – Baseball/Football

Blanchard was taken by the Baltimore Orioles in the 41st round with the 1,228th overall pick in June’s MLB draft. He decided not to sign to that he could pursue both baseball and football at Jacksonville State.

Blanchard’s college football debut was a big one. He came off the bench to go 9-for-23 for 126 yards and two touchdown passes in Jacksonville State’s season-opening 49-48 double overtime win over Ole Miss. It was the first win over an SEC school for an Ohio Valley Conference team since the league was formed in 1948.

He earned OVC accolades again on October 3rd when he was named conference Newcomer of the Week for his efforts in a 40-34 win over Murray State. Blanchard passed for 68 yards and a TD, rushed for 28 yards and averaged 39.4 yards on seven punts to help the 4th ranked (FCS) Gamecocks improve to 5-0.

Blanchard was named to the OVC’s All-Rookie Team in 2010 after passing for 296 yards with 8 touchdowns and two interceptions. He also rushed for 282 net yards with two touchdowns on the ground. He and Jacksonville State face Wofford in the first round of the FCS Playoffs.

He  is expected to start at shortstop for the baseball team in 2011.

Kentucky

Brian Adams – Soph. – Baseball/Football

After missing all of what would have been his freshman football season due to treatment for severe blood clots, Adams played in eight games for the Kentucky baseball team in 2010. He hit .472 with a home run and eight RBIs in 36 at-bats. He is a redshirt freshman wide receiver with the football team this fall.

Adams has played in 11 of Kentucky’s 12 football games in 2010. He has three catches for 23 yards.

Liberty

Josh Healey – Fr. – Baseball/Football

Healey is in his first year at Liberty. He is a football defensive back and a pitcher for the baseball team.

McNeese State

Jace Peterson – Jr. – Baseball/Football

Peterson batted .366 with 16 stolen bases for the baseball team in 2010. He had 39 tackles with three sacks as a safety on the gridiron in 2009.

Peterson had 30tackles with two sacks for the Cowboy’s in 2010.

Nebraska

Khiry Cooper – Soph. – Baseball/Football

Cooper had 13 receptions for 80 yards with a touchdown for the Cornhusker football team in 2009. He started 16 games primarily as an outfielder and batted .258 with eight RBIs for the baseball team in 2010.

New Mexico State

Tanner Rust – Soph. – Baseball/Football

Rust served in a back-up role for both the football and baseball teams as a freshman in 2009-2010. He played in 11 football games in 2010, going 8 of 18 for 33 passing yards.

Nicholls State

Mike Barba – Soph. – Football/Baseball

Barba played in 23 games with four starts for the baseball team in 2010. He batted .143 with one RBI.

Russell Wilson

North Carolina State

Russell Wilson – Jr. – Baseball/Football

Wilson passed for 3,027 yards and an ACC-leading 31 touchdowns in 2009 as NC State’s starting quarterback. He hit .306 with three home runs on the baseball field in 2010. After being taken in the 4th round with the 140th overall pick in the June MLB Draft by the Colorado Rockies, he signed a professional contract. Wilson batted .230 in 122 at-bats over the summer for the Tri-City Dust Devils in the Class A Northwest League. He is back at NC State playing football this fall.

Wilson has passed for 3,288 yards with 26 touchdowns and 14 interceptions through NC State’s first 12 football games for the bowl-bound Wolfpack in 2010. He has also rushed for 394 net yards and nine touchdowns.

Northwestern

Quentin Williams – Soph. – Baseball/Football

Williams batted .192 with a home run and seven RBIs in limited action in 2010. He had 55 at-bats in 17 starts. He also pitched 4 1/3 innings in three relief appearances. He is also a defensive lineman on the football team.

Williams has 15 tackles with an interception in 2010. He received Academic All-Big Ten recognition for the fall semester.

Oklahoma State

Nathan Sorenson – Fr. – Baseball/Football

Sorenson is a highly touted true freshman who was rated as one of the top 50 high school quarterback prospects by all of the recruiting services. He was also picked by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 47th round of the June MLB Draft. Sorenson pitched and played shortstop for his Texas high school state championship team. His 4.5 speed also helped his high school 4×800 relay team win a state title.

Patrick Weeden

Brandon Weeden – Jr. – Baseball/Football

While Weeden never played college baseball, but he is an interesting two sport athlete. He was a second round draft pick by the New York Yankees in 2002 and pitched in the minor leagues for the Yankees, L.A. Dodgers and Kansas City Royals organizations before leaving baseball to enroll at OSU in 2007.

This season has been Weeden’s first as a starter in Stillwater and he has led the Cowboys to the first 10-win season in program history. The 27-year-old has passed for 4,037 yards with 32 touchdowns and just 13 interceptions while completing better than 67 % of his passes for the bowl bound Cowboys.

Princeton

Stephen Harrington – So. – Baseball/Squash

Yes, there is college squash and Harrington is the only squash player on the Two-Sport Report. Harrington batted .238 (5 for 21) on the baseball diamond in 2010. He started four times as a freshman. He was 3-3 as a freshman playing varsity squash.

Sacred Heart

Bobby Shepard – RS Soph. – Baseball/Football

Shepard made eight relief appearances in 2010. He pitched 7 1/3 innings with a 12.27 ERA. He is also the starting punter for the Pioneer football team.

Shepard averaged 38.7 yards on 42 punts for the Pioneer football team  in 2010.

South Alabama

Eddie Cabrera – Soph. – Baseball/Football

2009 was South Alabama’s first season of college football, which makes Cabrera the first player in the 45-year history of the USA baseball program to play football and baseball.

He played in five games with two total tackles for the football team in 2009, but did not see action on the diamond in 2010.

Tyler Gaffney

Stanford

Tyler Gaffney – So. – Baseball/Football

Gaffney backed-up Heisman Trophy runner-up Toby Gerhart as a freshman on the gridiron in 2009. He ran the ball 22 times for 87 yards and a touchdown for Stanford’s Sun Bowl team. He also earned All-Pac 10 Honorable Mention accolades after batting .328 with three home runs, 13 doubles and 24 RBIs during the 2010 baseball season.

He has 58 carries for 258 net rushing yards and four touchdowns for the 11-1 bowl-bound Cardinal football team in 2010.

Tennessee-Martin

Jordan Stokes – Soph. – Baseball/Football

Stokes is a back-up catcher for the baseball team and third string quarterback on the Skyhawks football team.

Texas State

Jeff McVaney – Jr. – Baseball/Football

McVaney is a two-way player on the baseball field. He’s also a fullback on the Bobcat football team. He earned 2010 all-league honors in the California Collegiate Summer League after batting .329 with 30 RBIs.

Villanova

* The Wildcats have three baseball/football players who were part of the school’s 2009 FCS National Championship football team. Villanova is again in the FCS playoffs and faces Stephen F. Austin in the first round of the 2010 playoffs.

Marlon Calbi – Jr. – Baseball/Football

Calbi is a back-up quarterback for the Wildcat football team who also serves as the team’s holder on field goals and PATs. Calbi batted .248 with one home runs and 20 RBIs on the diamond in 2010.

Christian Culicerto – Jr. – Baseball/Football

Culicerto is also a back-up quarterback on the football team. He walked-on and made the baseball roster in 2009. Culicerto pitched in relief four times in 2010 with a 7.71 ERA.

Culicerto has played in two football games in 2010. He is 2 of 3 for 17 passing yards with one TD pass.

Matt Szczur – Sr. – Baseball/Football

Szczur helped lead the Villanova football team to the 2009 FCS National Championship after being named both the CAA Offensive and Special Teams Player of the Year. He batted .443 in 39 games for the VU baseball team in 2010. Szczur missed several games during the season, because he donated bone marrow to a young leukemia patient.

Like Russell Wilson and Kyle Parker, Szczur signed a pro baseball contract after being taken (5th round) in the 2010 MLB Draft.  He hit .397 in 18 games at low-A Boise, but hit just .192 for high-A Peoria in the Midwest League.

Szczur suffered an injury early in the 2010 football season. He has 160 rushing yards, 113 passing yards with a touchdown, 42 receiving yards and a touchdown, five punt returns for 42 yards, and 11 kickoff returns for a 21.2 yard average.

Western Illinois

Chris Fuchs – Sr. – Baseball/Football

Fuchs is the starting punter for the Leathernecks football team and is also a relief pitcher on the baseball team. He made 13 relief appearances with one start in 2010.

Fuchs punted 60 times for a 39.6 yard average in 2010.

Western Kentucky

Chris Bullard – Sr. – Baseball/Football

Bullard is a linebacker on the football team as well an an outfielder for the Hilltopper baseball team. He made five starts and played in 19 games on the diamond in 2010. He still has a redshirt year of eligibility remaining.

Bullard was WKU’s fourth-leading tackler with 50 tackles in 2010. He also had four sacks.

Landon Bennett

Wofford

Landon Bennett – Jr. – Baseball/Football

Bennett is a back-up punter for the Wofford football team and plays outfield for the baseball team. He batted .333 with four home runs and 35 RBIs in 2010.

Bennett was the starting punter for the SOCON Champions as a red shirt Freshman in 2008 (39.1 avg). He did not play in 2009 rehabing. He finished the 2010 season as the starting punter for the SOCON Champions & was also the starting punter for the round 1 & 2 of the playoffs (38.5.

He has been starter in OF on baseball team since his freshman year, batting 298 in 2009 and .333 in 2010. He is a starter this year also but graduates this spring. Bennett has accepted a baseball scholarship to Georgia State to play out his final year during grad school in 2012.

Yale

Brook Hart – Sr. – Baseball/Football

Hart is a quarterback for the Yale football team and a pitcher for the baseball team. He split time under center in 2009, passing for 750 yards with five touchdowns and four interceptions. He was also 3-3 with a 6.26 ERA on the mound. Hart started eight games with four relief appearances, tossing two of his team’s six complete games. He also earned one save.

He played in three games on the gridiron in 2010, passing for 227 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

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