Thursday’s Top-50 Results/Links

Eight teams ranked in CB360’s Composite National Rankings were in action on March 4, with the most noteworthy matchups including LSU-Pepperdine, ASU-Cal Poly, Kentucky-San Diego St., and Oklahoma-So. Florida. (front-page photo courtesy of ASU/Jason Wise).

Thursday’s games did not involve any matchups between fellow CNR top-50 teams, but #1 LSU (home vs. Pepperdine) and #6 Arizona State (at Cal Poly) each defeated teams that were listed in the CNR top-50 the previous week. Oklahoma (#26 in the CNR) also faced a challenge at home vs. a South Florida team that was picked to finish second in the BIG EAST Conference, while #23 Kentucky played across the country and lost at San Diego State (which took 2-of-3 from previous CNR #21/current #37 San Diego).

CollegeBaseball360.com provides regular updates of games involving CNR top-50 teams, via the on-site Twitter feed (located in the right sidebar of all the site’s pages) and also now on the “Today’s Top-50 Games” page (which often will include links for live coverage, team rosters, gamenotes, etc.). Time permitting, CB360 also will begin providing in-game Twitter updates (in addition to final scores/details) – with the new offerings to include starting pitchers, lineups for big games, and in-game updates/details (particularly for matchups of fellow top-50 teams or when a potential upset is  brewing).

March 4 Noteworthy Games

(ranks indicate CB360  Composite National Rankings top-50)

Final Scores (upsets in italics)

• at #1 LSU 8, Pepperdine 1  |  Final Stats
LSU Recap |  PEP Recap (not yet posted)  |  Photos

• #6 Arizona State 12, Cal Poly 9 (Surprise, AZ)  |  Final Stats
ASU Recap |  CP Recap

• at #15 North Carolina 6, Gardner Webb 5  |  Final Stats
UNC Recap |  GW Recap |  Photos

• at #16 Oregon State 10, UC Riverside 3  |  Final Stats
OSU Recap |  UCR Recap

•at San Diego State 12, #23 Kentucky 4 |  Final Stats
SDSU Recap |  KY Recap

• #25 Stanford 10, at UC Davis 6  |  Final Stats
STAN Recap |  UCD Recap

• at #26 Oklahoma 5, South Florida 4  |  Final Stats
OU Recap |  USF Recap |  Photos

#42 Florida International 5, Utah Valley 4 (Surprise, AZ)  |  Final Stats
FIU Recap |  UV Recap

Schedule (with links)

• 3:00 ET – Gardner Webb at #15 North Carolina

UNC info. –  NOTEBOOK |  ROSTER |  2010 STATS |  MEDIA GUIDE |  QUICK FACTS

• 3:00 CT – South Florida at #26 Oklahoma

OU info. – GAME NOTES |  ROSTER |  2010 STATS |  MEDIA GUIDE |  QUICK FACTS
Sooner Classic MAIN PAGE (March 4-7; field includes USF, W. Illinois & S.F. Austin)

• 2:00 PT – #25 Stanford at UC Davis

STAN info. – GAME NOTES |  ROSTER |  2010 STATS |  MEDIA GUIDE |  QUICK FACTS

• 3:00 PT – UC Riverside vs. #16 Oregon St.

(Surprise, AZ)

OSU info. – GAME NOTES |  ROSTER |  2010 STATS |  MEDIA GUIDE

• 4:00 PT – #6 Arizona State vs. Cal Poly (Surprise, AZ)

ASU info. – GAME NOTES |  ROSTER |  2010 STATS

• 6:30 CT – Pepperdine at #1 LSU

LSU info. – GAME NOTES |  ROSTER |  2010 STATS |  MEDIA GUIDE
PEP info. – GAME NOTES |  ROSTER |  2010 STATS |  MEDIA GUIDE |  QUICK FACTS

• 6:00 PT – #23 Kentucky at San Diego State

KY info. – GAME NOTES |  ROSTER |  2010 STATS |  MEDIA GUIDE
SDSU info. – ROSTER |  2010 STATS |  MEDIA GUIDE

• 7 MT – #42 FIU vs. Utah Valley (Surprise, AZ)

FIU info. – GAME NOTES |  ROSTER |  2010 STATS |  MEDIA GUIDE

Kansas Splits Domed Doubleheader With EMU

Both Teams Finally Get Season-Openers In

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - Senior Cameron Selik earned his first victory of the season, holding Eastern Michigan to

one run on two hits over six innings, while the Jayhawks sent 12 men to the plate and scored six runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to down Eastern Michigan 9-5 in the second game of the doubleheader Monday night at the Metrodome.  EMU won the first game, 3-1.

Selik silenced EMU’s bats for most of the night.  He allowed just two base runners – an RBI double following an error and an infield single in the sixth – but was in control for most of the evening. He retired the first 10 men he faced, before EMU shortstop Aaron Crooks reached on an error with one out in the fourth.

Dating back to his NCAA Tournament victory against Coastal Carolina last May, Selik has allowed just one earned run on five hits over his last 12 2/3 innings.

His offense tallied single runs in each of the first three innings to help him earn his first win.

Senior Robby Price drove in runs in both the first and second innings, while sophomore James Stanfield tripled home Jimmy Waters in the third to stake KU to a 3-0 lead.

Kansas broke the game open in the eighth without the benefit of a base hit. The Jayhawks sent 12 men to the plate in the frame, drawing eight walks and a hit by pitch to score six runs. During the inning, seven-straight Jayhawks reached

base without the benefit of a base hit with two outs.

As a team, KU collected just four hits and none after Stanfield’s third-inning triple.

In the first game, EMU pitcher Corey Chaffins held the Jayhawks to one run on just three hits over seven innings. Junior Jimmy Waters drove in KU’s only run of the game with a fourth-inning RBI single to plate Brian Heere, who walked to lead off the inning.

Chaffins had everything working to shut down the Kansas offense in the season opener for both squads, as he went seven strong innings, yielding just one run on three hits while tallying eight strikeouts to earn the victory.

The victory in game one marks EMU’s second win all-time against the Jayhawks, while Jay Alexander earns his second straight season opening victory as the Eagles’ Head Coach. It marks EMU’s first win over a top 25 team since the 2007 season when the team topped No. 19 Tennessee.

The Eagles out-hit the Jayhawks in both games, 8-3 in game one and 7-4 in game two, but a disastrous eighth inning in game two in which the Eagles’ pitching staff allowed eight walks and a hit batsman proved too much to overcome, despite a late rally with four runs in the ninth inning to limit the deficit. The split moves the all-time series to 4-2 between the two squads, with Kansas holding on to the advantage.

The games were originally scheduled to be played on the Jayhawks’ home field in Lawrence, KS, but they were moved to the Metrodome due to snow and low temperatures across the Midwest.

(Releases & staff report)

Composite National Rankings – Feb. 19

CNR Contact: Pete LaFleur (pete@collegebaseball360.com)

CollegeBaseball360.com again will be the home of the Composite National Rankings (CNR) during the 2010 season.  The preseason CNR – encompassing five national polls and a projected strength of schedule – is listed below, with the top-10 teams including: Texas, LSU, Cal State Fullerton, Virginia, UC Irvine, Rice, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Florida and Arizona State.

The CNR again is based on a 100-point scale. Teams in the five national polls – USA Today/ESPN (coaches poll), NCBWA (writers), Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball, and Rivals – receive points based on their standings in each poll (60 pts for #1, 59 for #2, etc.). For polls involving voting points (coaches and CB), the CNR adjusts to reward teams that have larger margins in the voting-point totals (whereas two teams with nearly the same voting-point total will be closer in the CNR allotment for that poll).

The five CNR totals from the national polls are averaged (max. of 60) and 37 is added to each total. Finally, a projected strength-of-schedule bonus is added (max of 3 CNR pts) to produce the 100-point scale.

The CNR top-50 combines several groups of “experts” to provide a preseason projection of the 2010 NCAA Championship field (50 teams, plus 14 others from lower-rated automatic-bid conferences – those teams will be projected in next week’s CNR). Later in the season, other factors – such as various power rankings, NCAA-field predictions and last-10-games records – will be included in the CNR formula.

The 16 conferences represented in the CNR top-50 include nine from the Southeastern Conference (two top-10; six top-25): #2 LSU, #9 Florida, #15 Arkansas, #20 South Carolina, #22 Mississippi, #23 Georgia, #31 Vanderbilt, #34 Alabama and #38 Kentucky. There also are eight from the Big 12 Conference (only one in top-25) – #1 Texas, #27 Kansas, #28 Oklahoma, #30 Texas A&M, #36 Kansas State, #39 Missouri, #42 Oklahoma State and #43 Nebraska – and seven from the Atlantic Coast Conference (three top-10; six top-25): #4 Virginia, #7 Florida State, #8 Georgia Tech, #12 Clemson, #13 North Carolina, #14 Miami and #48 Boston College.

Nearly half of the teams (24 of 50) in the CNR top-50 come from the SEC, Big 12 and ACC, followed by five from the Pacific-10 Conference (one top-10; three top-25) – #10 Arizona State, #16 Oregon State, #25 UCLA, #29 Stanford and #41 Arizona – and two other west-coast leagues: four Big West Conference teams (# 3 Cal State Fullerton, #5 UC Irvine, #37 Long Beach State and #40 Cal Poly) and the West Coast Conference trio of #21 San Diego, #35 Pepperdine and #44 Gonzaga).

Three other leagues have multiple teams in the CNR: Conference USA (#6 Rice, #17 East Carolina, #26 Southern Mississippi), the Big Ten (#24 Ohio State, #33 Minnesota,) and the Atlantic Sun (#48 Florida Gulf Coast, #50 Jacksonville). Seven conferences have single representatives in the CNR top-50: the Mountain West (#11 TCU), Big South (#18 Coastal Carolina), BIG EAST (#19 Louisville), Missouri Valley (#32 Wichita State), the Summit League (#44 Oral Roberts), Sunbelt (#46 Middle Tennessee) and Western Athletic (#47 Fresno State).

College Baseball 2010 Composite National Rankings (CNR)

courtesy of CollegeBaseball360.com (#1; Feb. 19.)

1. Texas – 98.50
2. LSU – 96.11
3. Cal State Fullerton – 95.14
4. Virginia – 94.04
5. UC Irvine – 89.68
6. Rice – 89.33
7. Florida State – 88.89
8. Georgia Tech – 88.17
9. Florida – 87.94
10. Arizona State – 87.66
11. TCU – 80.50
12. Clemson – 80.16
13. North Carolina – 79.57
14. Miami (FL) – 79.34
15. Arkansas  – 78.17
16. Oregon State – 77.90
17. East Carolina – 76.51
18. Coastal Carolina – 76.43
19. Louisville – 76.05
20. South Carolina – 72.92
21. San Diego – 72.83
22. Mississippi – 72.68
23. Georgia – 68.34
24. Ohio State – 63.79

25. UCLA – 63.43
26. Southern Mississippi – 61.94
27. Kansas – 56.78
28. Oklahoma – 54.04
29. Stanford – 53.75
30. Texas A&M – 52.96
31. Vanderbilt – 50.75
32. Wichita State – 49.83
33. Minnesota – 48.92
34. Alabama – 44.37
35. Pepperdine – 44.36
36. Kansas State – 42.79
37. Long Beach State – 39.54
38. Kentucky – 38.79
39. Missouri – 38.73
40. Cal Poly – 38.02
41. Arizona – 37.97
42. Oklahoma State – 37.88
43. Nebraska – 37.44
44. Oral Roberts – 37.27
Gonzaga – 37.27
46. Middle Tennessee – 37.20
47. Fresno State – 37.14
48. Florida Gulf Coast – 37.08

Boston College – 37.08

50. Jacksonville – 37.02

Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List

Six 2009 Semifinalists On 2010 List

USA Baseball announced Thursday its preseason Golden Spikes Award Watch List, marking the organization’s first step toward identifying the top amateur baseball player in the country. Sponsored by Major League Baseball, the Golden Spikes Award will be presented in 2010 for the 33rd time.

The Watch List features 50 of the nation’s top amateur talents, and it will be a “rolling” list to ensure that athletes can play themselves into consideration for the Golden Spikes Award, to be presented live on Tuesday, July 13, at the 2010 Major League Baseball All-Star FanFest in Anaheim, Calif.

Headlining the 2010 Watch List are six athletes who were among the 30 semifinalists for the 2009 Golden Spikes Award. Those players are Daniel Bibona (LHP, Sr., UC Irvine), Bryce Brentz (OF/RHP, Jr., Middle Tennessee), Deck McGuire (RHP, Jr., Georgia Tech), Addison Reed (RHP, Jr., San Diego State), Anthony Rendon (3B, So., Rice) and Alex Wimmers (RHP, Jr., Ohio State).

“We’re very pleased to announce the 50 members of the preseason Watch List for the 2010 Golden Spikes Award,” said Paul Seiler, Executive Director/CEO of USA Baseball. “The level of amateur baseball talent in our country continues to rise each year, and there is no greater evidence of this than seeing six 2009 semifinalists named to the 2010 Watch List.”

The list of 50 names also features Bryce Harper of the College of Southern Nevada, a junior. The freshman catcher is the only junior-college player named to the list. Alex Fernandez, as a sophomore pitcher for Miami Dade Community College (now Miami Dade College) in 1990, stands as the only junior-college player to ever win the Golden Spikes Award.

LSU leads all schools with four players named to the Watch List. Texas is second with three, and Alabama, Arkansas, Cal State Fullerton, Coastal Carolina, Florida State, Georgia Tech, University of Miami, Rice and Virginia have two apiece.

The SEC tops all conferences with 15 Watch List players. Other leading conferences include the ACC with 10 athletes, the Big 12 with five, and the Big West and Conference USA with three each. Juniors dominate the list with 35 players named. Sophomores are next with nine players, there are five seniors, and Harper is the lone freshman.

On Tuesday, June 1, USA Baseball officials will cut the list of players to 30 names. The final list of 30 will then be sent to a voting body consisting of select professional baseball personnel, past USA Baseball National Team coaches, select members of the media, former USA Baseball sports information directors, and current USA Baseball staff — about 150 voters in total.

All voters will be asked to choose five players from the list of 30 names. Fan voting will once again be a part of the Golden Spikes Award in 2010. June 1 will also mark the day when college baseball fans from across the country will be able to vote for their favorite player for the Golden Spikes Award on goldenspikesaward.com. On Tuesday, June 8, USA Baseball will announce the five finalists, and voting for a winner will commence that same day.

The 2010 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award will be presented nationally July 13 on an award show via live telecast from Anaheim on goldenspikesaward.com, USABaseball.com and MLB.com in conjunction with All-Star FanFest.

Past winners of the Golden Spikes Award include Terry Francona (1980), Will Clark (1985), Robin Ventura (1988), Jason Varitek (1994), J.D. Drew (1997), Mark Prior (2001), Jered Weaver (2004), Tim Lincecum (2006), David Price (2007), Buster Posey (2008) and last year’s winner, Stephen Strasburg.

2010 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Important Dates

Thursday, Feb. 18 – 50-player Watch List released, shaped by USA Baseball officials, advisors and college SIDs
Tuesday, June 1 – 30 semifinalists announced, selected by USA Baseball officials; semifinalist voting begins; voters select five
Friday, June 4 – Deadline to vote for finalists, 5:00 p.m. ET
Tuesday, June 8 – Five finalists announced; finalist voting begins; voters to select one
Friday, June 18 – Deadline to vote for winner, 5:00 p.m. ET
Tuesday, July 13 – Golden Spikes Award presentation live at All-Star FanFest in Anaheim

Complete 2010 preseason Golden Spikes Award Watch List:

Name, School, Position, Class (in order of name)

Chad Bettis, Texas Tech, RHP, Junior
Daniel Bibona, UC Irvine, LHP, Senior
Bryce Brentz, Middle Tennessee, OF/RHP, Junior
Michael Choice, Texas-Arlington, OF, Junior
Gerrit Cole, UCLA, RHP, Sophomore
Christian Colon, Cal State Fullerton, SS, Junior
Zack Cox, 3B/RHP, Arkansas, Sophomore
Todd Cunningham, OF, Junior
Blake Dean, LSU, Jacksonville State, 1B/OF, Senior
Sam Dyson, South Carolina, RHP, Junior
Brett Eibner, Arkansas, RHP/OF, Junior
Micah Gibbs, LSU, C, Junior
Sean Gilmartin, Florida State, LHP, Sophomore
Yasmani Grandal, University of Miami, C, Junior
Sonny Gray, Vanderbilt, RHP, Sophomore
Justin Grimm, Georgia, RHP, Junior
Jedd Gyorko, West Virginia, 2B/3B, Junior
Rick Hague, Rice, SS, Junior
Bryce Harper, College of Southern Nevada, C/3B/OF, Freshman
Cody Hawn, Tennessee, 1B, Junior
Chris Hernandez, University of Miami, LHP, Junior
Tyler Holt, Florida State, OF, Junior
Danny Hultzen, Virginia, LHP/1B, Sophomore
Kevin Jacob, Georgia Tech, RHP, Junior
Taylor Jungmann, Texas, RHP, Sophomore
Leon Landry, LSU, OF, Junior
Deck McGuire, Georgia Tech, RHP, Junior
Hunter Morris, Auburn, 1B/OF, Junior
Jarrett Parker, Virginia, OF, Junior
Drew Pomeranz, Mississippi, LHP, Junior
Anthony Ranaudo, LSU, RHP, Junior
Addison Reed, San Diego State, RHP, Junior
Anthony Rendon, Rice, 3B, Sophomore
Daniel Renken, Cal State Fullerton, RHP, Junior
Kyle Roller, East Carolina, 1B, Senior
Cameron Rupp, C, Junior, Texas
Chris Sale, Florida Gulf Coast, LHP, Junior
Jake Smith, Alabama, 3B/RHP, Senior
Josh Spence, Arizona State, LHP, Senior
Tony Thompson, Kansas, 3B, Junior
Preston Tucker, Florida, 1B, Sophomore
Kolbrin Vitek, Ball State, 3B/RHP, Junior
Austin Wates, Virginia Tech, OF, Junior
Cody Wheeler, Coastal Carolina, LHP, Junior
Ross Wilson, Alabama, 2B/SS, Junior
Alex Wimmers, Ohio State, RHP, Junior
Mickey Wiswall, Boston College, 3B/1B, Junior
Kolten Wong, Hawaii, 2B, Sophomore
Scott Woodward, Coastal Carolina, 3B, Junior
Brandon Workman, Texas, RHP, Junior

Baseball America 2010 Preseason All-America Teams

The SEC Leads The Way With 13 Selections

Baseball America has released it Preseason All-American college baseball teams.  BA annually polls major league scouting directors to vote on the team and make their selections based on performance, talent and professional potential. In the past, the preseason All-America team has been a predictor both of the first round of the draft and of team success. For example, 11 of the 15 college players drafted in the first round last June appeared on Baseball America’s preseason All-America list – eight of them on the first team. And for the second year in a row, 11 of last year’s preseason All-Americans played for teams that reached the College World Series.

Virginia outfielder Jarrett Parker was named to the first team, along with Georgia Tech pitchers Deck McGuire and Kevin Jacob. The second team includes Miami catcher Yasmani Grandal, Florida State pitcher Tyler Holt, Boston College designated hitter Mickey Wiswall and Virginia pitcher/first baseman Danny Hultzen. Virginia Tech outfielder Austin Wates and pitcher Jesse Hahn were third-team selections, along with Florida State outfielder/pitcher Mike McGee.
Alabama second baseman Ross Wilson is the only repeat member of the preseason first team. Cal State Fullerton shortstop Christian Colon is also a repeat preseason All-American, but he moves up from the third team last year to the first team this year. Middle Tennessee State outfielder Bryce Brentz—who also received votes as a two-way player—is the only player who appeared on every scouting director’s ballot.

Rice’s Anthony Rendon and Arkansas’ Zack Cox are the only sophomores on the first team, which is otherwise dominated by juniors. There are four sophomores on the second team and three on the third team, but there are no seniors on any of the three teams.

The SEC led all conferences with 13 preseason selections to the team.  The ACC had 10 players tabbed.   The Big 12 and Conference USA each landed four players on the team, while the Pacific-10, Big West and Big Ten produced two All-Americans apiece. Eight other conferences placed one player apiece on the team: The Atlantic Sun, Big East, Mid-American, Mountain West, Ohio Valley, Southland, Sun Belt and West Coast conferences.

First Team

C    Micah Gibbs, Louisiana State
1B    Hunter Morris, Auburn
2B    Ross Wilson, Alabama
3B    Anthony Rendon, Rice
SS    Christian Colon, Cal State Fullerton
OF    Bryce Brentz, Middle Tennessee State
OF    Todd Cunningham, Jacksonville State
OF    Jarrett Parker, Virginia
DH    Zack Cox, Arkansas
UT    Brett Eibner, Arkansas
SP    Deck McGuire, Georgia Tech
SP    Drew Pomeranz, Mississippi
SP    Anthony Ranaudo, Louisiana State
SP    Chris Sale, Florida Gulf Coast
RP    Kevin Jacob, Georgia Tech

Second Team

C    Yasmani Grandal, Miami
1B    Andy Wilkins, Arkansas
2B    Kolbrin Vitek, Ball State
3B    Tony Thompson, Kansas
SS    Rick Hague, Rice
OF    Gary Brown, Cal State Fullerton
OF    Michael Choice, Texas-Arlington
OF    Tyler Holt, Florida State
DH    Mickey Wiswall, Boston College
UT    Danny Hultzen, Virginia
SP    Gerrit Cole, UCLA
SP    Sonny Gray, Vanderbilt
SP    Taylor Jungmann, Texas
SP    Alex Wimmers, Ohio State
RP    Kevin Rhoderick, Oregon State

Third Team

C    Cameron Rupp, Texas
1B    Cody Hawn, Tennessee
2B    Chris Bisson, Kentucky
3B    Rob Segedin, Tulane
SS    B.A. Vollmuth, Southern Mississippi
OF    Ryan LaMarre, Michigan
OF    Leon Landry, Louisiana State
OF    Austin Wates, Virginia Tech
DH    Jedd Gyorko, West Virginia
UT    Mike McGee, Florida State
SP    Jack Armstrong, Vanderbilt
SP    Kyle Blair, San Diego
SP    Jesse Hahn, Virginia Tech
SP    Brandon Workman, Texas
RP    Addison Reed, San Diego State

Strike IX Strikes A Chord For College Baseball Fans

New Book Chronicles 1999 Providence Baseball Season

There are not a lot of books about college baseball, but I have come across a new one that’s worth a read by every college baseball fan.  In Strike IX author Paul Lonardo details the final season of baseball at Providence College.

Have you ever had something you love taken away from you?  That’s what happened to the PC Friars in the fall of 1998 when they were told that the season they were preparing for would be the last at Providence.  The reason?  Title IX (get the title now?), which on its face prohibits educational discrimination on the basis of sex.  However, Title IX has also brought the ax down on many male collegiate sports teams, and that’s what happened at Providence.

In Strike IX Lonardo does a great job of detailing exactly what Title IX is and well as what it’s supposed to be.  For example, did you know there is a three-pronged test for assessing compliance in intercollegiate ahtletics?  Here they are:

Prong One:  Providing athletic opportunities that are substantially proportionate to the student enrollment.

Prong Two:  Demonstrate a continual expansion of athletic opportunities for the underrepresented sex.

Prong Three:  Full and effective accomodations of the interest and ability of underrepresented sex.

However, most schools do not even both considering prongs two or three, because prong one, known as “proportionality” is the easiest and most cost effective.  (I won’t go into more here, you’ll have to check out the book.)

While Lonardo deftly explains Title IX he also does a good job of detailing Providence’s 1999 season as well as life as a college baseball player.  Anyone who’s seen the movie Major League can appreciate the black t-shirts that the Friars wore under their uniforms in ‘99 that read:  “THERE’S ONLY ONE THING LEFT TO DO…” on the front and “WIN THE WHOLE %@!()& THING” on the back.

Ultimately, Providence didn’t win the whole thing, but they had a great run by winning the 1999 Big East Tournament and then going to the Tallahassee Regional finals before falling to eventual College World Series runner-up Florida State.  The Friars even earned the respect and praise of FSU fans, who cheered “Friars!, Friars!” durring the final inning of Providence baseball history.

It’s January, but if you’re looking for something to get you ready for the arrival of college baseball next month Strike IX could be the way to go.

Gerhart & Tate Are Consensus All-Americans

Mantles Are Full For The Two Sport Stars

By Collegebaseball360.com Editor Sean Stires

Notre Dame wide receiver Golden Tate and Stanford running back Toby Gerhart have capped their 2009 award hauls by being named Consensus All-Americans on the football field.  The Associated Press named both first-team All-Americans on Wednesday.

Both Tate and Gerhart earned first-team status on the five All-American teams that comprise the consensus designation: The Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), The Walter Camp Football Foundation, and The Associated Press.

Gerhert is Stanford’s first consensus All-American since Troy Walters in 1999.  Tate takes the first consensus honors since Shane Walton did it in 2002.

Tate won the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top wide receiver, while Gerhart hoisted the Doak Walker Award as the top running back in the country.  He was the Heisman Trophy runner-up to Alabama running back Mark Ingram.

Tate recently capped off the best receiving season in Notre Dame football history. He finished with 93 receptions for 1,496 yards and 15 receiving touchdowns in 2009. Tate added two rushing touchdowns, one punt return for a score and totaled 1,915 all-purpose yards, second

most in Irish single-season history.

Tate equaled or surpassed eight school records this year, including most catches and receiving yards in a season, tied for most touchdown catches in a season, most receiving yards in a career, most 100-yard receiving games in a season and career, most receiving yards per game in a season and tied for most consecutive games with a touchdown reception.

Gerhart ranks second in the nation in rushing, averaging 144.7 yards per game, and he leads the nation in scoring (13.33) and touchdowns (26). He has rushed for 100 or more yards in 10 of Stanford’s 12 games this season, including three games in which he rushed for 200 yards or more. He has also carried the ball 10 or more yards, 50 times this season, according to ESPN, the nation’s highest.

He was at his best down the stretch, as he averaged 185.5 yards a game and scored 13 touchdowns over Stanford’s last four contests against No. 7 Oregon (223), No. 11 USC (178), California (136) and Notre Dame (205). The Cardinal posted a 3-1 record in those games to finish the regular season with an 8-4 overall record, its most wins in a single-season since the 2001 campaign.

Gerhart and Tate have also been college baseball players at their respective schools.  Gerhart played for three seasons on the diamond for the Cardinal baseball squad, helping the team to the 2008 College World Series.  Tate played

baseball for two years for the Irish, batting .329 last season.

Tate has already announced his plans to enter April’s NFL draft.  Gerhart has not officially announced his plans, but he is expected to enter the draft as well (he has a 5th year of football eligibility and one season of baseball eligibility left).  Both could also still be selected in the June MLB draft.

Gerhart and Stanford face Oklahoma in the Brut Sun Bowl on Dec. 31.  Tate and Notre Dame will not play in a bowl game.

Tate and Gerhart have been among more than 35 college baseball players who have been included throughout the fall in the exclusive Collegebaseball360.com Two Sport Reports.

NCBWA Preseason All-American Team

The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association  has announced its 2010 Preseason All-America Team.  The first team looks like this:

C  Matt Rice, Western Kentucky

1B  Preston Tucker, Florida

2B  Mike Sodders, New Mexico State

3B  Anthony Rendon, Rice

SS  Christian Colon, Cal State Fullerton

OF  Devon Dageford, Louisiana Tech

OF  Jarrett Parker, Virginia

OF  Tyler Holt, Florida State

DH  Blake Dean, LSU

UT  Bryce Brentz, Middle Tennessee State

Pitchers

SP  Deck McGuire, Georgia Tech

SP  Sean Gilmartin, Florida State

SP  Anthony Randaudo, LSU

SP  Taylor Jungmann, Texas

SP  Josh Spence, Arizona State

SP  Daniel Bibona, UC Irvine

RP  Matty Ott, LSU

RP  Eric Pettis, UC Irvine

RP  Addison Reed, San Diego State

Click Here To See The Complete NCBWA Release (PDF)

CB360 Weekly Recap Dec. 12

It was another busy week.  Here’s a look at some of the new stuff we had this week on Collegebaseball360.com (just in case you blinked)!

Top College Baseball Moments of 2009

#24 Oregon Brings Back Baseball

#23 LSU Opens The New Alex Box Stadium

#22 Freshman Levi Michael Starts For North Carolina

#21 Alabama’s Kent Matthes Launches Long Balls

#20 Illinois Shocks #1 LSU In Baton Rouge (along with Willie Argo podcast interview)

Two Sport Stars Golden Tate & Toby Gerhart win the Biletnikoff & Doak Walker Awards, respectively

A By The Numbers look at Golden Tate’s college baseball & football careers

Tate announces he is going to the NFL with video from the press conference as well

Training year round with Villanova Two Sport Star Matt Szczur

Szczur helps the Wildcats to the FCS playoff national semifinals

Monmouth adds Karl Nonemaker & Jim Belanger to its coaching staff

Former Kent State pitching coach Richard Schoonover dies

A scholarship fund established to honor former Arkansas Pine Bluff pitcher Kevin Edwards

Schedules from around the country including the Pac 10, Big 12, Big West, Big 10, Big East. CUSA, Summit, and other conferences

Training With Villanova Baseball/Football Player Matt Szczur

The Workouts Don’t Stop For the Wildcat Two Sport Standout

By Collegebaseball360.com Editor Sean Stires

If you haven’t heard the name Matt Szczur before you’re probably not alone.  Sczcur doesn’t get the national exposure that Stanford’s Toby Gerhart and Notre Dame’s Golden Tate receive, but he deserves your attention none the less.

Szczur is a standout baseball and football player at Villanova and he excels at both sports.  This season he was named the Colonial Athletic Association’s Offensive and Special teams Player of the Year on the gridiron, and last spring he batted .346 to lead the Wildcat baseball squad.  The football team has been in the top ten in the Football Championship Subdivision for most of the season.  They played New Hampshire Saturday in the FCS playoff quarterfinals.

(Szczur and more than 30 others have been featured in the Collegebaseball360.com Two Sport Reports since the start of the 2009 fall semester.  Click the link to see how they’ve performed to date.)

That success doesn’t just happen though.  Like any college athlete in any sport Szczur trains hard, but with two sports involved his training is unique and it’s almost never ending.

Following is an article on Szczur’s unique training regimine written by Villanova strength and conditioning coach Stephen King.  It was published in the November edition of Training & Conditioning magazine.

By Stephen King

When training any athlete, sport-specific factors are paramount: What are the major movers in their sport? What energy systems and muscle groups do they use most? Do they need to focus mainly on straight-ahead speed, change of direction, rapid acceleration, lateral movement, or all of the above? The list goes on.

But what happens when an athlete is training for more than one sport at a time? At the high school level, where two- and three-sport athletes are common, training demands are generally low enough to avoid raising any major concerns. At the college level, however, developing a multi-sport athlete requires special considerations.

Matt Szczur is one of those rare athletes who plays two sports successfully at the college level. Here at Villanova, he is a third baseman/outfielder/catcher on our baseball team and a running back/wide receiver/kick returner/occasional quarterback on our football team. Preparing him to excel in both sports means combining the regimens for each into

one coherent, comprehensive training plan and carefully monitoring his progress and physical response. It poses a unique challenge for the strength and conditioning staff, but it’s one we’ve risen to meet with enthusiasm.

INITIAL CONSIDERATIONS
The first step in planning an effective conditioning regimen is to perform a needs analysis and identify specific areas to focus on and improve. When working with a two-sport athlete, this process begins by looking for common threads between the sports in question.

For Matt’s football roles, the keys are running speed, quick change-of-direction ability, upper-body strength to get off of “jams” from defenders, and total-body strength to help with breaking tackles. For baseball, the major movements are rotational swinging, straight-line running, and since he sometimes plays outfield, transitioning from a backpedal to a run. In all of Matt’s workouts, we keep those priorities at the forefront, looking for exercises and progressions that will maximize cross-over benefits.

We test all our football athletes at the beginning of summer in the vertical jump, broad jump, squat, and bench press, and use the results as baseline numbers. The baseball players are tested when they arrive in the fall. This is important for tracking everyone’s progress in strength and conditioning, but it’s especially important for Matt, because training for two sports means a greater risk for overtraining. If we ever notice a drop off in his performance relative to his baselines, we know we need to scale back his workload and possibly make adjustments to his training regimen.

I am responsible for strength and conditioning for the baseball team, and my colleague Justus Galac works primarily with the football team. We collaborate in designing Matt’s workouts, and to make this process easier on him, we decided early on to standardize as many aspects as possible. We already have very similar training philosophies, but we decided that everything from the way we taught specific lifts to the terminology we used in the weightroom should be consistent. Attention to details like these has helped Matt adapt to the demands of two teams’ training schedules, while also facilitating communication among the strength coaches and sport coaches.

SUMMER & FALL
Matt’s yearly training cycle starts in early summer. He is among the 20 or so football players who stay in town voluntarily to train during the break. In summer, he trains five days a week: conditioning work (which includes running and movement prep) every weekday, and lifting four days.

The conditioning schedule involves two days of running, one day each of agility and speed work, and a day to focus on agility running or running mechanics, which is a lighter day (usually in the middle of the week) designed for active

recovery. The running days typically involve series of 65-, 75-, or 80-yard runs, with the number of reps varying from 15 to 30 and the rest intervals between each rep ranging from roughly 30 to 60 seconds. The speed and agility training includes cone drills, read and react drills, and speed ladder work. On the active recovery days, the players do sub-maximal running, focusing on details such as arm mechanics.

The summer lifting program is designed to help the football team build strength for the upcoming season. It consists of two days a week of upper-body lifts and two days of lower-body lifts, alternating to allow for maximum muscle recovery.

The primary exercises on upper-body days include bench presses, pull-ups, and bent over rows. We always include at least one pressing movement, whether it’s a bench press, incline bench, or some other variation, but we focus more on pull movements because they develop greater shoulder stabilization and because many players are “front dominant” in their upper-body strength. We also use unilateral and prehab movements, such as band work and horizontal and vertical protraction/retraction of the scapulae, for the shoulders and rotator cuffs.

Our main exercises for lower-body strength building include the front squat, deadlift, back squat, hang clean, and box jump. On max effort days the athletes will focus more on squats and deadlifts, while hang cleans and box jumps are reserved for dynamic movement days. Our lower-body workouts also feature unilateral and prehab movements, such as hip walks and ankle band work.

Lifting is one area where the benefits clearly cross over into both of Matt’s sports. The football team’s strength regimen prepares his body to withstand the rigors and high impacts of that sport, but it also helps him recruit the muscle groups that enhance rotational acceleration and upper-body strength and control, which translates into a more powerful, consistent swing. In addition, the lower-body strength exercises aimed at increasing explosiveness and speed will help him on the base paths as much as on the football field.

Many baseball players don’t have time in the summer for serious strength and conditioning, as they participate in summer leagues and often play five, six, or even seven days a week. While Matt doesn’t get that extra game experience as he works in the weightroom all summer, we believe his focus on conditioning more than makes up for the loss of baseball-specific activity and gives him a significant leg up on most of his teammates.

As the summer progresses and football season gets closer, conditioning priorities shift away from basic running and agility in favor of vigorous position-specific football routines. The players start doing seven-on-seven drills and agility work that mimics their running and movement demands on the field, which for Matt means a focus on sprinting, cutting, and accelerating. He’ll run various routes, such as posts, corners, and comebacks, and do lateral shuffles and jump cuts. We also use reaction drills that involve him sprinting forward and then making a hard cut to the left or right depending on a visual cue from a coach.

Meanwhile, the lifting schedule changes slightly as well: Upper-body lifting still occurs two days a week, but the football players do only one day of lower-body work in late summer, and one day a week (usually Friday) is used for strongman competitions. The strongman days include events such as tire flips, farmer’s walks, tug-of-war, and many other activities that are standard fare in football training programs. They provide total-body exercise, develop mental toughness and competitiveness, and promote team unity. They’re also a fun change of pace for the players after a week of hard training.

By early fall, as the workload grows more and more football-specific, it’s especially important for me as the baseball strength and conditioning coach to evaluate Matt’s progress and ensure he’s not jeopardizing his baseball fitness by over- or under-using any muscle groups or body parts. For example, the heavy rotational demands of baseball increase the risk for repetitive stress injuries to the shoulders, hips, and knees, and all three of those areas receive heavy attention during football conditioning. To keep Matt in shape for both sports and ensure he won’t be on the verge of overuse injury by the time baseball’s preseason training arrives, I’ll supplement his football work with prehab exercises for those specific body areas.

For his shoulders, I’ll prescribe band exercises with low and high external rotation, med ball work, and rotator cuff exercises. For the hips, he’ll do hip walks with a band around his ankles, foot slides on a platform, and reverse hypers while holding a ball between his legs (these last two exercises are also ideal for strengthening the groin). For the knees, we use the squat-and-touch, single-leg squats, and quarter-squat holds on one leg while touching various points on the floor with the other foot.

When preseason football camp starts, lifting decreases dramatically for the entire team, Matt included. Voluntary lifting sessions are available after meetings and practices, but they typically last only 15 minutes and focus mostly on the upper body because of the pounding the lower body takes during team practice. During this time, even though Matt is lifting less, he continues with his full complement of prehab work.

Once football season begins, Matt follows essentially the same regimen as everyone else on the team. After Saturday games, the players have a light full-body lifting session on Sunday that includes yoga and core work. One other lifting session during the week, usually on a Tuesday or Wednesday, focuses on the upper body and is designed primarily to maintain strength gains made over the summer.

Matt continues with his prehab work at this time, but aside from that, we want him to focus solely on being a football player. He is an integral part of the team–on the field for most offensive plays–and it would be counterproductive to disrupt his physical rest and recovery during the week by adding baseball training to his schedule. His baseball teammates are in their fall lifting program during football season, hitting the weightroom three days a week to focus on total-body hypertrophy, building work capacity, and increasing strength and explosiveness, but he doesn’t attempt to join their workouts.

WINTER & SPRING
At the end of football season, all the players get some time off (varying based on how much they played), and the strength coaches are responsible for monitoring their physical condition to catch signs of overuse or lingering injuries. For most players, it will be eight months or more until they take the field again for intercollegiate competition, so the pace of their return to training is highly flexible. But for Matt, baseball preseason is already on the horizon.

You might think this would mean accelerating his return to serious strength training, but that’s not our approach. Because Matt plays positions in football that involve frequent, high-impact collisions, we’ve found that the wear and tear on his body can’t be ignored by season’s end. We want him to take at least a couple of weeks to rest and recuperate, so he won’t start lifting again until winter break.

By that time, the baseball team is performing its most intense workouts of the year, having ramped up both lifting and running regimens since fall ball ended. With Matt not having lifted heavily since before football season, it’s important for him to build up his work capacity, so we’ll have him do both the baseball and football lifting routines. But we keep the lines of communication open, and he is free to tell us if he feels overwhelmed or needs to adjust his personal workload as he gradually gets back into serious lifting and conditioning.

Once the spring semester starts, Matt continues participating in both teams’ workouts. The football team usually lifts three times a week (on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday) and on Friday does mat drills–essentially an indoor version of the summer’s strongman days.

Matt’s lifting sessions differ from those of the rest of the football team, as he essentially performs a hybrid of football and baseball regimens. For instance, he’ll do some of the football team’s higher rep work, including dips, hamstring curls, and certain presses, while following the baseball team’s regimen for power movements, max strength lifts, and medicine ball activities. At this time, he also joins the baseball team for batting cage work and the start of a tossing program.

Baseball season begins in March, and the football team starts its spring practices soon after. This time is quite strenuous for Matt, as he is lifting, running, practicing with the baseball team, and playing in the games. We tailor his twice-weekly strength sessions at this time to address a few key priorities–power movements, lower-body strength development, and upper-body push and pull movements–and supplement that with more prehab exercises and medicine ball work.

We usually have him skip the baseball team conditioning sessions at this time because he does football conditioning most days and that tends to be more strenuous. Although both the baseball and football teams follow pre-determined conditioning schedules and workout programs with set progressions, we adjust Matt’s routines every week based on his feedback and the way his body responds to training.

When he feels very fatigued, we’ll scrap his normal lifting and other work for a day or more. In their place, he’ll do recovery activities like myofascial release with a foam roll, band stretches, partner stretches, and proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation stretching focusing mostly on his legs, back, and hips. He’ll also do light circuit lifting to stimulate his muscles and give him an opportunity to rest and regenerate.

This is the time of year when baseball is Matt’s top priority. Attending practices for both sports and playing in baseball games is physically taxing, so we dial down the intensity of his football spring practice participation. Specifically, he’ll do only non-contact football work at this time.

After baseball season, Matt gets two to four weeks off before the cycle begins again with the start of summer break. He is typically below his football playing weight by this time because of the lower strength training demands of the baseball season, so he’s careful to take in enough calories, carbohydrates, and protein as summer strength training kicks off to support muscle growth and build himself back into football shape.

ALL ABOUT COMMUNICATION
Throughout the entire training year, it’s critical for a multi-sport athlete to share feedback with the strength staff about how his body feels and how he’s responding to the workout progressions. Trust is an important component of this relationship–Matt is an extremely hard worker, and we know he won’t try to get out of lifts or conditioning sessions just because he wants a day off.

In fact, one of our biggest concerns at the outset was just the opposite–that he would be concerned about not shortchanging either team’s training regimen, and thus push himself too hard and risk injury. Early in his college career, we explained to him that it was better to be honest about his physical limits, recognize when he was fatigued, and skip a conditioning session or the heavier portion of a lifting day when necessary. We preach to all our athletes that the strength program is aimed at stimulation and not annihilation, and this is especially important with a highly motivated athlete juggling commitments to two sports.

Another critical component of making this arrangement work is open dialogue between all the coaches involved–the strength coaches, Head Football Coach Andy Talley, Head Baseball Coach Joe Godri, and their respective staffs. Coaches have a natural inclination to not want to share their athletes, but in this case, both coaches were very receptive to the changes we made to Matt’s program. We took it upon ourselves to explain that his special hybrid strength and conditioning schedule wouldn’t neglect the needs of either sport, and because we were upfront about that, they let us create his plan and trusted us to track his progress.

And of course, if the coaches had any doubts, Matt’s performance on the field took care of them. His .346 batting average led the baseball team last season, and he earned second-team all-conference honors in football after scoring eight touchdowns and registering over 1,000 all-purpose yards. Matt is a special athlete with an incredible work ethic and the determination needed to make a two-sport commitment work. With a training program that helps keep him strong, powerful, and injury-free, it has been very rewarding to see him excel in both sports.

Next Page »