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By Collegebaseball360.com Editor Sean Stires

Gobble, Gobble…

To kick-off this week’s Notebook, we first want to wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving! No matter where you are or what you are doing this week and throughout the holidays, do it safely! Also, with the end of the year fast approaching and football winding down, be sure to look for more pre-season college baseball information coming soon. The start of the 2011 college baseball season is now less than three months away!

TD Ameritrade Park will be the new home of the CWS in 2011.

New Stadium, Higher Prices…

With the hoopla of the last College World Series played at Rosenblatt Stadium, the emphasis is now on the CWS’ move to downtown Omaha and TD Ameritrade Park. While ticket prices won’t have the same kind of hike in price that Yankee Stadium had when the new palace in the Bronx went up last year, CWS season ticket holders will pay more to watch the first series in the new building. Multiple Omaha media outlets have reported that College World Series of Omaha, Inc. has informed season ticket holders that ticket prices will be higher next year.

The price of a 2011 season ticket package at TDA will reportedly go for $374-up from $293 this year. A general admission book of 10 tickets will also go from the $70 price over the last three years to $80. Individual reserved seats will see a slight bump in price as well from $22 to $28. The new stadium also will not have box seats like Rosenblatt did. Some 2,800 season ticket holders who have the rights to buy roughly 14,600 tickets will receive renewal notices the first week of December. They have until February 1 to return their orders.

Tar Heel Gone…

Brian Goodwin

North Carolina has suspended Brian Goodwin for the 2011 spring semester for a violation of university policy . Goodwin earned Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American honors last season by batting .291 with seven home runs and team-highs of eight triples and 63 RBIs. UNC has not disclosed what rule Goodwin broke, but does say that his suspension is not related to the NCAA investigation into the Tar Heel football program.

Gone Batty…

Most of the emphasis on the new bat regulations for the upcoming 2011 season has been on college baseball, but high school baseball players will face some changes as well. Composite bats will still be allowed in 2011 for high schoolers, but the list of allowable composites is short. CLICK HERE for the list of composite bats that meet the ball exit speed ratio (BESR) for high schools (excluding California) for the upcoming season. The National Federation of State High School Associations will follow college baseball’s lead and completely ban composite bats in 2012.

Speaking Of Bats…

Black Friday will be upon us soon, but if you are looking for baseball, softball or football gear for your athlete there’s no need to fight the crowds during the Holiday Season. Baseball Express is one of College Baseball 360’s top sponsors, and they have special Baseball Internet Specials for you right now. Just click the link and enter the coupon code AFSSPD2 to receive 15% off baseball orders of $99 or more from Nov. 23-28. The softball code is AFSSPD3 and the football code is AFSSPD3.

The Conference Shuffle…

The biggest announcements regarding conference realignments this came out of the Big 12, Big Ten and Pac 10, but the situation remains very fluid. Texas State, UT-San Antonio and Denver are set to join the WAC for the 2012-2013 academic year. Denver is the only one of the three that plays neither Division One baseball nor football, while TSU and UTSA will both move from the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) to the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS or DI) next year. Meanwhile, Hawaii could be ready to follow Boise State and Fresno State to the Mountain West Conference, but that move may not include baseball. There’s a good chance Hawaii will be a football only member of the MWC, with the rest of its sports possibly joining the Big West. At least one recent report says 16 of Hawaii’s 18 teams would prefer the Big West, which would mean much shorter travel times and costs for the lower-revenue generating sports.

New Name, Same Stage…

One of college baseball’s premiere early season events has a new name. What used to be the Whataburger Classic in Corpus Christi, TX is now the Kleberg Bank College Classic. Kleberg recently signed a five-year naming rights contract for the event, which will still be played at Whataburger Field-the home of the minor league Corpus Christi Hooks. Last year’s event saw Oklahoma and UCLA both go to the College World Series. This year’s field includes Oregon State, Indiana, UConn, and Texas A&M Corpus Christi.

Auf Deutsch Bitte…

Greg Frady (10) led Germany to a third place finish at the European Championships.

Georgia State baseball coach Greg Frady has been named the European Baseball Coach of the Year. Frady was honored for leading the German National Team to a third-place finish at this year’s European Baseball Championship. It’s the highest finish for the Germans and their first medal in the history of the event. Frady has led his Georgia State Panthers to 73 wins over the last two seasons, including a 2009 NCAA Regional bid.

Three For The SEC…

National letter of intent signings continue to be announced by college baseball teams across the country. It’s a big enough feather in the cap of any high school to send just one player to the Division One ranks, but Lake Wales High School in Lake Wales, FL has a full plume this Thanksgiving. The Highlanders had three players recently sign baseball NLIs with SEC schools. Colton Davis and Jarred Smith will continue to be teammates next year after signing with Auburn, while Justin Shafer signed to play at Florida. Davis and Shafer both turned down DI football offers to play baseball. Lake Wales has a population of roughly 12,000.

Players are timed in the 60-yard dash at Arizona's scout day.

And At The Next Level…

All 30 MLB teams were represented by more than 70 scouts at the University of Arizona’s scout day over the weekend. Scouts put draft eligible Wildcats through their paces in things like the 60-yard dash, a half dozen rounds of batting practice and positional throwing (including pitchers). Senior outfielder Bobby Rinard turned-in the top 60 time at 6.5 seconds. The workout was the last such event for the scouts before the holidays.

Wearing It Out…

We received a question in our mail bag this week about the record for home runs in consecutive at-bats by a DI baseball player. The email cited former Sam Houston State player Tommy Cliffe, who homered in five straight at-bats in 1999. The e-mailer wanted to know if that might be the NCAA record. Turns out, Florida State’s Marshall McDougall did Cliffe one better in that same season. After singling in his first at-bat, McDougall went on to go yard in his next six trips to the plate in his historic 16 RBI day in the Seminole’s 26-2 win over Maryland on May 9, 1999. Have a question for us? Make sure  to drop us a line by clicking here.

V Is For Verlander…

Old Dominion recently retired the jersey of  Justin Verlander. The current Detroit Tiger set the ODU and Colonial Athletic Association record with 427 strikeouts in 335 2/3 innings in his three-year career from 2002-2004. Verlander was the second overall pick in the 2004 MLB Draft by Detroit after winning 21 games for his alma mater. He also helped Team USA to a silver medal finish at the 2003 Pan Am Games.

Keep Growing College Baseball…

Three more schools have made recent additions and/or renovations to their college baseball facilities. Lamar just finished the H.D. “Tex” and Emma Strait Baseball Training Facility. It’s a 9,600 square foot indoor practice center. Butler has made several tweaks to Bulldog Park, with a new turf halo around home plate, new laser-graded infield sod, new netting, and a still to be completed fan patio area down the left field line. Columbia also just dedicated its new Robertson Field at Satow Stadium. The digs include new chairback seating, a new home dugout and a state-of-the-art scoreboard.

Give a unique gift this Christmas from Dugouthats.com.  The Dugout in Omaha has officially licensed 2010 College World Series memorabilia that would make the perfect gift this holiday season (click on the image to left to enlarge).

From t-shirts and caps to limited edition prints commemorating the last CWS ever played at historic Rosenblatt Stadium. Dugouthats.com also always  hats of your favorite college teams like LSU, Texas, Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State, UCLA, South Carolina, Miami and more.

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Two Games vs. Vandy Among Three Oct. Contests…

A By The Numbers Look At The Last Week Before The NCAA Tournament

Garrett Wittels (Sun Belt photo)

batting .414 this season.

4…Games shy of Robin Ventura’s all-time record 58 game hitting streak Wittels now stands.  FIU needs two wins in double-elimination regional play to give him a chance to tie the mark.

5…Of 27 #1 seeds, Bethune-Cookman, TCU, Coastal Carolina, The Citadel and Minnesota, that won their conference tournaments.

27…Years since Atlantic Sun champion Mercer had won a conference crown.  The Bears won what was then known at the Trans America Athletic Conference in 1983.

13…Straight conference tournaments Oral Roberts has won.  ORU’s Summit League (formerly the Mid-Continent) championship streak is the third longest in NCAA history behind Oklahoma State’s 16 and Wichita State’s 14.

30…Straight Summit League Tournament games won by ORU after going 3-0 at this year’s event.

9…Big Ten Championships won by Minnesota-a conference record-after the Golden Gophers beat Iowa to claim the 2010 crown.

12…Innings it took Virginia Commonwealth to beat UNC-Wilmington 7-5 in the CAA Championship game.  VCU’s Joe Van Meter homered in the top of the 12th for the eventual game winning runs.

VCU's Joe Van Meter

104…Hits this season by Van Meter-a new CAA single season record.  The third baseman was also named the CAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.

8…Straight NCAA Tournament bids for Southern Mississippi after beating Rice 7-4 to claim just the program’s second Conference USA crown.  After running all the way to the College World Series last year, the Golden Eagles were an NCAA “bubble team” going into this year’s CUSA tourney.

2…Missouri Valley Conference title won by Illinois State after beating Wichita State 17-8 to claim the title.  WSU was playing in its 33rd MVC title game.

3…Grand slams hit in the same game by BYU in a 25-18 win over Utah in a Mountain West Conference elimination game.  Sean McNaughton hit two of the slams, while Austin Hall hit the other.  The three grand slams in one game ties an NCAA record.

27 & 4…Strikeouts recorded and runs allowed by TCU starting pitchers Matt Purke, Steven Maxwell and Kyle Winkler to help the Horned Frogs go 3-0 at the Mountain West Conference Tournament.

Kyle Winkler (TCU photo)

32-2…Combined record this season of Purke, Maxwell and Winkler to help TCU to its seventh straight NCAA bid.

13-1…LSU head coach Paul Mainieri’s record at the SEC Tournament after his Tigers completed a 2010 sweep of the event with Sunday’s 4-3 win over Alabama in the championship game.  LSU did not qualify for the tournament in Mainieri’s first season at the helm in 2007, but they have now won three straight SEC Tournament titles.

3…Shutout innings of relief pitched by LSU starter Anthony Ranaudo to help his team win the SEC title game in 11 innings.

4,895…Fans in attendance to see The Citadel win the Southern Conference Championship-a 10-3 win over Western Carolina in Charleston, SC.

12…Straight wins by The Citadel after winning the SoCon title game.  Bulldog ace Asher Wojciechowski is also 12-2 this season after striking out eight in eight innings to earn the victory.

Lamar's Anthony Moore (SLC photo)

7…Seed of Southland Conference Tournament champion Lamar, which beat #1 seed Texas State 17-7 to claim the crown.

.625…Batting average of Lamar centerfielder Anthony Moore to help the Cardinals sweep their four SLC Tournament games.  Moore was 10-for-16 at the plat with three home runs, two doubles, and 10 RBIs to earn tournament MVP honors.

18…Years since Hawaii had won a WAC Championship prior to beating Fresno State 9-6 in this year’s championship game in Mesa, AZ.

4…Straight WAC Tournament championships Fresno State had won before losing to the Rainbows in Sunday’s title game.

33…Wins this season by St. Louis-a new school record-after beating #1 seed Charlotte to win the program’s second Atlantic 10 Tournament championship.

25…Years since Grambling State had won a SWAC title before beating Alcorn State to win this year’s championship.

5…ACC Championships won by Florida State after the Seminoles downed North Carolina State 8-3 in Sunday’s championship game.

CLICK HERE to see the Collegebaseball360.com NCAA Tournament page for complete 2010 Tournament coverage.

Flies in the Ointment? …

The upsets kept flowing on Thursday, based on the CB360 Composite National Rankings, as more than half of the games (14 of 26) involving CB360 top-50 teams ended up in upsets. Most notably, five of the CNR’s top-10 teams (#2-3-7-8-10) all were knocked off, while several other teams emerged as potential “flies in the ointment” – underdogs that could win a conference automatic bid to the NCAAs (and, in the process, burst the bubble of an NCAA at-large hopeful). 

CLICK HERE for CB360’s Conference Tournament Main Page

(Note – Scores for all games involving the CB360 top-50 are listed at the bottom of this page, with the customary links provided for the one non-tournament game … also be sure to access CB360’s conference tournament main page via the link posted above.)

There were 26 games on Thursday involving CB360 top-50 teams, including seven head-to-head match-ups (33 total top-50 teams in action). The only top-50 game outside a conference tournament setting was #1 Arizona State’s 4-2 series-opening win at #32 Stanford.

Here are teams from five leagues (seven teams total) that have the makings for NCAA-bid spoilers (the potential flies in the ointment):

• Mercer (Atlantic Sun) – The #2-seeded Bears were nowhere close to being in the discussion for an NCAA at-large bid, with a #157 official NCAA RPI this week (trailing six other A-Sun teams), but Mercer sits in the catbird seat as the only 2-0 squad at the six-team A-Sun Tournament … should the Bears win this event, the focus then will shift to whether Florida Gulf Coast still would get into the NCAA’s as an at-large (effectively making the A-Sun a two-bid league and taking a spot from some unfortunate budble team) … many tournament projections had FGCU as a solid at-large possibility (the Eagles ran away with the A-Sun regular-season title and entered the week with a #45 NCAA RPI, plus a #36 standing in the CNR top-50) … Thursday’s key results saw #4 seed North Florida knock off FGCU in shockingly easy fashion (13-2), while Mercer beat #3 seed East Tennessee State (10-7) in the day’s only match-up of teams that won on Wed. … next up: FGCU faces ETSU today in a noon elimination game, followed by another elimination game at 4:00 (UNF vs. Jacksonville) and Mercer’s 8:00 game vs. the FGCU-ETSU winner.

• Rutgers ad St. John’s (BIG EAST) – There teams have earned a day off on Friday, as each is 2-0 following their Thursday upsets (#6 seed RU beat #2 seed UConn, 9-6, one day after knocking off #3 seed Pittsburgh in a 9-5 opening-day game … #4 seed SJU knocked off top seed Louisville, 11-4) … if Rutgers or St. John’s win the BIG EAST Tournament, the league likely will have locked up three bids to the NCAAs … Pitt has been hoping to be that third entrant, but that was far from certain following the Panther’s first-day loss to #7 seed Cincinnati (9-6) …Louisville entered the tournament as the #5 team in the official NCAA RPI (#7 in the cb360 CNR) while UConn was the #24 RPI (CNR #18) and Pitt’s tenuous situation included a #47 RPI and #42 CNR … Friday’s games: Pitt and UConn will meet in a 4:00 elimination games, as will Louisville and #5 seed South Florida (7:00).

• Lamar and Texas Arlington – This is a similar situation to the one above, as these teams have started 2-0 in the Southland Conference Tournament … #5 seed UTA benefited from the day-1 upset that saw #8 seed Nicholls State beat regular-season champ Texas State, as the Mavericks then rallied to beat Nicholls (5-4) … on the other side of the bracket, the #7 seed Lamar stopped surging Northwestern (La.) State on Wed. and the earned its day off with a Thursday win over #6 seed McNeese State, 10-7 (McNeese earlier had edged #3 seed Southeastern Louisiana, 8-7) … should Lamar or UTA win the tournament, it’s likely that the Southland still could be a one-bid league for the NCAAs – as each of the top seeds have shaky at-large credentials (Texas State #48 NCAA RPI/#46 CNR … SLU #40 RPI, #50 CNR … NWLA #76 RPI and now eliminated from the Southland Tour.) … Friday’s games include a 10:00 a.m. CT elimination game (SLU-McNeese), followed by another elimination game between Texas St. and Nicholls … Lamar and UTA will be awaiting the winners in the night games (starting at 5:00).

• Arkansas State (Sunbelt) –The #7 seed has joined top seed Florida Atlantic as the 2-0 teams, but a Trojans title at this tournament might simply solidify the end of the season for #2 seed Louisiana (Lafayette)  … UL-L entered the Sunbelt Championship with a #33 RPI (matching its spot in the CNR), but the regular-season co-champs already have been bounced back home and have to be considered a bubble team (especially if Arkansas State were to snatch the automatic bid) … the #3 and #4 seeds – Middle Tennessee and Florida International – entered the week as longshots for the NCAAs, with each facing elimination gaames on Friday (FIU plays #5 seed South Alabama in the brutal 9:00 AM game, followed by MTSU and #6 seed Troy) … #8 seed Western Kentucky was a top-25 team on the national scene at the midseason point, but the Hilltoppers wrapped up their second-half swoon by going 0-2 this week) … FAU will be awaiting the FIU-USA winner on Friday afternoon (4 ET), followed by Ark. St. s. the MTSU/Troy winner.

• Western Carolina (SoCon) – Speaking of teams that had strong starts to the season and then faded, WCU could jump back into the picture following its Thursday rally from a 6-0 deficit to upset CNR #28 College of Charleston (7-6) … #6 seed WCU joins regular-season champ The Citadel as 2-0 starters in the Southern Conference Tournament … #2 seed CofC (#29 RPI) may be secure for NCAA at-large consideration, meaning that a WCU tournament title could ensure three NCAA bids for the SoCon (WCU entered the event 57th in the official NCAA RPI) … #3 seed Elon (#51 RPI/#44 CNR) is another SoCon hopeful for the NCAAs, but the Phoenix likely need to win their Friday elimination game vs. #5 seed Samford (7 ET; winner has to beat Citadel twice on Sat.) … Friday’s 3:00 elimination game will pit C of C vs. #7 seed Appalachian State (winner has to beat WCU twice on Sat.).

In addition to games mentioned above, Thursday’s other top-50 upsets included:

• Texas Tech 4,  #2 Texas 1 (Big 12)
• #17 Florida State 11,  #3 Virginia 4 (Big 12)
• #25 Virginia Tech 6,  #8 Georgia Tech 2
• #14 Auburn 3,  #10 South Carolina 1 (Big 12)
• Boston College 12,  #12 Miami 10 (Big 12)
• #34 LSU 7, #16 Vanderbilt 5 (Big 12)
• #29 Alabama 6,  #23 Mississippi 3 (Big 12)
• Middle Tennessee State 3,  #33 Louisiana-Lafayette 0 (Big 12)
• Florida International 7,  #47 Western Kentucky 3 (Sunbelt)
• High Point 2,  #49 Liberty 1 (Big South)

TOP TEAMS – Texas (0-2) already is out of title contention at the Big 12 Tournament, while Virginia now has a tougher road to repeating as ACC Tournament champion (in order to reach the title game, the Cavs first need BC to beat FSU on Friday, then UVa has to defeat Miami on Sat.). Note that the Big 12  and ACC both use a round-robin format in their tournaments. The losses by Texas and UVa, coupled with Arizona State’s win over Stanford, can only strengthen ASU’s position as the potential #1 national seed.

SEC – One day after all four SEC Tournament games resulted in upsets, Thursday’s slate saw the underdogs (based on the CNR) win three more times – including Auburn’s win that eliminated South Carolina. Two teams that filled the final two SEC spots – #8 seed Alabama and #7 LSU – now find themselves on the inside tracks to the title game.

BUBBLE SEEKERS – Boston College (#46 RPI) and Texas Tech (#48) kept alive their hopes for making the NCAAs. All four teams in BC’s bracket at the ACC Tournament (#1 seed Virginia, #4 Miami, #5 Florida St. and #8 BC) have started 1-1, with one team ultimately advancing to Sunday’s title game. BC will face FSU on Friday at noon, while UVa and Miami will meet on Sat. (also at noon). In order to reach the Big 12 title game, #5 seed Texas Tech need to beat #8 seed Missouri on Saturday while getting help in two others games (Missouri beating #4 seed Texas A&M on Fri. and top seed Texas then beating A&M on Sat.).

MORE BUBBLE WATCH – Liberty’s loss could extinguish the Flames’ hopes for an NCAA at-large spot (#44 official NCAA RPI, but lost on Wed.). Several other NCAA bubble teams also are 1-1 at their conference tournaments, after winning on Thursday:

• #38 New Mexico 7,  BYU 6
• #42 Pittsburgh 13,  Cincinnati 4
• #46 Texas State 8,  Stephen F. Austin 2
• #50 Southeastern Louisiana 10,  Northwestern (La.) State 4

THURSDAY’S TOP-50 RESULTS (5/27/10; upsets in italics)
(based on the CB360 Composite National Rankings)

Reminder – follow THIS LINK for CB360’s Conference Tournament Main Page (with links to all of the conference tournament  central pages that include complete info., links, etc.)

• #1 Arizona State 4,  at #32 Stanford 2 (Pac-10 reg.-season)  |  Final Stats
ASU Recap |  STAN Recap

• Texas Tech 4,  #2 Texas 1 (Big 12)

• #17 Florida State 11,  #3 Virginia 4 (ACC)

• #4 Coastal Carolina 11,  Radford 9 (Big South)

• #5 Florida 5,  #13 Arkansas 4 (SEC)

• St. John’s 6,  #7 Louisville 5

• #25 Virginia Tech 6,  #8 Georgia Tech 2

• #14 Auburn 3,  #10 South Carolina 1 (SEC)

• Boston College 12,  #12 Miami 10 (ACC)

• #34 LSU 7, #16 Vanderbilt 5 (SEC)

• Rutgers 6,  #18 Connecticut 5 (BIG EAST)

• #22 Rice 24,  Houston 3 (C-USA)

• #29 Alabama 6,  #23 Mississippi 3 (SEC)

• #27 Texas A&M 7,  Missouri 2 (Big 12)

• Western Carolina 7,  #28 College of Charleston 6

• Middle Tennessee State 3,  #33 Louisiana-Lafayette 0 (Sunbelt)

• #35 Florida Atlantic 10,  South Alabama 9 (Sunbelt)

• North Florida 13,  #36 Florida Gulf Coast 2 (Atlantic Sun)

• #38 New Mexico 7,  BYU 6 (Mt. West)

• #39 The Citadel 6,  #44 Elon 3 (SoCon)

• #42 Pittsburgh 13,  Cincinnati 4 (BIG EAST)

• #46 Texas State 8,  Stephen F. Austin 2 (Southland)

• Florida International 7,  #47 Western Kentucky 3 (Sunbelt)

• High Point 2,  #49 Liberty 1 (Big South)

• #50 Southeastern Louisiana 10,  Northwestern (La.) State 4 (Southland)

30 conference champions earn automatic berths into the field of 64 in the 2010 NCAA Division One baseball tournament.  We will list them as they secure their bids.

CLICK HERE to see the NCAA selection handbook, which includes at-large selection criteria and more information.

NCAA Tournament Selection Timeline

America East-Stony Brook

ACC:  Florida State

Atlantic Sun:  Mercer

Atlantic 10-St. Louis

Big East-St. John’s

Big South-Coastal Carolina

Big Ten-Minnesota

Big 12-Texas A&M

Big West-Cal State Fullerton

CAA-Virginia Commonwealth

CUSA-Southern Mississippi

Horizon:  Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Ivy League-Dartmouth

MAAC-Rider

MAC-Kent State

MEAC-Bethune-Cookman

Missouri Valley-Illinois State (Won First Ever Tournament)

Mountain West-TCU

Northeast-Central Connecticut St.

Ohio Valley-Jacksonville St.

Pac 10-Arizona State

Patriot League-Bucknell

SEC-LSU

Southern-The Citadel

Southland-Texas St.

SWAC-Grambling St.

Summit League-Oral Roberts (Won 13th straight tournament)

Sun Belt-Florida International

WCC-San Diego

WAC-Hawaii (First title since 1992)

Four Things I’m Thinking About Right Now…

By Collegebaseball360.com Editor Sean Stires

As April hits its stride we’re getting ready for another weekend of college baseball.  We’ve had some new podcasts and will continue to have more in the coming weeks as we look at different teams and conferences around the country.  Here are some things that gnawed at my mind this week…

Say What… Here are the current statistics of two catchers.  One is on the 2010 Johnny Bench Award Watch List, but

Yasmani Grandal (Miami photo)

the other is not.  See if you can guess which one is:  A.  .414 BA, 7 HR, 37 RBIs, 1.211 OPS, 1 Passed Ball  B.  .294 BA, 6 HR, 25 RBIs, .888 OPS, 3 Passed Balls.  If you said catcher “B” is the one on the watch list you would be correct (I won’t mention his name here).  Catcher “A” is Miami Hurricane Yasmani Grandal.  After hitting 16 home runs and then playing last summer for Team USA the junior was not only not on the original watch list, but also left out of the group of nine catchers who were added to the watch list this week.  That’s 61 total catchers now on the watch list, but the guy hitting .414 at one of the best programs in the history of the sport is not one of them.

Big Shake-Up…Before last week the Big East was looking like it was going to be a one-bid league when NCAA selections come out next month, and Louisville was looking like it might earn the programs first top 8 national seed.  That all changed when Pittsburgh took two of three games from the Cardinals in the Steel City.  Pittsburgh (22-9, 6-3) was three outs from sweeping the series before Louisville rallied to salvage the series finale, but their two wins shook-up the Big East standings.  South Florida (16-16, 8-1) is in first place followed by UConn (24-7, 7-2) and Rutgers (18-13, 7-2), with Louisville (26-6, 6-3) and Pitt tied for fourth place.  USF played a brutal early schedule, but has zero quality wins to show for it.  UConn handed Louisville its other conference loss and seems to be gaining momentum.

Revving-up The RPI…The NCAA’s official RPI is out, and it’s no shock that the top five teams include Arizona State, Arkansas, UCLA, Florida, and Virginia.  Three of those five teams made it to Omaha last year and a fourth (Florida) played in a Super Regional.  Louisville (Big East), Coastal Carolina (Big South), Clemson, Texas, and Oregon State round-out the top ten.  That gives the Pac 10 three top ten RPI teams, the ACC and SEC each have two.  Here are some “non-power conference” teams that join Louisville and Coastal Carolina in the RPI Top-50:  17. Western Kentucky 21. The Citadel 23. TCU 24. New Mexico 30. College of Charleston 35. Western Carolina 39. Texas State 40. Connecticut 41. San Diego 44. Southeastern Louisiana 47. South Alabama 49. Pittsburgh 50. VMI

Gary Brown (mattbrownphoto.com)

Titan Turnaround…Since a disappointing 8-8 start to the season Cal State Fullerton (18-12, 5-1 Big West) has won ten of its last 14 games, including two of three from Big West rival UC Irvine last weekend.  The Titans also won a midweek match-up over UCLA (26-3)-a team that moved to #1 in two polls this week.  Fullerton didn’t shy away from tough competition early on, with six of those losses coming at the hands of TCU (24-7), Arizona (23-9) and Arizona State (28-3).  The Titan’s offense is starting to click, with Gary Brown and Billy Marcoe hitting .443 and .402, respectively.  The biggest issue has been inconsistent pitching from a team that has been traditionally dominant on the mound.  2010 Team USA invitees Tyler Pill and Nick Ramirez are a combined 2-7, although Pill gave-up just an unearned run in 8 1/3 IP and also had an RBI in Sunday’s 6-1 win over the Anteaters.  Expect the Titans to build some serious momentum over the next month…

A By The Numbers Look At The Latest Week’s Action

Randy Fontanez (USF photo)

1…Win this season and career shutouts by Fontanez after Friday’s gem.  The Preseason Big East Pitcher of the Year was 0-4 prior to his team’s conference-opener with losses to the likes of Florida and Ohio State and a no-decision in a loss to Oklahoma.

23…Consecutive wins by Arizona State to open the season-a record for the storied program.

2…Runs scored by ASU in the 8th inning to tie Cal in Sunday’s 3-2 win.  Drew Maggi’s two out RBI single in the 9th gave the Sun Devils their 23rd straight win.

13…Strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings by ASU starter Jake Borup in Sunday’s win.  He allowed just two hits, but  settled for a no-decision.

20…Consecutive wins by UCLA to open the season-the longest winning streak in Bruin’s history.

6…Wins with no losses by UCLA pitcher Gerrit Cole.  He became the nation’s first 6-game winner with Thursday’s 11-7 win over Cal Poly.  Cole walked a season-high seven batters with seven strikeouts in the outing, which UCLA led 11-0 after four innings.

10…Combined double plays turned in Pacific’s 3-2 win in 11 innings over San Jose State on Sunday.  Each team turned five double plays to tie a single-game  NCAA record set on April 4, 1989 by Georgetown and George Mason.

8…Runs given-up in 5 2/3 IP by Texas pitcher Taylor Jungmann in Friday’s 12-5 loss to Texas Tech.

9…Runs given-up by Jungmann (2-1) in his first 36 1/3 IP this season prior to suffering his first loss.

10…Runs scored in the bottom of the 8th inning by George Mason in Friday’s CAA opener vs. James Madison and send the game to extra innings with the score tied 12-12.

Noe Ramirez (CS Fullerton photo)

9…Runs scored in the 10th inning of that same game by James Madison, which won the game 21-16.

14…Strikeouts by Cal State Fullerton’s Noe Ramirez in Friday’s 3-0 win over Hawaii in his second complete game of the season.

0.40…ERA of Hawaii starter Josh Slats, who was Ramirez’s counterpart in that game-which lasted just 2:18.

18…Game home field winning streak that ended last Tuesday when Elon beat Clemson 15-10 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

4 of 5…Games Clemson lost last week after opening the season with a 17-2 record.  The Tigers also lost at home to Elon on Wednesday and then dropped 2 of 3 games at Virginia over the weekend.

5…Walks issued by Kansas State pitcher Evan Marshall in Friday’s 14-11 win over visiting Oklahoma State.

7…Runs scored in the 8th inning of that game to give the K-State its third straight win in a Big 12 opener.  (The Wildcats took two of three games in the series.)

2…Walks issued by Marshall (along with 22 strikeouts) in his first 33 2/3 IP this season.

15…Strikeouts in 6 IP by Oklahoma State’s Kevin Chambers, who allowed just one hit with one walk, in Tuesday’s 26-0 win over Alabama A& M.  It was the second game of a doubleheader in Stillwater, OK.

5…Strikeouts by Chambers’ teammate, Brian Denneny, who pitched the last three innings of that game.

13…Combined strikeouts by four OSU pitchers in a 6-5 loss to A&M in game one of that twin bill.

10…Home runs hit by ten different players in Tuesday’s 20-15 win by Morehead State over Indiana.  The teams combined for 35 runs on 43 hits.

8…Pitchers used by Webber International in Thursday’s 9-0 win over Ohio State.

617…Enrollment of Webber International-an NAIA school located in Babson Park, FL.

52,715…Enrollment of Ohio State-a Big Ten school located in Columbus, OH.

Chris Schaeffer (N.C. State photo)

1…Career hit by The Citadel’s Josh Pless.  The freshman’s single to left field gave the Bulldogs a 2-1 win over Appalachian State Saturday afternoon.  He was 0-4 prior to the at-bat.

5…Runs scored by North Carolina State against Miami with two outs in the bottom of the 9th inning to tie the game at 6-6 & send it to extra innings.  The Wolfpack won 7-6 after a game-winning sac fly by Chris Schaeffer in the 11th inning.

4 1/3…Relief innings pitched in that game by freshman Felix Roque-a Miami native-to earn his first career win.

10…Consecutive hits by East Carolina in Sunday’s 20-1 win over North Carolina Central.

65-7…Combined score of the Pirates‘ three wins over the Eagles.

2 of 3…Games won by Memphis over Rice over the weekend to give the Tigers their first ever series win over the Owls.

11…Strikeouts in 7 IP by Louisville’s Thomas Royse (5-0, 1.42 ERA) in Friday’s Big East Conference opening 1-0 win over UConn.

4…RBIs by Cody Lassley on his game-ending grand slam in the bottom of the 10th inning to give Wichita State a

Cody Lassley

5-1 win over Bradley.

0…Runs allowed in his last 11 2/3 IP by TCU’s Paul Gerrish after 5 2/3 scoreless innings in Tuesday’s 2-0 win over Texas State.

16-15…Air Force’s lead in Sunday’s game vs. TCU when play was halted in the 7th inning due to TCU’s travel plans.  The game will be resumed on May 15.  The two teams split the first two games of the Mountain West Conference Series.

7…Straight wins by Georgia Tech after Sunday’s 11-8 win in 10 innings over North Carolina.

5…Runs scored in the 9th inning by the Yellow Jackets to tie the game 8-8 and send it to extra innings.  The scoring was capped on a 2-run home run by Derek Dietrich, who had a career-high five hits in the game.

10…Years since Georgia Tech last swept a series from the Tar Heels, which were swept at home for the first time since 2003.

10…Strikeouts by GT pitcher Deck McGuire in 7 innings in Friday’s 2-1 series-opening win in Chapel Hill.

20-5…School record best start to a season by Western Kentucky after beating Louisiana-Monroe 10-8 on Sunday to cap a weekend sweep.

1…Win over a Division One team by Division II Lake Erie College after Sunday’s 19-4 win over Cleveland State.

11…Strikeouts by Charleston Southern’s Tyler Thornburg in 8 IP in a 1-0 win over VMI.

446…Wins at UC Santa Barbara by head coach Bob Brontsema after an 11-6 win over San Francisco.  The mark is a new school record.

SAN ANTONIO — UTSA head baseball coach Sherman Corbett announced Wednesday his program’s 2010 schedule. Highlighted by six teams that played in the 2009 NCAA Tournament (Baylor, Sam Houston State, Texas, Texas A&M, TCU, Texas State), a full slate of 33 Southland Conference games and 26 home tilts, the ledger features a total of 52 contests this spring.

UTSA Head Coach Sherman Corbett

schedule for more than a decade. UTSA has won 20 of its last 26 tilts at the 16-year-old facility.

Complete 2010 UT San Antonio Schedule (PDF)

The Birds open the season with a six-game home stand at Roadrunner Field. UTSA will host Houston Baptist from Feb. 20-21 before welcoming Indiana State to the Bird Bath the following weekend (Feb. 26-28).

The year’s first road trip will take place from March 2-14 when UTSA plays eight games in a two-week span. The trip kicks off with a March 2 tilt at TCU, which came one game short of playing in last year’s College World Series. A four-game set at San Francisco follows from March 5-7 and the journey ends the weekend of March 12-14 when the Birds open conference play at Southeastern Louisiana.

The Roadrunners return to the Alamo City for the two-game series with Iowa and UT Arlington visits the Bird Bath two days later in the first of three conference contests that will be played from March 17-19.

Following a March 24 tilt at Baylor, UTSA returns to Roadrunner Field to host three-time defending Southland Tournament Champion Sam Houston State from March 26-27. The Birds have won 12 of the last 13 regular season meetings with the Bearkats.

A five-game road trip that includes stops at Houston (March 30), Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (April 1-3) and Texas A&M (April 6) follows and the Birds then return home to square off against Stephen F. Austin (April 9-11) and Houston (April 13).

UTSA embarks on a season-long nine-game road trip from April 16-May 1 when they play at Northwestern State (April 16-18), Lamar (April 23-25), 2009 national runner-up Texas (April 27) and I-35 rival Texas State (April 30-May 1), which won the Southland’s regular season title a year ago.

The Roadrunners come back to the Bird Bath for a season-best eight-game home stand that begins on May 2 with the conclusion of the Texas State home-and-home series. Nicholls will come to town from May 7-9, along with McNeese State (May 14-16) and TCU (May 18).

UTSA closes out regular season play with a three contests at Central Arkansas from May 20-22.

The Southland Tournament is scheduled for May 26-29 at Whataburger Field in Corpus Christi. The circuit’s top eight teams will qualify for the four-day postseason event that determines the league’s automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.

(Release)

Toby Gerhart And Golden Tate Are Among More Than 35 Players In The Report

Zach Collaros

Zach Collaros- 6’1-209 – Football: QB & Baseball: IF
Collaros batted just .204 in 49 at-bats in 2009 for the Bearcat baseball team.  However, he has had a much bigger impact this fall for the UC football team.  Collaros has passed for 1,434 yards with 10 touchdowns and just two interceptions in 2009.  He has also rushed for 344 yards and four more TDs.  He has played in all 11 Cincinnati games in 2009, including four starts after Heisman contender Tony Pike went down with injury.

Cincinnati (11-0) plays Pittsburgh (9-2) on Saturday, Dec. 5.  A win would send the Bearcats to a second straight BCS bowl.

Clemson

Kyle Parker- 6’1-200 – Football: QB & Baseball: OF
Parker graduated high school a semester early to enroll at Clemson in January 2008.  He’s a redshirt freshman on the football team, but he will be a junior on the baseball squad in 2010.

Parker has passed for 2,294 yards with 19 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 2009.  Clemson (8-4) plays Georgia Tech (10-2) on Saturday, Dec. 5 in the ACC Championship Game.

Elon

Scott Riddle-6’0-210-Jr. – Football: QB & Baseball: IF/C
This season Riddle became the  Southern Conference record holder for career completions and passing yards.

Elon's Scott Riddle

Riddle passed for 3,345  yards with 23 touchdowns and seven interceptions for the Phoenix in 2009.

Riddle led Elon (9-3)to the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs, but the Phoenix lost 16-13 to #4 Richmond in the first round.  He finished seventh in the nation with 278.7 passing yards a game.

Fairfield

Tucker Nathans-6’0-180-Jr. – Soccer: Forward & Baseball: 2B
Nathans started 10 of Fairfield’s 17 soccer games and totaled three points in 2009.  Nathans started all 47 games for the Fairfield baseball team last season, and led the Stags with a .377 average with a 1.006 OPS.

George Washington

Marshall Seedorf-6′3-185-So. – Swimming: Sprints & Baseball: P                                               Seedorf was one of just two freshman to qualify for the Atlantic 10 Championship finals in both the 50 and 100 meter freestyle events in 2009.  He pitched in relief in 13 games last season for the GW baseball team.  He is currently competing

Hofstra

Anthony Nelson-5’10-180-Jr. – Football: WR & Baseball: OF
Nelson finished the 2009 season as  Hofstra’s second-leading receiver with 40 catches for 520 yards and four touchdowns for the (5-7) Pride.

Holy Cross

Rob Dornfried-5’8-176-Jr. – Football: K & Baseball: IF
Dornfried hit 7 of 9  field goals and 40 of 41 extra points for the Crusader football team this fall.  He played in 15 games in 2009 for the Holy Cross baseball team.

Holy Cross (9-3) won the  Patriot League title but lost 38-28 to Villanova in the first round of the FCS playoffs.

Josh Hauser-6’4-218-Fr. – Football: TE & Baseball:

Kentucky

Brian Adams-6’4-212-Fr. – Football: WR & Baseball: OF
Adams is a true freshman who was a high school quarterback and is now making the transition to receiver in college.

Louisiana-Monroe

Kolton Browning-6’2-181-Fr. – Football: QB & Baseball: Pitcher.
Browning is a true freshman that is a back-up quarterback on the football team and is expected to pitch for the Warhawk baseball team next spring.

LSU

Chad Jones-6’3-231-Jr. – Football: Safety & Baseball: Pitcher
Like his former LSU teammate, Jared Mitchell (drafted and signed by the Chicago White Sox), Jones has both a football and a baseball national championship ring.

Jones is LSU’s fifth  leading tackler with 60 takedowns along with 3 interceptions.  Jones is also averaging 21.5 yards on six punt returns, including a 93 yarder for a touchdown vs. Mississippi State.  LSU (9-3) beat Arkansas 33-30 to close the regular season.  The Tigers will finish their season in a bowl game.

McNeese State

Jace Peterson-6’1-190-So. – Football: Safety & Baseball: IF

Jace Peterson (#6) In On A Tackle

Peterson had 39 tackles, three sacks and an interception in 2009.  He batted .366 with 16 stolen bases in limited action on the diamond last spring.

Malcolm Bronson-5’11-188-So. – Football: Safety & Baseball: OF
Bronson led the Cowboys with 75 tackles in 2009.  He also had two interceptions.

McNeese State lost 49-13 to New Hampshire in the first round of the FCS playoffs.

Minnesota

Eric Decker-6’2-215-Sr. – Football: WR & Baseball: OF
Decker entered the season on the Biletnikoff Award Watch List.  The award is given to the nation’s top receiver.  He started Minneosta’s first eight games, but suffered a foot injury against Ohio State missed the rest of the season.   Depite missing the Gopher’s last three games, Decker was still named All-Big Ten by a vote of conference coaches.  He finished the season as Minnesota’s  leading receiver with 50 catches for 758 yards and 5 touchdowns.

Nebraska

Khiry Cooper-6’2-180-rsFr. – Football: WR & Baseball: OF
Cooper started 20 games for the Cornhusker baseball team as a true freshman
last spring.

New Mexico State

Tanner Rust-6’2-195-Fr. – Football: QB & Baseball:
Rust is the Aggie’s third-string quarterback and he plans to play baseball next spring as well.  He would be just the second athlete to play both football and baseball at New Mexico State.

Nicholls State

Mike Barba-6’1-180-Fr. – Football: WR & Baseball

Kyle Hughes-6’5-220-Sr. – Football: LB & Baseball
Hughes recorded 34 tackles with an interception for the Colonel’s (3-8) in 2009.

Kevin Persick-6’2-215-rsFr. – Football: LB & Baseball

North Carolina State

Russell Wilson-5’11-201 – Football: QB & Baseball: 2B
Wilson is a redshirt sophomore for the football team, but he will be a junior on the 2010 Wolfpack baseball squad. He

Wilson Tops The ACC With 31 TD Passes

totaled 3,027 passing yards with 31 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 2009, while also rushing for 260 yards and 4 more scores.   His 31 touchdown passes led the ACC.

He passed for 259 yards and 4 touchdowns to help N.C. State (5-7) upset North Carolina (8-4) to end an otherwise disappointing season for the Wolfpack.

Notre Dame

Eric Maust-6’2-190-Sr. – Football: P & Baseball: Pitcher
Maust has averaged 35.8 yards on 19 punts in 2009.  As the holder on ND’s field goal team he completed a pass to convert a first down on a fake FG vs. USC.  He was an All-Big East pitcher in 2008.

Evan Sharpley-6’2-217-Sr. – Football: QB & Baseball
Sharpley is the ND 3rd string quarterback in 2009. He was named the
team’s scout team player of the week for his impersonation of Nevada QB Colin Kaepernick prior to ND’s 35-0 win. 2009 was Sharpley’s last season with the Irish baseball team. He was picked by Seattle in the 50th round of the June MLB draft. Sharpley batted .333 with 7 HR, 29 RBIs and a 1.043 OPS for the Mariner’s AZL Rookie League team.

Golden Tate-5’11-195-Jr. – Football: WR & Baseball: OF
Tate is one of three finalists for the 2009 Biletnikoff Award.  He’s had a record-setting season in 2009 with 93 receptions for 1,496 yards and 15 touchdowns (all single-season school records).  His 2,707 career receiving yards are also an Irish school record.

Tate finished the regular season with 10 catches for 201 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 45-38 loss to Stanford.  The Irish (6-6) lost their last four regular season games, but they are bowl eligible.

Oregon State

Jordan Poyer-5’11-181-Fr. – Football: S & Baseball

Penn State

Jesse Alfreno-5’11-194-Jr. – Football: CB & Baseball: Pitcher
Alfreno was 1-0 with one save in 20 relief appearances in 2009 for the Nittany Lions baseball team.

Sacred Heart

Steve Tedesco-6’1-195-Sr. – Football: WR & Baseball: IF

Tedesco is the Sacred Heart (2-8) school record holder with 37 career touchdowns.  Tedesco had a career day with 12 catches for 144 yards and four touchdowns in the Pioneer’s season-ending 45-42 loss to Duquesne.  He finished the 2009 season with a team-high 67 receptions for 865 yards and 11 touchdowns.  He was selected to play in the 9th annuall East Coast Bowl All-Star Game.

Bobby Shepherd-6’1-180-rs Fr. – Football: P & Baseball: Pitcher
Shephard made four relief appearances and two starts in ’09 for the Sacred
Heart baseball team. He’s the football team’s back-up punter.

South Alabama

Eddy Cabrera-5’9-160-Fr. – Football: DB & Baseball: OF

This is 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.

Stanford

Toby Gerhart-6’1-235-Sr. – Football: RB & Baseball: OF
Gerhart is one of three finalists for the 2009 Doak Walker Award, which goes to the nation’s top running back.  He is also a top contender for the 2009 Heisman Trophy. Gerhart was an outfield starter for Stanford’s 2008 College World Series team.

Gerhart capped his regular season with 205 rushing yards and 3 touchdown runs in Stanford’s 45-38 win over Notre Dame.  He also complete his first career pass attempt for an 18-yard touchdown pass in the game.

As of Nov. 29 Gerhart leads the nation with 1,736 rushing yards and 26 touchdowns.  His 42 career touchdowns are a Pac 10 record.  Gerhart has now topped the 200 yard mark three times this season.  Coming into 2009 no Stanford back had surpassed 200 rushing yards in a game since 1988.

Gerhart could exercise a fifth year of football eligibility (he missed most of 2007 with a knee injury) and he still has a final season of baseball eligibility remaining.  However,  he  is expected to forego those options to prepare for February’s NFL combine and, ultimately, April’s NFL draft.

Texas State

Jeff McVaney-6’2-220-So. – Football: FB & Baseball: OF/LHP
McVaney made 12 relief appearances as freshman for the 2009 Bobcat baseball team that made it to the NCAA Tournament.   The fullback had four carries for nine yards in 2009.

Villanova

Matt Szczur-5’11-195-Jr. – Football: WR & Baseball: OF

Matt Szczur

Szczur was second team All-CAA in football last season as a sophomore.  He was named the Colonial Athletic Associations Offensive Player of the Year and Special Teams Player of the Year in 2009.   He is just the second player in CAA history to receive two major awards in the same season.

As a redshirt freshman in 2009 he led the baseball team with a .346 average.  Szczur was a 38th round draft pick by the Los Angeles Dodgers out of high school in 2007.

Szczur’s 2009 stats include:  45 catches for 534 yards and 4 touchdowns, 86 rushes for 562 yards and 7 TDs, 3 of 3 pass attempts for 21 yards and 2 touchdowns, and 26 kickoff returns for a 27.7 average and another TD.

He and the Wildcats have playoff wins over Holy Cross and New Hampshire & are now in the FCS national semifinals.

Marlon Calbi-5’11-180-So. – Football: QB/Holder & Baseball: SS
Calbi is a third-string quarterback who has played every career game as the
team’s holder. He started more than half of the baseball team’s games at
shortstop last season.

Christian Culicerto-5’9-190-So. – Football: QB & Baseball: LHP
Culicerto is a backup quarterback on the football team who walked on to the
baseball roster last season. He pitched in two games in relief.

Kenny Miles-5’11-180-Fr. Football: WR & Baseball: OF
Miles is a highly-touted freshman in both sports. He is currently low on the depth chart for football, because the team is deep at the wide receiver position.

Wofford

Landon Bennett-6’3-200-So. – Football: K/P & Baseball: OF
Bennett had 8 punts in four games in 2008 for the football team. During the 2008 baseball season played in 25 games with 14 starts and hit .298 with 17 hits and 8 RBIs.

This is the latest installment of the Collegebaseball360.com Two Sport Report.  We are updating the progress of college baseball players who also play sports like football, soccer and swimming.  We have added a couple new players to the list as well.  If you know of someone not on the list shoot us an email and let us know: editor@collegebaseball360.com.

Shinskie

Dave Shinskie- 6’4-215 – Football: QB & Baseball: P
While Shinskie is not a college baseball player, he is an interesting two sport athlete.  Shinskie is a 25-year-old freshman who is starting at quarterback for the BC football team.  He has passed for 1,503 yards with 12 touchdowns and 9 int. so far in 2009.  He guided a 70 yard touchdown drive, capped by a one yard sneak to give the Eagles a 14-10 win over Virginia on Saturday.  The wins keeps BC’s ACC Atlantic Division title hopes alive.

Shinskie was drafted in the fourth round of the 2003 MLB draft by the Minnesota Twins, and he finished his minor league baseball career in 2009 in the Toronto Blue Jays organization.   He is not eligible to play for the BC baseball team.

Collaros

Cincinnati

Zach Collaros- 6’1-209 – Football: QB & Baseball: iF
Collaros batted just .204 in 49 at-bats in 2009 for the Bearcat baseball team.  However, he has had a much bigger impact this fall for the UC football team.  Collaros has completed 75- percent of his passes for 1,434 yards with 10 touchdowns and two interceptions for the unbeaten Bearcats.  Cincinnati sits atop the Big East standing, and is ranked fourth in the most recent BCS standings.

Clemson

Kyle Parker- 6’1-200 – Football: QB & Baseball: OF
Parker graduated high school a semester early to enroll at Clemson in January 2008.  He’s a redshirt freshman on the football team, but he will be a junior on the baseball squad in 2010. Parker has completed 134 of his 252 pass attempts for 1,665 yards with 14 touchdowns and 9 interceptions.  He has helped lead Clemson (7-3, 5-2 ACC) into the Top 25 in 2009.  A win over Virginia on Nov. 21 would clinch the ACC’s Atlantic Divsion for the Tigers.

Elon

Scott Riddle-6’0-210-Jr. – Football: QB & Baseball: IF/C
This season Riddle became the  Southern Conference record holder for career completions and passing yards.  For the season Riddle has completed 65-percent of his passes  for 2,758 yards with 21 touchdowns and seven interceptions for the Phoenix in 2009.  Elon (8-2) finishes the regular season Saturday at Samford.  Riddle ranks 8th in passing yards and 17th in pass efficiency in the Football Championship Subdivision.

Fairfield

Tucker Nathans-6’0-180-Jr. – Soccer: Forward & Baseball: 2B
Nathans started 10 of Fairfield’s 17 soccer games and totaled three points in 2009.  Nathans started all 47 games for the Fairfield baseball team last season, and led the Stags with a .377 average with a 1.006 OPS.

George Washington

Marshall Seedorf-6′3-185-So. – Swimming: Sprints & Baseball: P                                               Seedorf was one of just two freshman to qualify for the Atlantic 10 Championship finals in both the 50 and 100 meter freestyle events in 2009.  He pitched in relief in 13 games last season for the GW baseball team.  He is currently competing

Hofstra

Anthony Nelson-5’10-180-Jr. – Football: WR & Baseball: OF
Nelson is Hofstra’s second-leading receiver with 28 catches for 352 yards and three touchdowns through nine games in 2009.

Holy Cross

Rob Dornfried-5’8-176-Jr. – Football: K & Baseball: IF
Dornfried has hit 6 of 8 field goals and 34 of 35 extra points through the Crusader’s first six games.  He converted all four extra points in Saturday’s 28-26 win over Lafayette.  The win clinched the Patriot League title & gave Holy Cross (9-1, 5-0) the league’s automatic entry into the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.

Josh Hauser-6’4-218-Fr. – Football: TE & Baseball:

Kentucky

Brian Adams-6’4-212-Fr. – Football: WR & Baseball: OF
Adams is a true freshman who was a high school quarterback and is now making the transition to receiver in college.

Louisiana-Monroe

Kolton Browning-6’2-181-Fr. – Football: QB & Baseball: Pitcher.
Browning is a true freshman that is a back-up quarterback on the football team and is expected to pitch for the Warhawk baseball team next spring.

LSU

Chad Jones-6’3-231-Jr. – Football: Safety & Baseball: Pitcher
Like his former LSU teammate, Jared Mitchell (drafted and signed by the Chicago White Sox), Jones has both a football and a baseball national championship ring.  Jones is LSU’s fourth leading tackler with 59 takedowns along with two interceptions.  Jones is also averaging 21.5 yards on six punt returns, including a 93 yarder for a touchdown vs. Mississippi State.

McNeese State

Jace Peterson-6’1-190-So. – Football: Safety & Baseball: IF
Peterson has 37 tackles, three sacks and an interception in the Cowboy’s first 10 games of 2009.  He batted .366 with 16 stolen bases in limited action on the diamond last spring.

Malcolm Bronson-5’11-188-So. – Football: Safety & Baseball: OF
Bronson leads McNeese (8-2) with 68 tackles in 2009.  He also has two interceptions.

Minnesota

Eric Decker-6’2-215-Sr. – Football: WR & Baseball: OF
Decker entered the season on the Biletnikoff Award Watch List.  The award is given to the nation’s top receiver.  He started Minneosta’s first eight games, but suffered a foot injury and is out for the remainder of the 2009 season.  Although he has missed the Gopher’s last three games, he remains their leading receiver with 50 catches for 758 yards and five touchdowns.

Nebraska

Khiry Cooper-6’2-180-rsFr. – Football: WR & Baseball: OF
Cooper started 20 games for the Cornhusker baseball team as a true freshman
last spring.

New Mexico State

Tanner Rust-6’2-195-Fr. – Football: QB & Baseball:
Rust is the Aggie’s third-string quarterback and he plans to play baseball next spring as well.  He would be just the second athlete to play both football and baseball at New Mexico State.

Nicholls State

Mike Barba-6’1-180-Fr. – Football: WR & Baseball

Kyle Hughes-6’5-220-Sr. – Football: LB & Baseball
Hughes has recorded 33 tackles with an interception in the Colonel’s ten games.

Kevin Persick-6’2-215-rsFr. – Football: LB & Baseball

North Carolina State

Russell Wilson-5’11-201 – Football: QB & Baseball: 2B
Wilson is a redshirt sophomore for the football team, but he will be a junior on the 2010 Wolfpack baseball squad.  He has completed 58-percent of his passes for 2,534 yards with 26 touchdowns and ten interceptions.  Wilson has also rushed for 319 yards and four touchdowns through seven games.

Notre Dame

Eric Maust-6’2-190-Sr. – Football: P & Baseball: Pitcher
Maust has averaged 35.8 yards on 19 punts in 2009.  As the holder on ND’s field goal team he completed a pass to convert a first down on a fake FG vs. USC.  He was an All-Big East pitcher in 2008.

Evan Sharpley-6’2-217-Sr. – Football: QB & Baseball
Sharpley is the ND 3rd string quarterback in 2009. He was named the
team’s scout team player of the week for his impersonation of Nevada QB Colin Kaepernick prior to ND’s 35-0 win. 2009 was Sharpley’s last season with the Irish baseball team. He was picked by Seattle in the 50th round of the June MLB draft. Sharpley batted .333 with 7 HR, 29 RBIs and a 1.043 OPS for the Mariner’s AZL Rookie League team.

Golden Tate

Golden Tate-5’11-195-Jr. – Football: WR & Baseball: OF
Tate is a semi-finalist for the 2009 Biletnikoff Award.  He is ND’s leading receiver with 74 grabs for 1,172 yards and 11 touchdowns.  His 1,172 yards are the fourth most in the nation, and he’s 18th nationally in all-purpose yards.  Tate has also rushed for 159 yards and two TDs.  He returned a punt 87 yards for a touchdown vs. Pittsburgh.

Oregon State

Jordan Poyer-5’11-181-Fr. – Football: S & Baseball

Penn State

Jesse Alfreno-5’11-194-Jr. – Football: CB & Baseball: Pitcher
Alfreno was 1-0 with one save in 20 relief appearances in 2009 for the Nittany Lions baseball team.

Steve Tedesco

Sacred Heart

Steve Tedesco-6’1-195-Sr. – Football: WR & Baseball: IF Tedesco is Sacred Heart’s leading receiver with 67 catches for 865 yards and 11 touchdowns this season.  His yardage ranks 14th in the Football Championship Subdivision.  He is the Sacred Heart (2-8) school record holder with 37 career touchdowns.  Tedesco had a career day with 12 catches for 144 yards and four touchdowns in the Pioneer’s 45-42 loss to Duquesne.

Bobby Shepherd-6’1-180-rs Fr. – Football: P & Baseball: Pitcher
Shephard made four relief appearances and two starts in ’09 for the Sacred
Heart baseball team. He’s the football team’s back-up punter.

South Alabama

Eddy Cabrera-5’9-160-Fr. – Football: DB & Baseball: OF
This is South Alabama’s first season of college football, which makes Cabrera

Gerhart

the first player in the 45-year history of the USA baseball program to play football and baseball.

Stanford

Toby Gerhart-6’1-235-Sr. – Football: RB & Baseball: OF
Gerhart is one of ten semifinalists for the Doak Walker Award, which goes to the nation’s top running back.  He has the third most rushing yards in the nation with 1,395 yards with 19 touchdowns in 2009.

On Sept. 26th he rushed for 200 yards and a TD in Stanford’s win over Washington.  On Nov. 7th he topped his own school record with 223 yards in a 51-42 upset of then #8 Oregon.  He also ran for 178 yards and 3 TDs in a Nov. 14th win at USC.  He is the first Cardinal back since 1988 to have a 200 yard rushing day.

In 2008 Gerhart was an outfield starter for Stanford’s College World Series team.

Texas State

Jeff McVaney-6’2-220-So. – Football: FB & Baseball: OF/LHP
McVaney made 12 relief appearances as freshman for the 2009 Bobcat baseball team that made it to the NCAA Tournament.   The fullback has four carries for nine yards through in 2009.

Matt Szczur

Villanova

Matt Szczur-5’11-195-Jr. – Football: WR & Baseball: OF
Szczur was second team All-CAA in football last season as a sophomore.  As a
redshirt freshman in 2009 he led the baseball team with a .346 average.  Szczur was a 38th round draft pick by the Los Angeles Dodgers out of high school in 2007.

He has 33 catches for 335 yards and four touchdowns for the Wildcats (9-1)  in 2009.    Szcur is also averaging 28.8 yards on 19 kick returns (including one for a touchdown) this season.  As of Nov. 14 Villanova was third in the Football Championship Subdivision national rankings.

Marlon Calbi-5’11-180-So. – Football: QB/Holder & Baseball: SS
Calbi is a third-string quarterback who has played every career game as the
team’s holder. He started more than half of the baseball team’s games at
shortstop last season.

Christian Culicerto-5’9-190-So. – Football: QB & Baseball: LHP
Culicerto is a backup quarterback on the football team who walked on to the
baseball roster last season. He pitched in two games in relief.

Kenny Miles-5’11-180-Fr. Football: WR & Baseball: OF
Miles is a highly-touted freshman in both sports. He is currently low on the depth chart for football, because the team is deep at the wide receiver position.

Wofford

Landon Bennett-6’3-200-So. – Football: K/P & Baseball: OF
Bennett had 8 punts in four games in 2008 for the football team. During the 2008 baseball season played in 25 games with 14 starts and hit .298 with 17 hits and 8 RBIs.