Toby Gerhart And Golden Tate Are Among More Than 35 Players In The Report
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.
Boston College
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 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.
Shinskie passed for 1,831 yards with 14 touchdowns and 13 interceptions during the 2009 regular season. Boston College (8-4) will play in a bowl game.
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 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.
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
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
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
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.