August 31, 2009

Lineup Card

Lineup Card is a new feature on CollegeBaseballInsider.com, highlighting notes from around college baseball.

August 24-31, 2009

Marty Lees (left, photo by Rich Heins) has been promoted to associate head coach at Oregon State. He enters his ninth year with the Beavers and helped OSU make three trips to the College World Series with two national championships. Lees has worked with the team defense, particularly with the infielders and catchers. He is also the third base coach and recruiting coordinator. A native of Lakeview, Ore., the 40-year-old Lees graduated from Western Oregon in 1994. He lettered two seasons for the Wolves after playing two years at Lane Community College.

The Virginia baseball team will be honored by the Washington Nationals on Sunday, Sept. 6, prior to their game against the Florida Marlins. The Cavaliers were 49-15-1 this past year under head coach Brian O’Connor and made their first trip to the College World Series. Third baseman Ryan Zimmerman of the Nationals is a former Virginia standout.

Ole Miss will send the NCAA a check for $512,486.75 for revenues from the Oxford Regional and Super Regional. The regional took in $321,871.53, while the three-game super regional netted $190,615.22.

Former Oregon State standout Jacoby Ellsbury stole his 55th base of the season for the Boston Red Sox on August 25, breaking the team record of 54 set by Tommy Harper in 1973. Ellsbury has 114 career stolen bases in three seasons for Boston.

Jon Mikrut has returned to his alma mater, Northwestern, as an assistant coach. Mikrut played for the Wildcats from 2002-05 as a shortstop and pitcher. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Learning and Organizational Change from the School of Education and Social Policy. After college, Mikrut signed a professional contract with the St. Louis Cardinals and played four seasons in their organization as both a position player and a pitcher.

Jonathan Anderson has joined the staff at Dartmouth as an assistant coach. He will work with the outfielders and assist with the hitters and recruiting. Anderson coached the past two seasons at his alma mater, Duke. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in history in 2007. Anderson played the outfielder and pitched for the Blue Devils.

Zach Brown has returned to The Citadel as a volunteer assistant coach. A 2007 graduate, Brown was drafted in the 27th round by the San Diego Padres and played three years in the minors. Brown played in the infield, the outfield and pitched for the Bulldogs. He was first team All-Southern Conference as a senior.

Rick Oliveri will be the volunteer assistant coach at Radford this season. He will work with the catchers and hitters, coordinate operations of Joe Raccuia Baseball Camps LLC, and assist with other aspects of the Highlander baseball program. Oliveri was a three-year starter behind the plate at Buffalo. He earned a degree in accounting and finance in 2008. Oliveri was a graduate assistant at Lincoln Memorial this past year.

Kris Edge, a four-year starting outfielder for Georgia from 1999-2002, has returned to Athens as director of operations. He has been an assistant coach/recruiting coordinator at Middle Georgia Junior College the past two seasons. Edge, 29, will handle alumni relations, camps and assist in administrative duties. Edge played in 209 games and holds the school record for career walks with 157. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Health Education from Georgia.

Troy Buckley will return as pitching coach for Long Beach State. He was the coordinator for minor league pitching for the Pittsburgh Pirates for the past two years. Buckley was with the Dirtbags for seven seasons and the staff never had a team ERA higher than 3.75. LBSU was in the Top 5 nationally in ERA in four of those seasons. He also coached for three years at his alma mater, Santa Clara.

Cal State Fullerton had five signees drafted but did not sign: Dylan Floro (RHP, 20th round, Tampa Bay Rays), Geno Escalante (C, 28th round, Milwaukee Brewers), David Hurlbut (LHP, 35th round, Minnesota Twins), Anthony Hutting (OF, 38th round, Texas Rangers), and Ivory Thomas (OF/INF, 42nd round, Houston Astros). The Titans did lose five signees to the pros: Matt Hobgood (1st round, Baltimore Orioles), Tyler Skaggs (Compensation round, Los Angeles Angels), Jonathan Meyers (3rd round, Houston Astros), Wes Hatton (5th round, Los Angeles Angels), and Andrew Bellatti (12th round, Tampa Bay Rays).

Isaac Omura will be a volunteer assistant at Hawaii. The former Rainbow second baseman lettered three years from 2003-05 before being drafted in the 17th round by the Oakland Athletics. The Honolulu native was a two-time all-WAC performer who posted a career batting average of .333 with 99 RBI.

Chris Carter has been named director of operations at Coastal Carolina. He played for the Chanticleers from 1998-2001, hitting .339 with 23 homers, 123 RBI and 29 steals. Carter was First Team All-Big South in 2001. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in marketing in 2001. Carter played professionally in the independent Frontier League and in the Baltimore Orioles organization. He was hitting coach for the Washington Wildthings of the Frontier League in 2008. Carter owns the Coastal Baseball Academy in Myrtle Beach, S.C., which opened in 2007.

Andrew Clark will return to Louisville for his senior season. The first baseman was chosen in the 31st round of the MLB Draft by the Chicago Cubs. Clark batted .350 this past spring with nine homers and 55 RBI. Four Cardinal signees were drafted but chose to attend Louisville: Zak Wasserman (1B, 21st round, San Francisco Giants), Matthew Koch (RHP, 37th round, Boston Red Sox), Asaad Ali (C, 40th round, Los Angeles Angels), and Brian Feekin (LHP, 44th round, Philadelphia Phillies).

Matt Otteman of UT Arlington was named the 2009 Howard Green Metroplex Collegiate Player of the Year Award presented by the DFW Hall-Ruggles Chapter for the Society of American Baseball Research. Otteman led the Southland Conference with a .432 batting average and added 15 doubles and 69 RBI in 56 games. Otteman averaged 14.2 strikeouts per nine innings in his senior season, fanning 38 in 24 innings. He posted a 3-1 record with a 3.38 ERA.