Jan. 10, 2010

Lineup Card

Lineup Card is a feature highlighting notes from around college baseball.

Jan. 1-10, 2010

After reaching the College World Series in 2009, head coach Dave Serrano (right) recently talked about the outlook for the 2010 Cal State Fullerton Titans. click here for text on outlook and link to Serrano video

UCF will host Baseball Knight Fest at the ballpark on Jan. 30 following the men’s basketball game against Tulsa, which tips at 5 p.m. Players and coaches will be present for autographs and ballpark food will be available. Head coach Terry Rooney will address the crowd at 7:45 p.m.

Ken Knutson has been named pitching coach at Arizona State. He joined the Sun Devils in July after 17 seasons as head coach at Washington. Knutson posted a record of 584-399-2 with the Huskies, including 240-189 in Pac-10 play. He led Washington to six NCAA regionals and three times was named Pac-10 Coach of the Year.

The Easton California College Baseball Media Days will take place this month. Coaches from the Southern California region will meet on Jan. 22 at 9 a.m. at ESPN Zone in Downtown Disney in Anaheim. The event will include the second annual Coaches Cookoff. The Northern California coaches will gather on Jan. 26 at 9 a.m. at the Kissick Auditorium of the Arrillaga Sports Center on the Stanford campus.

Former Cal head coach Bob Milano was inducted into the ABCA Hall of Fame on Jan. 8, joining Mike Gillespie (USC, UC Irvine), Jim Stone (UMass-Lowell) and Terry Ayers (Fenton, Ill., High School). Milano led the Golden Bears from 1978-99 and took Cal to three College World Series. He posted 688 wins in 22 seasons at Cal.

Former LSU first baseman Pete Bush has developed the BamVino, a baseball-themed wine bottle holder. Bush played for the Tigers from 1986-89 and helped LSU to three College World Series appearances. He is the owner of Horizon Wealth Management in Baton Rouge and the founder of the local charity Baton Rouge Uncorked. The BamVino is currently available in an LSU uniform as well as a bronze-colored generic version. Bush plans to add other collegiate and professional baseball markets later this year.

Georgia Tech will hold its 15th annual Baseball Benefit Dinner on Thursday, Feb. 18, at the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center. Two-time Cy Young Award winner Tom Glavine will be the keynote speaker. Attendees will get to meet the 2010 Yellow Jackets and participate in both live and silent auctions.

The seventh annual TCU Baseball 1st Pitch Banquet will be held on Friday, Feb. 5, in the Brown Lupton University Union on the TCU campus. Bobby Valentine, current ESPN analyst and former manager of the Texas Rangers and New York Mets, will be the featured guest. A silent auction and reception begins at 6:15 p.m., with dinner at 7 p.m.

Stetson has hired Mark Leavitt as an assistant coach. He will be recruiting coordinator, work with hitters and infielders, and coach third base. Leavitt previously was head coach and associate director of admissions and financial aid for the Salisbury Prep School in Connecticut. Leavitt graduated from Princeton in 1998 after being a four-year starter. He worked as an assistant coach at George Washington, Princeton, James Madison and George Mason.

UCF has named former Knight Brandon Romans (left) its volunteer assistant coach. He will assist with on-field areas and serve as camp coordinator. Romans hit .314 in three seasons at UCF with 17 home runs and 77 RBI. He was second team all-Conference USA in 2009, batting .333 with 49 RBI. Romans had 25 walks and 15 strikeouts. He played for the Rockford RiverHawks in the Frontier League this past summer.

Six Division I players are on the 2009 All-Canadian College First Team: LHP James Paxton (Ladner, BC) of Kentucky, C Marc Mimeault (Candiac, Que.) of Georgia State, 2B Kevin Mailloux (Windsor, Ont.) of Canisius, 3B Jesse Sawyer (Calgary, Alta.) of South Dakota State, SS David Narodowski (Vancouver, BC) of Kansas, and Jon Prevost (Montreal, Que.) of ULM. click here to see entire team

James Madison will host its first “Batter Up Barbecue” preseason dinner on Sunday, Jan. 24. Guest speaker will be Doug Harris, a 1990 JMU graduate and Director of Player Development for the Washington Nationals. Facility tours begin at 5 p.m., followed by silent auction and reception at 6 p.m. Dinner will occur at 7 p.m., followed by guest speakers.

Hawaii will hold its eighth Grand Slam Celebration on Monday, Feb. 15, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Stan Sheriff Center. The benefit for the Hawaii Baseball Program will include live and silent auctions, music, food and beverages.

Former Eastern Kentucky standout Josh Anderson has signed a minor league contract with the Cincinnati Reds. Anderson was drafted by Houston in 2004 and has played in the Atlanta, Detroit and Kansas City systems. The outfielder has a career average of .272 and has 36 stolen bases in 179 major league games.

USC Upstate will host its 25th Season Dinner on Saturday, Jan. 16, at 5 p.m. at the Campus Life Center. Former coaches John Daurity and Bubba Dorman, as well as current skipper Matt Fincher, will share Spartan stories. Attendees will receive a 128-page program history, including the Top 25 Moments, as voted by fans.

(photos courtesy of Cal State Fullerton and UCF Media Relations Offices)