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New Year Brings Plenty Of National Honors For Notre Dame Baseball

Jan. 4, 2001

Are you ready for some baseball !?!

As the University of Notre Dame nears the beginning of the 2001 spring semester, excitement for the upcoming Irish baseball season has hit full throttle, as Notre Dame has racked up numerous preseason honors in recent weeks (see full listings at end of release).

Possibly the most noteworthy prognostication came yesterday (Jan. 3), as Baseball America magazine slotted Notre Dame ninth in its annual preseason top-25 poll. That’s the highest ranking–at any time in the season–in the history of the Irish baseball program, which also earned a preseason No. 14 ranking from Collegiate Baseball magazine for the upcoming campaign.

Baseball America’s latest release yielded even more uncharted ground for the Irish, as Notre Dame joined perennial power LSU as the only teams to place multiple players on BA’s 14-player list of first-team preseason All-Americans, as selected by vote of scouting directors from Major League clubs. Technically, Notre Dame sits alone in that distinction, as LSU junior outfielder Todd Linden is a transfer from the University of Washington.

Notre Dame’s preseason first team All-Americans include senior righthanded pitcher Aaron Heilman (Logansport, Ind.) and sophomore rightfielder Brian Stavisky (Port Allegany, Pa.), who also was tabbed the BIG EAST Conference preseason player of the year by voting of the league’s coaches. Heilman and University of San Francisco first baseman Taggert Bozied are the only seniors on the first team while Stavisky and LSU second baseman Mike Fontenot are the only sophomores on the elite list.

Notre Dame-which returns seven experienced position starters and 10 pitchers from its 2000 squad that posted a 46-18 record–has been ranked in the BA top 10 just once previously, as the 1992 squad was ranked as high as 10th during a two-week stretch in mid-February of ’92.

The current ranking for Notre Dame is the highest ever in the BA poll for a BIG EAST Conference baseball team, with Rutgers holding the previous best mark after rising to 14th during the 2000 season (St. John’s also was ranked as high as 14th in 1981, four years prior to the first season of BIG EAST-sponsored baseball).

Notre Dame-which owns the nation’s fourth-longest active streak of consecutive seasons with 40-plus victories (12)-has been ranked in the BA preseason top 25 five times previously (since the poll began in 1981): 15th in ’91, 11th in ’92, 15th in ’93, 20th in ’94 and 20th in 2000.

Notre Dame is one of three “northern” teams listed among BA’s preseason top 25, with the others including 5th-ranked Nebraska and 24th-ranked Minnesota.

Irish prospects for the 2001 season were boosted by the return of three-year All-American Heilman, who elected to return for his senior season rather than signing with the Minnesota Twins after being selected with the 31st overall pick in the Major League Draft (a path also taken by USF’s Bozied, the Twins’ second-round pick).

The Irish also return nine of their top-10 batters from the 2000 season, led by junior centerfielder Steve Stanley (.362, 29-40 SB, 51 R, 10 2B), senior shortstop Alec Porzel (.342, 9 HR, 58 RBI, 24 2B, 10-16 SB), junior catcher Paul O’Toole (.302, 8 HR, 39 RBI, 10 2B, 16-17 SB) and rightfielder Stavisky (.298, 14 HR, 45 RBI, 15 2B, 2-2 SB).

Stanley, O’Toole and Stavisky each were starters in the 2000 Cape Cod League All-Star Game, the nation’s premier summer wooden-bat league. Stanley finished as the Cape’s batting champion and combined with O’Toole in helping the Brewster Whitecaps win the league title, defeating a Hyannis Mets team that was led by Stavisky, who earned MVP honors at the all-star game.

The returners to the Irish pitching staff accounted for 35 victories while helping the Irish finish xxth in the nation with a 3.93 season ERA during the 2000 campaign. Each of the team’s top-six leaders in ERA are set to return, led by Heilman (10-2, 3.21, 103.2 IP, 118 Ks/29 BB, 90 H), fellow senior Danny Tamayo (3-1, 3.62, 1 SV, 32.1 IP, 24 Ks/17 BB, 29 H … all after returning from “Tommy John” elbow surgery) and junior Matt Buchmeier (4-2, 3.88, 2 SV, 53.1 IP, 38 Ks/16 BB, 56 H). Two prominent sophomores also return after solid rookie seasons: J.P. Gagne (7-1, 4.46, 72.2 IP, 44 Ks/25 BB, 98 H) and Matt Laird (5-2, 3.83, 47 IP, 34 Ks/15 BB, 55 H).

Notre Dame’s other returners to the starting lineup include junior third baseman Andrew Bushey (.275, 3 Hr, 30 RBI), junior DK Ken Meyer (.326, 138 AB, 3 HR, 20 RBI, 5 3B, 13 2B) and sophomore leftfielder Kris Billmaier (.354, 82 AB, 4 HR, 19 RBI). A defensively-gifted pair of newcomers–second baseman Steve Sollmann and first baseman Joe Thamann-round out the probable starting lineup, with Thamann joining O’Toole, Bushey, Stanley and Stavisky to give the Irish five lefthanded batters in the everyday lineup.

Heilman was joined on BA’s first-team preseason All-America pitching staff by two of his former teammates from the 1999 USA National Team–UCLA junior righthander Josh Karp and Stetson senior letthander Len Dinardo-plus USC junior Mark Prior and Middle Tennessee State junior Dewon Brazelton. Heilman’s 2000 season included a 10-2 record, 3.21 ERA, 118 strikeouts and just 29 walks in 103.2 innings pitched. The 6-5, 225-pound righthander is one of just four BA preseason All-Americans (among the 15 spread across three teams) who posted 10-plus wins, 100-plus Ks and an ERA of 3.30 or lower during the 2000 season, with the others including DiNardo, South Carolina senior Kip Bouknight (2nd team) and Rice senior Kenny Baugh (3rd team).

Stavisky was joined in the first-team outfield by LSU’s Linden and Auburn junior Gabe Gross. A 6-3,220-pound lefthander with surprising speed on the basepaths, Stavisky hit .298 during his Freshman All-America season while smacking 14 home runs, five triples and 14 doubles (with 45 RBI). Just seven of the 29 other BA preseason All-Americans hit more home runs than Stavisky in the 2000 season, with that group including first teamers Fontenot (17), Georgia Tech junior 3B Mark Teixeira (18) and Georgia junior DH Doc Brooks (16), plus second teamers Ryan Howard (18, junior 1B, Southwest Missouri State) and Jake Gautreau (16, junior DH, Tulane) and third teamers Casey Myers (18, senior C, Arizona State) and Todd Faulkner (22, senior 1B, Auburn).

Georgia Tech sits atop the BA preseason poll for the first time since 1994 (when the Yellow Jackets made their only trip to the College World Series). The rest of the top 10 includes several perennial powers, among them #2 USC, #3 LSU, #4 Miami, #6 Arizona State, #7 Arizona State and #10 Clemson–plus Nebraska at #5 and growing power South Carolina at #8.

The Collegiate Baseball poll lists Notre Dame 14th, with the same eight teams ranked ahead of the Irish as in the BA poll, plus Clemson (5th), Rice (7th), Stanford (11th), Cal State Fullerton (12th) and Florida (13th). The only other “northern” schools list in CB’s preseason top 40 include Nebraska (4th), Evansville (23rd), Minnesota (39th) and Penn State (40th). BIG EAST newcomer Virginia Tech checks in at 38th.

Heilman also was one of seven pitchers named to CB’s first team preseason All-America list, joining DiNardo and Brazelton as the only pitchers on both the BA and CB first-team lists. Other CB first-team pitchers included Bouknight, Nebraska’s Shane Komine, USC’s Rik Currier and Baylor relief ace Zane Carlson. Stavisky was one of four outfielders named to the CB second team preseason All-America squad.

Notre Dame also was selected as the preseason favorite to capture the 2001 BIG EAST Conference baseball championship, by vote of the league head coaches. Stavisky was tabbed as the BIG EAST preseason player of the year and was one of five Irish players named to the 15-player preseason All-BIG EAST team, with Heilman, O’Toole, Porzel and Stanley joining him in that regard (Connecticut was next with three players named to the preseason team, followed by Seton Hall with two). Heilman and Rutgers pitcher Bob Brownlie were the only unanimous selections to the preseason all-BIG EAST team.

The Irish will open their 2001 season at the same site where they ended the 2000 campaign, as Notre Dame will travel to Starkville, Miss., for games versus the University of New Orleans (Feb .17) and 21st-ranked MSU (Feb. 17-18). The Irish and Bulldogs waged an epic battle in the title game of the 2000 NCAA Championship Starkville Regional, with MSU winning 10-9 on a ninth-inning home run.

Full listings of the preseason polls and All-America teams follow …

2001 Baseball America Preseason Top 25

Team                        W-L     Final 2000 Rank1. Georgia Tech             50-16          62. Southern California      44-20          53. Louisiana State          52-17          14. Miami                    41-19         135. Nebraska                 51-17          86. Arizona State            44-15         127. Florida State            53-19          38. South Carolina           56-10          49. Notre Dame               46-18         NR10. Clemson                 51-18          711. Auburn                  41-20         2512. Rice                    43-23         NR13. Florida                 43-23         2014. Stanford                50-16          215. Cal State Fullerton     38-21         2216. Georgia                 32-26         NR17. Central Florida         43-19         NR18. Pepperdine              36-23         NR19. Tulane                  38-22         NR20. Baylor                  45-17         1421. Mississippi State       41-20         1522. Long Beach State        31-25         NR23. East Carolina           46-18         NR24. Minnesota               38-24         NR25. Southern Mississippi    32-26         NR

BASEBALL AMERICA 2001 PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS

FIRST TEAM
Pos., Player, School, Class AVG AB R H 2B-3B-HR RBI SB
C Ryan Budde, Oklahoma State, Jr. .291 203 53 59 10-1-9 48 11
1B Taggert Bozied, San Francisco, Sr. .359 170 47 61 13-2-14 52 9
2B Mike Fontenot, Louisiana State, So. .353 292 93 103 13-3-17 64 8
3B Mark Teixeira, Georgia Tech, Jr. .427 241 104 103 21-4-18 80 13
SS Bobby Crosby, Long Beach State, Jr. .348 227 51 79 12-1-10 29 16
OF Todd Linden, *Louisiana State, Jr. .390 195 49 76 17-1-6 49 18
OF Gabe Gross, Auburn, Jr. .430 237 83 102 26-1-13 86 16
OF Brian Stavisky, Notre Dame, So. .298 248 50 74 15- 5-14 45 5
DH Doc Brooks, Georgia, Jr. .303 208 53 63 15- 1-16 59 2
*2000 statistics at Washington
Pos., Player, School, Class W-L ERA GP SV IP H BB K
P Mark Prior, Southern Cal, Jr. 10-7 3.56 23 2 136 126 46 150
P Josh Karp, UCLA, Jr. 10-2 5.06 16 0 85 72 46 91
P Dewon Brazelton, M. Tenn. St., Jr. 7-3 4.83 16 0 99 110 28 98
P Aaron Heilman, Notre Dame, Sr. 10-2 3.21 17 0 104 90 29 118
P Len DiNardo, Stetson, Jr. 16 -1 1.90 20 0 133 112 27 132
SECOND TEAM
Pos., Player, School, Class AVG AB R H 2B-3B-HR RBI SB
C Tyler Parker, Georgia Tech, So. 238 185 32 44 8-0-11 41 5
1B Ryan Howard, SW Missouri St., Jr. .379 219 49 83 9-0-18 63 3
2B Chris Burke, Tennessee, Jr. .401 272 69 109 26-4-4 55 56
3B Khalil Greene, Clemson, Jr. .364 269 59 98 24-3-5 64 12
SS Tim Merritt, South Alabama, Jr. .347 196 37 68 13-2-8 43 19
OF Patrick Boyd, Clemson, Sr. .293 270 50 79 21-4-3 49 18
OF Jason Cooper, Stanford, So. .189 74 7 14 5-1-2 9 1
OF Shelley Duncan, Arizona, Jr. .338 130 29 44 4-1-11 40 2
DH Jake Gautreau, Tulane, Jr. .388 245 61 95 20-2-16 68 4
Pos., Player, School, Class W-L ERA GP SV IP H BB K
P Kip Bouknight, South Carolina, Sr. 17-1 2.81 19 0 144 121 34 143
P Bob Brownlie, Rutgers, So. 10-1 2.55 16 0 102 94 27 89
P Mike Gosling, Stanford, Jr. 2-2 4.19 23 3 58 29 50 79
P Preston Larrison, Evansville, Jr. 7-4 4.27 15 0 93 91 35 90
P Rhett Parrott, Georgia Tech, Jr. 8-3 4.48 17 1 88 94 35 81
THIRD TEAM
Pos., Player, School, Class AVG AB R H 2B-3B-HR RBI SB
C Casey Myers, Arizona State, Sr. .412 238 71 98 19-0-18 97 4
1B Todd Faulkner, Auburn, Sr. .423 248 71 105 27-0-22 103 3
2B Richard Lewis, Georgia Tech, Jr. .398 274 79 109 17-3-4 52 10
3B Kevin Howard, Miami, So. .413 218 50 90 22-2-4 52 10
SS Drew Meyer, South Carolina, So. .320 256 71 82 8-2-11 49 13
OF Jason Basil, Georgia Tech, Sr. .382 251 59 96 25-2-15 83 8
OF John-Ford Griffin, Florida St,. Jr. .403 300 72 121 33-3-9 58 2
OF Mike Rodriguez, Miami, Jr. .322 211 56 68 8-4-3 38 19
DH Jeff Baker, Clemson, So. .313 275 54 86 16-0-11 64 4
Pos., Player, School, Class W-L ERA GP SV IP H BB K
P Kenny Baugh, Rice, Sr. 12-2 2.22 22 1 142 118 45 122
P Jon Switzer, Arizona State, Jr. 11-3 3.89 22 0 116 99 46 121
P Brian Sager, *Georgia Tech, Jr. 6-1 5.18 14 0 57 50 33 32
P Jon Skaggs, Rice, Sr. 12-2 3.07 19 0 111 104 47 90
P Josh Brey, Liberty, Jr. 1-2 1.61 27 16 28 27 15 25
*2000 statistics at Stanford

Collegiate Baseball Newspaper’s NCAA Div. I 2001 Preseason Poll

Rank, School            ('00 Final Record) Points  Final '00 Rank1. Georgia Tech               (50-16)        478         102. Southern California        (44-20)        477          53. Louisiana St.              (52-17)        473          14. Nebraska                   (51-17)        469         115. Clemson                    (51-18)        465          66. Arizona St.                (44-15)        462         127. Rice                       (43-23)        460         268. Florida St.                (53-19)        456          39. Miami, Fla.                (41-19-1)      455         1410. South Carolina            (56-10)        453          911. Stanford                  (50-16)        449          212. Cal. St. Fullerton        (38-21)        446         2213. Florida                   (44-23-1)      442         1714. Notre Dame                (46-18)        439         NR15. Oklahoma                  (41-23)        437         NR16. Georgia                   (32-26)        433         NR17. Baylor                    (45-17)        430         1818. Auburn                    (41-20)        429         2519. Central Florida           (43-19)        425         3020. Stetson                   (48-16)        424         2321. Mississippi St.           (41-20)        420         1522. Long Beach St.            (31-25)        418         NR23. Evansville                (41-22)        415         NR24. Alabama                   (41-24)        411         2725. Tennessee                 (40-23)        409         NR26. Texas                     (46-21)        406          727. The Citadel               (39-20)        404         NR28. Wake Forest               (41-20-1)      399         2029. Wichita St.               (44-21)        397         2830. East Carolina             (46-18)        394         2931. Florida International     (42-20)        390         NR32. Southern Miss.            (32-26)        387         NR33. Tulane                    (38-22-1)      383         NR34. Texas A&M                 (23-35)        380         NR35. Oklahoma St.              (36-22)        379         NR36. Fresno St.                (40-21)        375         NR37. Pepperdine                (36-23)        370         NR38. Virginia Tech.            (34-25-2)      367         NR39. Minnesota                 (38-24)        364         NR40. Penn State                (45-19)        360         19

Collegiate Baseball 2001 First Team Preseason All-Americans

LHP Lenny Dinardo, Stetson (16-1, 1.90 ERA, 132 SO, 27 BB)RHP Kip Bouknight, South Carolina (17-1, 2.81 ERA, 143 SO, 34 BB)RHP Aaron Heilman, Notre Dame (10-2, 3.21 ERA, 118 SO, 29 BB)RHP Shane Komine, Nebraska (11-4, 2.24 ERA, 159 SO, 31 BB)RHP Rik Currier, Southern California (15-3, 3.31 ERA, 141 SO, 56 BB)RHP Dewon Brazelton, Middle Tenn. St. (7-3, 4.83 ERA, 98 SO, 28 BB)Relief - Zane Carlson, Baylor (15 SV, 2.28 ERA, 46 SO, 21 BB)C - Casey Myers, Arizona St. (Outstanding defense, .412, 18 HR, 19 2B, 97 RBI)1B - Todd Faulkner, Auburn (.423, 22 HR, 27 2B, 103 RBI)2B - Chris Burke, Tennessee (.401, 26 2B, 55 RBI, 56 SB)SS - Bobby Crosby, Long Beach St. (Great defense, .348, 10 HR, 12 2B, 16 SB)3B - Mark Teixeira, Georgia Tech (.427, 18 HR, 21 2B, 80 RBI)OF - Gabe Gross, Auburn (.430, 13 HR, 26 2B, 86 RBI)OF - Frank Corr, Stetson (.431, 34 2B, 18 HR, 98 RBI)OF - John-Ford Griffin, Florida St. (.403, 33 2B, 58 RBI)OF - Jason Basil, Georgia Tech (.382, 15 HR, 25 2B, 83 RBI)Utility - Dallas McPherson, The Citadel (.378, 18 2B, 55 RBI, 8-1 as pitcher, 3.07 ERA)

Second Team Preseason All-Americans
RHP Mark Prior, Southern California
RHP Josh Karp, UCLA
RHP Kenny Baugh, Rice
LHP Jon Switzer, Arizona St.
RHP Preston Larrison, Evansville
RHP Steve Kelly, Georgia Tech
RHP Bob Brownlie, Rutgers
Relief Nick Glaser, Clemson
C Brooks Vogel, Dayton
C Bryan Prince, Georgia Tech
1B Philip Hartig, The Citadel
2B Mike Fontenot, Louisiana St.
SS Steve Holm, Oral Roberts
SS Seth Davidson, Southern California
3B Taggert Bozied, San Francisco
OF Todd Linden, Louisiana St.
OF Brian Stavisky, Notre Dame
OF Karl Nonemaker, Vanderbilt
OF Donny Sevieri, New Mexico
UT Ryan Stegall, Missouri

Third Team Preseason All-Americans
RHP Rhett Parrott, Georgia Tech
RHP Jon Skaggs, Rice
RHP Blair Varnes, Florida St.
RHP Ben Keiter, Wichita St.
LHP Ryan Gordon, N.C. Greensboro
RHP Dan Haren, Pepperdine
RHP Darrell Rasner, Nevada
LHP Brian Walker, Miami (Fla.)
RHP Rich McGuire, Delaware
LHP Adam Wynegar, James Madison
RHP Peterson Benjamin, Florida Atlantic
Relief Kirk Saarloos, Cal. St. Fullerton
Relief Adam Larson, Mississippi St.
Relief Josh Brey, Liberty
C Kelly Shoppach, Baylor
C Ryan Budde, Oklahoma St.
C Rock Mills, Pepperdine
1B Ryan Howard, S.W. Missouri St.
1B Pat Hollander, Lehigh
1B Ryan Brunner, Northern Iowa
2B Richard Lewis, Georgia Tech
2B Andrew Salvo, Delaware
2B Keith Lillash, Cleveland St.
SS Jeff Keppinger, Georgia
SS Jeremy Kurella, Central Florida
SS Drew Meyer, South Carolina
SS Tim Merritt, South Alabama
SS Eric Arnold, Rice
3B Kevin Howard, Miami (Fla.)
3B Joe Drapeau, Maine
3B Jake Gautreau, Tulane
OF Patrick Boyd, Clemson
OF Shelley Duncan, Arizona
OF Matt Curtis, Tennessee Tech.

2001 BIG EAST BASEBALL PRESEASON PREDICTIONS

Team (1st Place Votes)  Points  2000 Record1. Notre Dame (6)         96    46-18 (18-7 BIG EAST)2. Rutgers (4)            91    40-18 (18-5)3. Virginia Tech (1)      77    34-25-2 (16-5 Atlantic 10)4. Seton Hall             68    40-18 (18-7)5. Boston College         55    35-20 (12-11)   Connecticut            55    32-17 (14-9)7. St. John's             49    29-22 (8-15)8. West Virginia          43    25-28 (10-12)9. Pittsburgh             36    31-24 (11-13)10. Villanova             25    24-26 (8-15)11. Georgetown            10    13-43 (1-24)

PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Brian Stavisky, Notre Dame, So., Right Field, 6-3, 230, Port Allegany, Pa./Port Allegany

PRESEASON PITCHER OF THE YEAR
Bob Brownlie, Rutgers, So., RHP, 6-0, 195, Edison, N.J./Edison

Preseason All-BIG EAST Team – Key 2000 Statistics (All Games Played)

RHP - Aaron Heilman, Notre Dame, Sr.** ... 10-2, 3.21 ERA, 118 SO, 103.2 IP, .234 Opp. BARHP - Bob Brownlie, Rutgers, So.** ... 10-1, 2.55 ERA, 102.1 IP, 89 SO, .247 Opp. BARHP - B.J. Benik, Seton Hall, Sr. ... 9-5, 3.48 ERA, 111.1 IP, 98 SO, .231 Opp. BAC - Jeff Mackor, Boston College, Jr. ... .307, 27 R, 46 H, 10 2B, 5 HR, 25 RBI, .473 Slug %C - Paul O'Toole, Notre Dame, Jr. ... .302, 10 2B, 8 HR, 39 RBI, 16 SB, 20 BBIF - Brian Tisbert, Connecticut, Sr. ... .303, 54 H, 14 2B, 25 RBI, .506 Slug %, 138 AssistsIF - Kevin Wissner, Connecticut, Sr. ... .389, 72 H, 17 2B, 9 HR, 56 RBI, .627 Slug %IF - Alec Porzel, Notre Dame, Sr. ... .342, 24 2B, 4 3B, 9 HR, 58 RBI, .584 Slug %, 10 SBIF - Matt Longo, Villanova, Sr. ... .304, 41 R, 51 H, 13 2B, 3 HR, 26 RBIIF - Tim McCabe, West Virginia, So. ... .339, 34 R, 65 H, 11 2B, 4 HR, 39 RBIOF - Mike Scott, Connecticut, Jr. ... .325, 62 H, 43 R, 8 2B, 29 RBI, .450 Slug %OF - Brian Stavisky, Notre Dame, So. ... .298, 15 2B, 5 3B, 14 HR, 45 RBI, .569 Slug %OF - Steve Stanley, Notre Dame, Jr. ... .362, 85 H, 10 2B, 24 RBI, 34 BB, 29 SB, .443 OB%DH - Brad Rea, Pittsburgh, Jr. ... .313, 42 R, 60 H, 10 HR, 48 RBI, .521 Slug %U - Joe Cuervo, Seton Hall, Sr. ... .358, 47 R, 67 H, 7 2B, 33 RBI, .465 Slug %, 37 SB
** - unanimous selection