The class, which features 11 high school players and
one junior college transfer, includes players from seven states (Colorado,
Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri and Nebraska) including four of
Nebraska’s top high school seniors in the class of 2006. The class includes six
pitchers and six position players.
Anderson, who begins his fourth year
at Nebraska, believes the strength of this class is the combination of its
potential and the strong work ethic of the players in the group.
“I feel
that this class has a tremendous amount of potential,” Anderson said. “We are
excited about the quality of the athletes, as well as the character that this
class brings into the program.”
Anderson also cites diligence of
assistant coach Andy Sawyers, who oversaw the building of this recruiting class
after former NU associate head coach Rob Childress was hired as the head coach
at Texas A&M in June. Assistant coach Dave Bingham, who joined the Husker
staff in August, also helped construct a very strong class.
“Andy
(Sawyers) did a tremendous job this summer through the transition of coaching
changes,” Anderson said. “This class is a testament to the hard work he has
done, as well as the work that Dave (Bingham) has done since joining our staff.
This class will play a major role in helping us continue the success we have
enjoyed in recent years.”
The Huskers are coming off a season where they
won a school-record 57 games and reached the College World Series for the third
time in five years. Nebraska has also won three Big 12 regular-season titles
since 2001.
Nebraska Baseball Recruiting Class
Name Pos Ht. Wt B/T
Hometown (Previous School)
Mitch Abeita C 5-11 180 R/R Duncanville, Texas
(North Central CC)
D.J. Belfonte OF 5-10 175 L/L Gladstone, Mo. (Rockhurst)
Joe Broekemeier RHP 6-4 180 R/R Aurora, Neb.
Andy Cotton INF 5-9 160 R/R
Lincoln, Neb. (Southwest)
Brian Feekin LHP 6-6 225 L/L Papillion, Neb.
(Papillion-LaVista)
Aaron Jarosh OF 6-0 180 R/R Ankeny, Iowa
Shane Lowe
INF 6-3 185 S/R New Bloomfield, Mo.
Zach McAllister RHP 6-5 230 R/R
Chillicothe, Ill. (Illinois Valley Central)
Michael Nesseth RHP 6-5 185 R/R
Windom, Minn.
Sam Sharpe RHP 6-2 200 R/R Stillwell, Kan. (St. Thomas
Aquinas)
Charlie Shaver LHP 6-4 195 L/L Elkhorn, Neb.
Brett Sowers INF
5-10 180 R/R Englewood, Colo. (Cherry Creek)
Mitch Abeita
The
lone junior college transfer in the recruiting class, Abeita (a-beta) comes from
North Central Texas College. Abeita started as a freshman for Coach Scott Harp,
hitting .330 with three homers and 20 RBIs with a .476 slugging percentage.
Abeita excels defensively, throwing out 42 percent of base runners and recording
a .990 fielding percentage. He played in the Texas Collegiate League last summer
and was selected to play in the Texas/New Mexico Junior College All-Star game
earlier this fall. He played his high school ball at Duncanville High School,
hitting .400 with 10 homers en route to earning all-district honors as a senior.
He chose Nebraska over Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Dallas Baptist and UT-Pan
American.
D.J. Belfonte
The first member of this fall’s
recruiting class, Belfonte committed to Nebraska last May. One of the best
all-around athletes in the Kansas City area, Belfonte earned all-state honors as
a junior in both baseball and football and was on his way to repeating the feat
before suffering a season-ending knee injury last month. On the diamond, he
earned second-team all-state accolades as a junior, hitting .406 with six
doubles and three homers for Coach Jim DeGraw. On the gridiron, he was a
second-team all-state performer who was leading the No. 1 ranked team in
Missouri in rushing yards, touchdowns and tackles before his
injury.
Joe Broekemeier
One of four in-state products in
Nebraska’s recruiting class, Broekemeier plays three sports along with American
Legion Baseball for Coach Matt Broekemeier. Joe led Aurora to a 28-7 record and
a state tournament as a two-way performer in 2005, going 7-3 with a 0.91 ERA,
striking out 70 in 46 innings. He also hit .401 with seven homers, 45 RBIs and
31 stolen bases. Broekemeier also competes in basketball, where he was a
first-team all-state performer averaging 18 points and five rebounds a game, and
track, where he placed fourth in the 200 meters in Class B and anchored the
4x400 relay to a state runner-up finish. He selected NU over Creighton,
Missouri, Kansas and New Mexico.
Andy Cotton
The only Lincoln
native in this fall’s class, Cotton becomes the first Husker baseball recruit
from Lincoln Southwest High School. A three-year starter for Coach Doug
Kaltenberger, Cotton was an honorable-mention all-state performer in each of the
past three seasons, hitting .400 with 22 RBIs and 30 runs scored in 2005,
helping the Silver Hawks to a 20-15 record. A three-time all-city selection,
Cotton also plays football, where he earned second-team Super State honors in
2004 after picking off eight passes. This season, he has helped Southwest to the
Class A title game. He also plays basketball for the Silver Hawks. He has been
on the LSW Honor Roll every semester in high school and selected NU over
Arkansas, Creighton, Cornell and Brown, the latter two schools recruited him for
both baseball and football.
Brian Feekin
Feekin comes from a
tradition-rich Papillion-LaVista program that has produced numerous Husker
players over the years. A two-year starter for the Monarchs and Coach Jim
Thomas, Feekin compiled a 5-3 record with a 3.93 ERA and 56 strikeouts to rank
among the state leaders in strikeouts. As a sophomore, he helped
Papillion-LaVista to a third-pace finish at the state tournament, winning 11
games between his high school and American Legion seasons. A two-sport athlete,
the 6-foot-6, 225-pound southpaw is also a two-year starter for the Monarch
basketball team. He looked at Kansas State, Iowa and Iowa Western before
selecting Nebraska. He also attended the 2005 Nebraska Stars of Tomorrow Camp.
Aaron Jarosh
A three-sport standout Jarosh comes to Nebraska
from Ankeny High School, where he was a teammate of current NU catcher Jeff
Lanning. A three-year starter for Coach Mark Hey, Jarosh earned second-team
all-state honors as a junior, hitting .392 with 12 homers, 31 RBIs, 67 runs
scored and 23 stolen bases in leading Ankeny to a 39-7 record and a state
runner-up finish. A two-time all-district performer on the diamond, Jarosh also
was a four-year starter in football and a state champion long jumper in track.
He carried a 3.7 GPA and has been on the school honor roll. He was recruited by
Georgia Tech, Northern Iowa and Iowa in baseball, and also drew recruiting
interest from the Hawkeyes in football.
Shane Lowe
One of two
all-state players from Missouri in the recruiting class, Lowe played shortstop
and designated hitter for Coach Brett Craighead at New Bloomfield High School.
Lowe is a two-time all-state performer, earning first-team honors in 2005. He
earned first-team all-state honors as a junior, batting .488 with 18 stolen
bases and a .639 on-base percentage in helping his team to a 17-4 record and
district finals. A three-time all-district and all-area selection, he has stolen
93 bases during his high school career, including 36 as a sophomore when he also
hit .450. In addition to his high school team, Lowe also played for the Kansas
City Sluggers elite team, hitting .486 with 10 stolen bases in just 37 at-bats
during the fall. Lowe was an all-conference performer in basketball as a
sophomore before missing his junior year because of an injury. He drew interest
from Missouri, Kansas State and Missouri State before choosing to become a
Husker.
Zach McAllister
One of six high school pitchers in the
recruiting class, McAllister plays for Coach Jerry Rashid at Illinois Valley
Central High School. A three-year starter on the mound, McAllister was a
first-team Mid-Illini Conference pick as a junior, compiling a 10-3 record with
a 1.14 ERA, striking out 76 and walking 23 in 79 innings. He also pitched for
the White Sox Area Code Games team last summer. McAllister is a two-sport
athlete (also basketball) and excels in the classroom, where he is a high honor
roll student and a member of the Spanish National Honor Society. He chose NU
over a host of schools, including Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Bradley and
Evansville
Michael Nesseth
One of six pitchers in the class,
Nesseth pitched for Coach Brad Schlomann at Windom (Minn.) High School. Nesseth
was a first-team All-Section 3AA and All-Southwest Conference pick as junior,
leading his conference in innings pitched and wins as a junior. Nesseth went 8-4
with a 2.21 ERA, striking out 94 in 69.2 innings of work. He also played
football, where he is a two-year captain and all-conference pick, and basketball
at WHS. He also pitched on the varsity as a sophomore, recording 40 strikeouts
in 36 innings pitched. A member of the National Honor Society, Nesseth has been
on the school’s honor roll his entire high school career. He also took visits to
Minnesota and South Dakota State before choosing NU.
Sam
Sharpe
Sharpe hails from Stillwell, Kan., where he attends St. Thomas
Aquinas High School. Although he did not play high school baseball, he was
considered one of the top prospects in the state of Kansas, as he played for the
Kansas City Sluggers elite club team. Sharpe comes from a family that is heavily
involved in baseball, as one of his older brothers, Steven, pitches in the
Oakland A’s organization, while another brother, Scott, pitched at Kansas. He
looked at Baylor, Missouri, Arizona among other schools before selecting
Nebraska.
Charlie Shaver
Shaver continues Nebraska’s
tradition of recruiting the top high school pitchers from the Omaha area. A
two-year starter for Coach Jerry Frerich at Elkhorn High School, the 6-foot-4
left-hander earned honorable-mention all-state honors, going 6-2 with a 2.89
ERA. Shaver struck out 68 in 43.2 innings. His strikeout total set a school
record and ranked fifth in the state in 2005, while he also ranked among the
state leaders in wins. Shaver, who went 4-0 with two saves as a sophomore,
turned in a dominant summer in American Legion ball, going 8-3 with a 2.49 ERA
and 121 strikeouts in 73 innings.
Brett Sowers
Sowers is one
of the top seniors in the state of Colorado, playing for Coach Marc Johnson at
Cherry Creek High School. A two-year starter, Sowers earned first-team
All-Colorado honors at second base as a junior, hitting .473 with 11 homers and
44 RBIs in just 93 at-bats. Sowers led Cherry Creek to a 21-5 record and a state
tournament appearance in 2005. A first-team Centennial League pick and preseason
All-American, he had 17 homers and 85 RBIs during the summer. He was one of
several Husker recruits to play in the Area Code Games in California in
August.
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