Huskers Sign Two Players to National Letters-of-Intent

Lincoln - University of Nebraska Head Coach Mike Anderson has announced the signings of two baseball players to National Letters-of-Intent on Friday. Tyler Vaughn (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Beau Sullivan (Leedey, Okla.) will join the Husker program for the 2004 season.

"One of our goals this summer was to get more depth, especially in the infield, and we feel that the signings of these players gives us more options," Anderson said. "Both players have shown they are capable of playing more than one position at the Division I level."

Vaughn earned honorable-mention All-Colorado honors from both the Rocky Mountain News and Denver Post as a senior, batting .492 with four homers and 17 RBIs for his father, Robert Vaughn, at Rampart High School. In all, 15 of his hits went for extra bases, including eight doubles and three triples during the season, as he had an on-base percentage of .642 and a slugging percentage of .932. A first-team all-conference and all-metro honoree, he was also one of three incoming Husker freshmen (also Braden Keith, Jon Klausing) to play in the Colorado Rockies High School All-Star Game at Coors Field. Vaughn also saw limited duty on the hill, posting a 2.40 ERA in 11.2 innings, as RHS finished with a 15-5 record this spring. In addition to earning three letters in baseball, Vaughn also lettered twice in hockey (freshman and sophomore) and was an academic all-state selection with a 3.46 GPA. He selected Nebraska over Central Arizona Community College.

"I always wanted to play for a perennial power and have a chance to play in the Big 12," Vaughn said. "We were in town playing in a tournament earlier this summer in Omaha, and had a chance to visit Lincoln, talk to Coach Anderson and take a tour of the facilities, and that was pretty cool."

"Tyler is an athletic infielder who we feel can play second, third and short for us," Anderson said. "He is a very strong defensive player with soft hands who we also believe has a tremendous amount of offensive potential."

Sullivan batted .316 with nine homers and 52 RBIs for Coach Eric Myers at Seminole State (Okla.) College, as the Trojans finished the 2003 season with a 45-11 record. Sullivan tied for the team lead with 18 doubles, while ranking second in both homers and RBIs. On the hill, he went 1-0 with two saves, striking out 13 in eight appearances, covering 8.1 innings of work. Sullivan earned all-regional honors and was chosen for the NJCAA Region II All-Tournament team this spring. As a freshman, he hit .367 with four homers and 41 RBIs for a team that finished 46-14 and was one win away from the NJCAA World Series in Grand Junction, Colo. A former all-state selection at Woodward (Okla.) High School, Sullivan selected Nebraska over Auburn, Oklahoma and Lamar. This summer, Sullivan is playing his summer baseball for the Kelowna (B.C.) Falcons of the Pacific International League.

"Beau is a two-way player who has the ability to fill several roles for us," Anderson said. "He gives us a left-handed bat with some power, and can play first base, outfield or even pitch for us."

Nebraska finished its 2003 season with a 47-18 record, won its second Big 12 regular-season title in the past three years and placed as high as 13th in the final national polls. The Huskers have advanced to NCAA Regional play in each of the past five seasons, including back-to-back College World Series appearances in 2001 and 2002.

2003 Baseball Signees (as of July 11th)

Name

Pos

B/T

Ht.

Wt.

Hometown/Last School

Johnny Bowden

C

R/R

6-3

210

Springfield, Ore./Thurston HS

Matt Foust

RHP

R/R

6-2

235

Overland, Park, Kan./Blue Valley West HS

Brad Furnish

LHP

L/L

6-2

160

Allen, Texas/Allen HS

Brett Jensen

RHP

R/R

6-6

180

Eagle Grove, Iowa/Iowa Central CC

Braden Keith

OF

L/L

6-0

160

Falcon, Colo./Falcon HS

Jon Klausing

LHP

L/L

6-6

195

Arvada, Colo./Pomona HS

Michael McDonald

LHP

L/R

6-3

185

Wichita, Kan./South HS

Matthew Pike

RHP

R/R

6-6

205

Pueblo, Colo./ Centennial HS

Colin Shockey

UTL

L/R

5-10

170

Ralston, Neb./Iowa Western CC

Beau Sullivan

INF/OF/P

L/L

6-2

205

Leedey, Okla./Seminole State (Okla.) CC

Tyler Vaughn

INF

R/R

6-2

195

Colorado Springs, Colo./Rampart HS

Anthony Watson

LHP

L/L

6-4

175

Grimes, Iowa /Dallas Center-Grimes HS

B.J. Wierzbicki

RHP

R/R

6-6

220

Ralston, Neb./Iowa Western CC