Buckman Picked in the 19th Round

Lincoln ? University of Nebraska first baseman Brandon Buckman became the seventh Husker selected in the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft, as he was picked by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 19th round (No. 586 overall).

A first-team All-Big 12 selection, Buckman was one of the league’s top performers in 2006, hitting .339 with 14 homers and a team-high 51 RBIs in 58 contests in 2006. Buckman finished third in the Big 12 in homers and 20th in batting average, while ranking second on the squad in hits (78) and third in runs scored. A second-team ESPN the Magazine second-team Academic All-American, Buckman had 24 multi-hit games and was tied for the team lead with 13 multiple RBI contests. Buckman, who carries a 3.48 GPA in civil engineering, also earned first-team academic All-Big 12 honors in 2005.

In his two years at Nebraska, Buckman hit .338 with 16 homers and 81 RBIs in 107 games, helping the Huskers to the school’s first win at the College World Series in 2005.

With Buckman’s selection, all three members of this season’s senior class were taken in the top-20 rounds, including catcher Jeff Christy (sixth, Minnesota) and closer Brett Jensen (14th, Detroit). The seven Huskers selected are the most since the 2001 campaign.

Year       Avg   GP-GS     AB    R    H   2B   3B   HR  RBI   BB   SO   SB-ATT
2005....  .335   49-45    161   26   54   10    0    2   30   19   28    4-5
2006....  .339   58-57    230   43   78    8    1   14   51   30   23    3-4
TOTAL...  .338  107-102   391   69  132   18    1   16   81   49   51    7-9