Honors & Awards
- 2006 First-Team All-Big 12
- 2006Â First-Team Academic All-American (3.48 GPA in Civil Engineering)
- 19th Round Draft Pick (Detroit)
- 2006 Dairy Queen Classic All-Tournament Team
- 2006 First-Team Academic All-Big 12
- Big 12 Player of the Week (3/28/06)
- Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll (Fall 2004; Spring 2005; Fall 2005; Spring 2006)
2006: All-Big 12 performer who finished his senior season hitting .339 with 14 homers and a team-high 51 RBIs, ranking third in the Big 12 in homers and 20th in batting average • Was second on the squad in homers and hits (78) while ranking third in runs scored (43), as he also ranked second with 24 multi-hit games and tied Luke Gorsett for the team lead with 13 multiple-RBI contests • Hit .375 with a pair of multi-hit games in the 2006 NCAA Regional • Hit .333 (5-for-15) with a pair of RBIs and four walks, highlighted by a 3-for-3 effort with two walks in a win over No. 6 Texas • Hit .321 in conference play with five homers and 21 RBIs, as he was sixth in total bases (55), seventh in homers and eighth in RBIs • Was 5-for-13 in the series against No. 13 Oklahoma, recording multi-hit games in the final two games of the series, his first consecutive multi-hit games since April 11-13 • Was 4-for-13 at No. 24 Oklahoma State, including a 3-for-5 effort with two runs scored in the series finale on May 8 • Went 4-for-13 with two homers, three RBIs and five runs scored in the sweep of Texas Tech, homering in each of NU’s last two games • Drove in four runs against Wichita State - the third time he has driven in at least four runs in a game this season - going 2-for-5 in NU’s 11-0 victory on April 25 • Enjoyed his fourth four-hit day of the year against Nebraska-Kearney, setting or tying career highs in hits (four), RBIs (five) and runs (three), as he was a double short of the cycle • Hit .489 with five homers and 19 RBIs during a nine-game hit streak from April 1 to April 15, before it was snapped in the series finale against Texas A&M • Was 2-for-4 with a homer, three RBIs and two runs scored against Texas A&M on April 13 • Recorded his third four-hit game of the season at Iowa on April 11, going 4-for-6 with a homer, three RBIs and three runs scored, while also drawing two walks, as he reached safely on all eight plate appearances • Hit .357 (5-for-14) in the series sweep at Missouri with a homer and three RBIs, belting his round tripper off MU ace Max Scherzer on April 8 • Belted two homers - his third multi-homer game of the year - and drove in three runs in a victory over No. 21 Creighton at Omaha’s Rosenblatt Stadium on April 4, including a solo homer to break a four-all tie • Was 4-for-12 with three RBIs at Kansas State, including a 2-for-4 effort with two RBIs in the series finale on April 1 • Hit .615 (8-for-13) with four RBIs against Kansas to earn Big 12 Player-of-the-Week honors, as he had three straight multi-hit games, including a four-hit effort in the opener on March 25 • Enjoyed his second multi-homer game, going 3-for-4 with two homers while matching his career high with four RBIs against Illinois State on March 14 • Delivered his second straight game-winning RBI against Alabama on March 10 with his 11th-inning single, as he went 2-for-4 against the Crimson Tide • Was named to the Dairy Queen Classic All-Tournament team, as he hit .454 with two homers, three RBIs and three runs scored • Enjoyed a career game against Minnesota on March 5, matching his career high with four hits, including his first two-homer game, and drove in three runs in NU’s 4-1 win • Posted his first multi-hit game of the season against No. 4 Rice on Feb. 25, going 2-for-4 in a 3-2 loss to the Owls.
2005: Buckman provided a solid presence in the Husker lineup, batting .335 with two homers and 30 RBIs in his first season at NU • Served as the Huskers’ designated hitter for most of the season, making 33 starts at the position, while also starting 12 times at first • Would have ranked 15th in the Big 12 in hitting, but did not have the minimum of at-bats to qualify • Finished fourth on the team with 18 multi-hit games, including a four-hit effort at Hawaii-Hilo in his Husker debut on Feb. 17 • Recorded a trio of three-hit games, including one against No. 1 Texas on April 8, a game NU won 4-3 in 16 innings • Made his only start of the postseason at the College World Series against Arizona State on June 21, going 2-for-2 with a run scored and hit .667 (2-for-3) in two CWS contests • Was 1-for-4 with a run scored and a hit-by-pitch in NU’s Big 12 Tournament opener against Texas Tech on May 25 • Hit .254 with 10 RBIs in 19 league games • Was 3-for-8 with three RBIs in a series win at Oklahoma, including a two-hit game on April 30 • Went 3-for-9 with a double in two games against Texas A&M • Went 3-for-10 with a pair of walks in the sweep of No. 29 Oklahoma State • Hit .365 (4-for-11) with three doubles and four RBIs in the Kansas series, including four RBIs in a March 26 twinbill split • Got off to a blistering start, hitting .468 over his first 13 contests as a Husker, including eight multi-hit games in that stretch • Hit .500 (7-for-14) in three games at Hawaii-Hilo, including a 3-for-5 effort with two RBIs vs. the Vulcans on Feb. 18 • Had two hits, including a double, in NU’s 6-3 win over No. 7 Rice on Feb. 27 • Went 2-for-4 with a homer, double and two RBIs in a loss to No. 18 USC on March 6 • Was 6-for-11 with four RBIs in four games against South Dakota State • Homered and drove in a career-high four runs in a victory over Northern Colorado on March 16.
Garden City Community College/Lewis-Palmer High School: Buckman came to Nebraska from Garden City (Kan.) Community College, where he played two seasons for Coach Rick Sabath • Garnered NJCAA All-America honors in 2004, batting .460 with 16 homers and 69 RBIs, leading the Broncbusters to a 36-22 record • Earned first-team All-Region VI and Jayhawk League honors, as he ranked among the national leaders in hitting • Paced Garden City CC in nearly every offensive category, including hits (87), runs (55), triples (five), slugging percentage (.823) and on-base percentage (.523) • His .460 average was the highest at the school since 1989 • Helped his team to a Sub-Regional title during his freshman campaign • Also earned academic All-America honors in both years at Garden City CC • Lettered for three seasons for Coach Bart Grenz at Lewis-Palmer High School, earning first-team all-district and all-region honors his final three seasons • Hit .492 with seven homers and 33 RBIs during his senior year • Attended the same junior college as two-time All-Big 12 first baseman Curtis Ledbetter • Selected Nebraska over Michigan and Kentucky • Graduated from Lewis-Palmer High School with a 3.60 GPA, while earning AP college credit in calculus and statistics.
Personal: Born on Feb. 14, 1984, in La Jolla, Calif. • Parents are Bruce and Patricia Buckman • Has one sister (Stephanie) • Majors in civil engineering.
Career Stats
|
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 |