Jeff Lanning Season 2007

• 2006 Northwoods League All-Star
• Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll (Spring 2006)

2007 Outlook: Jeff Lanning is one of three players battling for the starting catcher position this spring ? Was Jeff Christy’s top backup a year ago, hitting .300 in 14 games as a true freshman ? Took home all-star honors in the Northwoods League over the summer, hitting .273 with a team-high 24 RBIs for Waterloo ? Has very good offensive tools and is the most polished offensive catcher on the roster ? Has made great strides since entering the program and has a good grasp of what the coaches are looking for behind the plate ? Will likely platoon with Mark Hightower and junior college transfer Mitch Abeita behind the plate especially early in the season.

2006: Lanning hit .300 with two RBIs in 14 games, backing up Jeff Christy, a sixth-round pick of the Minnesota Twins ? Made six starts and drove in  runs against Illinois State on March 14 and Texas Tech on April 29 ? Had both his extra-base hits against teams from his home state - Northern Iowa and Iowa ? Was 1-for-2 with a double vs. UNI on May 10 ? Drove in a run against Texas Tech on April 29, his only Big 12 at-bat  ? Made his first start against Illinois State on March 14, going 1-for-2 with an RBI ? Collected his first career hit against Notre Dame on March 3 ? Played summer ball for the Waterloo Bucks in the Northwoods League, earning all-star honors after hitting .273 with a team-best 24 RBIs in 35 games ? Led the Bucks with 26 walks and hit .384 with runners on base.

Ankeny High School:  Lanning was one of the best catchers in the region for Coach Mark Hey at Ankeny High School ? Slugged his way to first-team all-state honors in 2005, hitting .509 with 14 homers, 48 RBIs and a .983 slugging percentage in leading Ankeny to a state runner-up finish ? Chosen as a second-team all-state honoree as a junior, hitting .387, as Ankeny went 35-6 and reached the state semifinals ? Earned all-district honors in each of his final three seasons ? Earned nine varsity letters, as he participated in baseball, track and football ? Starred in football, where he was named a first-team Elite All-Iowa linebacker after helping his team to the state semifinals as a senior ? Was a member of Ankeny’s 4x400-meter state champion relay team in both 2003 and 2004 ? Looked at Iowa, Kansas State and Northern Iowa before choosing Nebraska.

Personal: Born on Jan. 1, 1987, in Des Moines, Iowa ? Parents are Dana and Lisa Lanning ? Has one brother (Joel) and one sister (Jenna) ? Has not declared a major.