Ryan Wehrle Season 2006

• 2007 Preseason All-American (Collegiate Baseball, NCBWA)
• 2007 Wallace Award Watch List
• 2006 MLB 18th-round Draft Pick (Cincinnati)
• 2006 Third-Team All-American (Collegiate Baseball)
• 2006 First-Team All-Big 12
• 2006 Second-Team ABCA All-Midwest Region
• Big 12 Player of the Week (4/4/06)
• 2005 Honorable-Mention All-Big 12

2007 Outlook: Junior All-American Ryan Wehrle (pronounced Whirl-ee) returns to ignite the Husker offensive attack ? Was arguably the most improved player in the Big 12 in 2006 after raising his batting average nearly 100 points (.275 to .367) while hitting eight homers and driving in 48 runs after hitting no homers with 25 RBIs as a freshman ? Led NU in five offensive categories and became the first shortstop at Nebraska to earn All-America honors ? Is a two-time All-Big 12 performer, earning first-team honors in 2006 ? Gives the Huskers a middle-of-the-lineup threat who hits for both average and power and has good baserunning skills ? Became more comfortable at shortstop after playing second as a freshman ? Committed just four errors over his final 27 games in 2006 ? Picked in the 18th round by the Cincinnati Reds last summer as a draft-eligible sophomore, but elected to return to NU for his junior season.

2006: Wehrle enjoyed a steller sophomore campaign, becoming the first Husker shortstop since 1985 to earn first-team all-conference honors ? Hit .367 with eight homers and 48 RBIs, starting 57 of the Huskers’ 59 contests ? Finished sixth in the league in hitting and ranked among the conference leaders in doubles (22, second), on-base percentage (.447, seventh), hits (83, eighth) and slugging percentage (.580, 10th) ?  Paced the Huskers in five offensive categories (hits, runs, doubles, walks and on-base percentage) while going a perfect 14-for-14 in stolen bases ? Topped NU with 29 multi-hit games and hit a team-best .375 with runners in scoring position ? Reached safely in 52-of-57 games ? Hit safely in both of NU’s NCAA Regional games, going 3-for-8 with a double ? Enjoyed a strong Big 12 Tournament, hitting .400 with two homers, two doubles, six runs scored and five RBIs ? Went 2-for-3 with a homer, two RBIs and matched his career high by scoring three times in the title game against Kansas on May 28 ? Was one of NU’s top performers in conference play, hitting .339 with two homers and 20 RBIs, ranking among the Big 12 leaders in hits (38, third), stolen bases (seven, third), doubles (nine, third), runs (21, fifth) and total bases (53, seventh) in Big 12 contests ? Enjoyed a 3-for-3 day with a double and two RBIs against No. 13 Oklahoma on May 20 ? Turned in a strong series at Baylor, hitting .556 (5-for-9) with two doubles and two runs scored ? Hit .461 (6-for-13) with a homer, two doubles and nine RBIs in a three-game sweep of Texas Tech, going 3-for-4 with a homer and a career-best six RBIs in the series finale ? Recorded a pair of doubles in an 11-0 shutout of Wichita State on April 25 ? Was 3-for-14 in the series win at No. 5 Texas, delivering a two-run single in NU’s 7-5 victory on April 22 ? Hit .400 (4-for-10) with two RBIs in the series sweep of Texas A&M ? Had two hits, including a double and a triple, in NU’s win over No. 21 Creighton on April 4 ? Selected as the Big 12 Player of the Week on April 4, after hitting .591 (13-for-22) with six runs, four stolen bases, a homer and four RBIs in five contests, while posting five multi-hit games ?  Batted .500 (7-for-14) in a series win at Kansas State with two doubles, three runs scored and two stolen bases ? Hit .750 (6-for-8) in two games against Northern Colorado, highlighted by his first career four-hit game in the series finale on March 29, as he went 4-for-4 with a homer, three RBIs and a stolen base ? Went 5-for-12 with five runs scored and two stolen bases in a series win vs. Kansas ? Drove in three runs in the series finale against No. 25 Alabama on March 12 ? Had three hits and drove in a pair of runs against Texas State on Feb. 24 ? Opened the season with a 3-for-3 effort with a homer, five RBIs, two walks and a hit-by-pitch against Charleston Southern on Feb. 16, as he reached safely in all six plate appearances ? Played in the Cape Cod League with the Bourne Braves, hitting .185 with three RBIs in nine games before suffering an injury.

2005:  Wehrle was one of the Big 12’s top freshman performers as Nebraska swept the Big 12 regular-season and tournament titles ? Batted .275 with 25 RBIs and 26 runs scored in 57 contests, splitting time with Jake Opitz at second base ? Made 40 starts at second while also serving as Joe Simokaitis’ backup at shortstop ? Showed good patience at the plate, drawing 21 walks while striking out only 17 times ? Committed eight errors in 199 chances, but had just two errors in his last 21 appearances ? Was sixth on the team with seven multi-RBI contests, including a season-best three RBIs in a win over No. 8 Baylor on April 22 ? Had two of his multi-RBI games in the College World Series, where he hit .250 with a team-high five RBIs ? Recorded multi-RBI efforts against both Arizona State and Florida, as his two-run sixth inning single against ASU gave NU the lead for good in a 5-3 victory ? Batted .316 (6-for-19) with three RBIs in the Big 12 Tournament, highlighted by a game-tying two-run triple against Texas Tech in the tournament opener ? Saw the majority of action at second base in conference play, hitting .308 with eight RBIs in 23 contests ? Hit .375 (3-for-8) with a stolen base in three games against Kansas State, including a 2-for-3 effort on May 21 ? Went 2-for-5 with a pair of RBIs in the series-opening win over Texas Tech on May 13 ? Hit .444 (4-for-9) with two walks and three runs scored in three games against No. 17 Missouri ? Was 2-for-2 with two walks and two runs scored in a 7-5 come-from-behind win over the Tigers on May 8 ? Hit .500 (3-for-6) in two starts against CWS qualifier Baylor, highlighted by a 2-for-3 effort in the opener, including season highs in RBIs (three), doubles (two) and runs scored (two) on April 22 ? Started slowly as he hit just .143 with two RBIs in his first 11 games before hitting .306 with 21 RBIs and all seven of his extra base hits (six doubles and a triple) in his final 46 contests, beginning with a go-ahead RBI single in the series finale against Seton Hall on March 20 ? Enjoyed his best day of the season in a twinbill sweep of North Dakota State on April 13, going 3-for-8 with two doubles and four RBIs, as he drove in two runs in each game ? Came off the bench to go 2-for-2 and make a spectacular catch to preserve NU’s 7-4 win over Northern Iowa on April 20 ? Had two hits and two walks in a 4-2 win over Wichita State on April 27, reaching base in all four plate appearances.

Papillion-LaVista High School: Wehrle was one of the nation’s top high school infielders playing for Coach Jim Thomas at Papillion-LaVista High School ? Rated No. 177 nationally on Team One Baseball’s top-200 seniors list and was the top high school prospect in the state by Baseball America ? Named a Louisville Slugger High School All-American and was the organization’s Nebraska Player of the Year in 2004 ? Chosen as a three-time, first-team All-Nebraska selection by the Lincoln Journal Star and the Omaha World-Herald and was the honorary captain of the Journal Star team in both 2003 and 2004 ? Totaled 15 homers, 113 RBIs and 116 runs scored over his final three seasons at Papillion-LaVista, helping the school to a fifth-place finish as a sophomore and a third-place showing as a senior ? Hit .414 with four homers, 38 RBIs and 47 runs scored as a senior ? Tied for the state lead in runs scored, while ranking fourth in both hits (48) and RBIs and fifth in doubles (13) ? Invited to try out for the U.S. Junior National team in 2003 following a season when he hit  .462 with 12 doubles, 28 RBIs and 29 runs scored ? Received all-state accolades for the first time as a sophomore, hitting .505 with eight homers, 57 RBIs and 16 doubles, topping the state in both hitting and RBIs ? Earned seven letters, as he also played three years of basketball at Papillion-LaVista ? Was a member of the honor roll ? Chose NU over a host of schools, including LSU, Texas A&M, Baylor and Arizona.

Personal: Born on May 31, 1985, in Norfolk, Neb. ? Parents are Craig and Sue Wehrle ? Has one brother (Kendall) ? Is a general studies major ? Father (Craig) played football at Nebraska from 1978 to 1980.