Presbyterian College releases 2008 schedule

Presbyterian College in Clinton, SC has released their 2008 schedule. The 2008 season will be the first year that the College has competed in Division 1 and will join the Big South Conference in 2009. They will open the season at UNC Asheville on February 22nd for a three game set. Some of the other highlights on the schedule is a visit from Yale for two games and heading to Tennessee, taking on Clemson in Greenville SC, and taking part in the Coastal Carolina Tournament where they will take on Michigan, Ball State, and the hosts Coastal Carolina. The full schedule is available here.

Louisville opens up fall practice

Dan McDonnell and the Louisville Cardinals have opened up fall practice this week after being a surprise participant in the College World Series. The Cardinals return 17 players from the CWS team including Big East Pitcher of the Year Zack Pitts and Freshman of the Year Justin Marks. They will bring in 20 new players as they look to make it back to Omaha. The Louisville Media Relations department has release a breakdown of all 20 new players on the squad which is available by clicking here.

Alexandria Aces Officially Debut 'Where Legends Begin' Campaign

FROM PRESS RELEASE
Alexandria, VA - Saturday, September 8, 2007 - The Alexandria Aces Collegiate Summer Baseball Club, the eighth and newest franchise of the Cal Ripken, Sr. Collegiate Baseball League, officially debut their 'Where Legends Begin' campaign as a part of the team's ramp up to their 2008 inaugural season.

"Alexandria, Virginia will be a place 'where legends begin' for collegiate baseball players,' said Alexandria Aces chairman and CEO Don Dinan. "We want players to know that the Aces will provide them with an excellent opportunity to showcase their skills to major league scouts. Alexandria will become a launching point for careers where players can shine in the summer spotlight. The Aces will diligently work hard to build a solid reputation throughout collegiate summer baseball so that Alexandria is known as a place ' where legends begin.'

The Alexandria Aces Collegiate Summer Baseball Club will play their 2008 inaugural season in the Cal Ripken, Sr. Collegiate Baseball League. Other teams in the league are the Bethesda Big Train, College Park Bombers, Herndon Braves, Maryland Redbirds, Rockville Express, Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts and Youse's Maryland Orioles.

Cal Ripken, Sr. Collegiate Baseball League website: http://www.ripkensrcollegebaseball.org

Alexandria Aces Release New 'A' Logo

FROM PRESS RELEASE
Alexandria, VA - Friday, September 7, 2007 - The Alexandria Aces Collegiate Summer Baseball Club, the eighth and newest franchise of the Cal Ripken, Sr. Collegiate Baseball League, today officially releases its new 'A' logo for the team's upcoming 2008 inaugural season.

The 'A', representing the city of Alexandria, Virginia, will be worn on the team's home pinstripe uniforms, ball caps, as well as batting practice tee shirts and shorts. 'ALEXANDRIA' will be worn on Aces road gray uniforms. The Aces team colors are midnight blue, gray/silver and white.

Cal Ripken, Sr. Collegiate Baseball League website: http://www.ripkensrcollegebaseball.org

More on Serrano going to Fullerton!!

As Brian reported earlier Dave Serrano has agreed to terms with Fullerton. Dave has signed a 4 year contract to be the new coach at Fullerton. Dave will bring over Sergio Brown from Irvine as an assistant.

For more on the story follow the link.

OCRegister.com


With Dave going to Fullerton where will Irvine start looking. Dave did not leave the cupboard empty with a team expected to compete for a conference and national championship in 2008.

Serrano said it remained up in the air who his assistants would be, but that his first obligation is to his two assistants at UC Irvine, Sergio Brown and Greg Bergeron. He said he was informed that Irvine is going to conduct a national coaching search, but he hopes Brown or Bergeron is a candidate for the job. If both assistants decide they want to follow Serrano to Fullerton, and Vanderhook decides he wants to remain as well, Serrano will have to choose between the three coaches for two spots.

Serrano also confirmed that uncertainty surrounding UC Irvine’s commitment to athletics played a significant role in his decision to leave. UC Irvine’s previous athletics director, Bob Chichester, cited budget cuts and a lack of commitment to athletics by Chancellor Michael V. Drake as reasons for resigning in August. UCI is in the midst of a search for Chichester’s replacement, but no hire is expected for at least another month, according to Serrano.

Baseball America

BREAKING NEWS: Serrano to Fullerton

Baseball America is reporting that Dave Serrano will accept the head coaching position with Cal-State Fullerton after saying last week that he was going to stay at UC-Irvine. The article from Baseball America is available here. The College Baseball Blog will have more information as it becomes available.

Washington State releases 2008 schedule

The Washington State Cougars have released their 2008 schedule which is highlighted by 13 games against 2007 NCAA Tournament participants. They will open the season on February 22nd when the Creighton Blue Jays visit for a three game set. They will also host Kent State on March 7th-9th in a four game series and Arizona State on April 11th-13th. The full release is available here.

Baseball America checks in with George Horton

Aaron Fitt of Baseball America recently had a chance to sit down with George Horton to discuss his move to Oregon. A major change in the Oregon situation is that Horton will have the full 11.7 scholarships in his first season and the school is looking to build about a 10-15 million dollar baseball stadium. Horton also believes that Rick Vanderhook should be named the next head coach at Fullerton. The full article is available here.

Vandy finds last piece to '09 infield

One of the more intriguing questions to arise out of Hawkins Field is how one fills the looming gap when projected top 2008 Draft Pick Pedro Alvarez departs his 3B spot on West End this fall. Alvarez has been a force since spurning the advances of Theo Epstein and the Boston Red Sox to get his baseball education and sheepskin at Vanderbilt. As a freshman, he set a VU record with 22 bombs en route to consensus Freshman of the Year and All-American status. As a sophomore, he put up staggering numbers as the cleanup hitter. Each of the past two summers, he's carried the banner for Team USA at the plate, leading the squad in batting average and other categories.

So who will step into the enviable task of replacing Petey for Coach Tim Corbin? Chris Lee, Mike Rapp and Jesse Johnson of VandySports.com confirmed rumors of a commitment in the premium section of the Rivals.com affiliated site more than a month ago. Nevertheless, due to the College Baseball Blog's attribution policy, we have chosen not to report on the development out of respect for VandySports.com's terms of service. Recently, the commitment has been acknowledged on the sites free baseball board allowing us to report that Bethany, Connecticut star Jason Esposito committed to the Commodores and is pencilled in for the competition at third. Esposito was a Connecticut rival of '08 prize recruit Curt Casali and a summer league teammate of fellow blue chip '09 recruit Matt Marquis.

Like Alvarez, Esposito is a well-framed, athletic corner man with a massive arm. He stands 6-2, 185 and throws 90 off the hill, according to Perfect Game, which rated Esposito a 10 of 10, indicating high draft round talent. Esposito joins recruits Sonny Gray, Matt Marquis, Will Clinard, Grayson Garvin, Corey Williams, Ryan Westmoreland and Navery Moore and transfer Dylan Pratt in a class that seems poised to surpass the Alvarez-Flaherty led 2005 class rated #1 by Baseball America.

Although positions aren't guaranteed at Vanderbilt or any other major program, Esposito would project to have the inside track at earning the starting 3B job as a true freshman. The other projected infield starters for 2009 season include (class year in 2009) Sophomore Aaron Westlake at 1B, Redshirt Sophomore Alex Hilliard or Junior Brian Harris at 2B, Redshirt Freshman Gabe Ortiz at Short and Sophomore Curt Casali at Catcher.

Checking in on Danny Otero and Yuri Higgins

FROM PRESS RELEASE
TAMPA, Fla. (Sept. 6, 2007) – Former University of South Florida right handed pitcher Danny Otero is one of four players from the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes to be selected to Minor League Baseball’s Northwest League All-Star Team.

Otero is in his first season with the Class A San Francisco Giants affiliate.

The Coral Gables , Fla., native has posted a 1.21 ERA with a league-leading 19 saves in 22 appearances. He has yielded just three runs on 12 hits with 15 strikeouts. He has not walked a batter in 22 1/3 innings, recording a .152 opponent batting average.

Otero and company have been victorious in more than 75 percent of their games this season, winning the Northwest League West Division after posting a 57-19 overall record, with a stellar 29-9 home mark.

The Volcanoes open the Northwest League Playoffs Sept. 6 against Tri-City from Pasco, Wash. Games One and Two of the first round will be played at Tri-City, and the final contests of the best of five series will be held in Keizer, Ore.

************************************************
FROM PRESS RELEASE
TAMPA, Fla. (Sept. 6, 2007) – The University of South Florida’s Yuri Higgins wrapped up his first season with the Boise Hawks on Sept. 5 when the team ended the 2007 Class A Short Season tied for first place in the East Division of the Northwest League.

Higgins played 10 games for the Hawks after one appearance with the Arizona League Cubs earlier in the summer.

In his 11 minor-league appearances, Higgins registered a 3-1 record with one save. He posted a 2.79 ERA, allowing six earned runs from 17 hits. Higgins, who is 15th in all-times strikeouts (194) at USF, recorded 15 Ks in 19.1 innings for the affiliate of the Chicago Cubs.

As the Tri City Dust Devils beat the Hawks in the season’s final game on Sept. 5, both teams finished with 37-39 records to tie for the division title. Because the Dust Devils won the season series between the two teams, 7-5, they won the right to go to the Northwest League Championship series.

Horton completes staff

George Horton the new head coach of Oregon has completed his coaching staff with the hiring of Andrew Checketts from UC-Riverside and Jason Gill from Cal-State Fullerton. Checketts led the Riverside pitching staff to a nation best ERA of 3.68. Checketts will be making $120,000/year with a one time stipend of $25,000. Gill comes over from Fullerton where he helped Horton to the NCAA Title in 2004. The full release from Oregon is available here.

Summer League Updates

We have compiled a list of summer league recaps which are available by clicking on each respective team.

Harvard
Northern Illinois
George Mason
Furman
Cincinnati

Alabama’s Allen Tabbed 2007 NCBWA/Wilbur Snypp Award Recipient

FROM NCBWA RELEASE
DALLAS – Barry Allen, Assistant Director for Media Relations at the University of Alabama, is the winner of the 33rd annual Wilbur Snypp Award, presented annually by the NCBWA for outstanding contributions to college baseball.

Allen begins his 24th year in the University of Alabama Athletics Media Relations Office and his 19th year as a full-time Assistant Director of Media Relations. Allen is responsible for the overall publicity plan for one of the SEC’s most successful baseball programs. He oversees the day-to-day media operations for the nationally-ranked Crimson Tide baseball program and is responsible for producing the Alabama Baseball Media Guide, game notes, updating statistics and updating the school’s website. Allen also coordinates all interviews requests for head baseball coach Jim Wells, the Crimson Tide’s assistant coaches and the student-athletes.

"Barry Allen is the heart and soul of college baseball," said NCBWA executive director Bo Carter. "There is no harder worker in the business, and his knowledge and love of the game can be seen at every level.”

He has worked closely with the UA baseball program since the 1987 season, where he has worked more than 1,000 games. Allen has been associated with three College World Series teams (1996, 1997 and 1999), two SEC Championships (1996 and 2006) and six SEC Tournament Championships (1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2002 and 2003) during his baseball tenure. He has also worked 16 SEC Tournaments and 12 NCAA Regionals and served as the NCAA Regional Media Coordinator for the 1996 NCAA South II Regional, the 1997 NCAA South Regional, the 1999 NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional and Super Regional, the 2002 NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional and 2006 NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional and Super Regional.

"Barry is most deserving of this award, said NCBWA Associate Executive Director Russell Anderson. "He does an outstanding job of promoting not only Alabama Baseball, but the entire sport of college baseball."

In 2006, Allen teamed with Greg Seitz, the Media Relations Director at Jacksonville (Ala.) State University, to form the inaugural Alabama Baseball Media Day, sponsored by the Alabama Sportswriters Association. Allen and Seitz coordinated with all 17 Division I and Division II schools in the state of Alabama for a statewide baseball media day held at Regions Park in Hoover, Ala., site of the annual SEC Baseball Tournament. The head coach and two players from all 18 schools attended the one-day event, which also featured lunch and a keynote speaker for the highly successful event.

Allen has been associated with the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) since the 1998-99 school year, where he has served as Second Vice President (1999), First Vice President (2000) and President (2001). He currently serves on the NCBWA Board of Directors and works closely with the organization’s preseason and post-season All-America teams as well as the Dick Howser Trophy, presented to the collegiate baseball player of the year.

“This is a great honor. I have a deep passion for college baseball and have developed some real friendships over the past 20 years in covering this great sport,” Allen said. “The opportunity to work with many great coaches and student-athletes and to get to know each of them and their families has been very rewarding. It has also be an honor to be associated with the NCBWA and the great work this organization does to promote out national pastime. We have a great leadership in the NCBWA and a strong membership, too. I’d like thank everyone involved for allowing me to play a small role in this organization and to once again say how grateful I am to be recognized in this way.”

Allen attended the University of Alabama, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in Telecommunication and Film in 1989. As a student, he worked in the school’s Media Relations Office, where he worked with the UA baseball team and track and field teams. He also worked a public address announcer for the Alabama women’s basketball and gymnastics and served as the official scorekeeper and public address announcer for the state high school basketball tournament, played annually at Memorial/Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa. He also worked part-time at WNPT Radio in Tuscaloosa, where he hosted a high school football pregame and post-game scoreboard show and worked as play-by-play announcer for various American Legion baseball teams.

A native of Anniston, Ala., Allen attended Saks High School, where he served as head football manager and head baseball manager during his career. He was also the assistant sports editor for the school newspaper and yearbook.

Allen is also involved with several charitable organizations, including Children’s Hospital, United Cerebral Palsy and the American Cancer Society.

Allen is married to the former Carla McLendon and the couple has two daughters, Elle (April 18, 2001) and Annie (April 9, 2003). Allen is an avid baseball fan and sports memorabilia collector. His travels have taken him to more than 300 professional and collegiate baseball stadiums over the last two decades. Allen also collects baseball and football Hall of Fame autographs as well as Heisman Trophy winners.

The Alabama veteran follows a long line of illustrious persons in gaining the award, given in memory of longtime Ohio State Sports Information Director and NCBWA founder, the late Wilbur (Bill) Snypp, since 1975. Snypp was a noted contributor to the writers' organization, which was initiated in 1962 (and celebrating its 46th year in 2007), as well as an officer in the group. The NCBWA/Wilbur Snypp Award annually honors a professional for contributions to the sport of collegiate baseball. Voting is done by a panel of previous winners, who include past NCAA World Series directors, College Sports Information Directors of America Hall of Fame members, decorated media members and others.

Previous Wilbur Snypp Award Winners

1975 Wilbur Snypp, Ohio State (D)

1976 Bill Esposito, St. John's (D)

1977 Phil Langan, Cornell

1978 John Geis, Southern Conference

1979 Hank Schomber, Georgia Southern

1980 Bob Culp, Western Michigan (D)

1981 Lou Pavlovich Sr., Collegiate Baseball

1982 Tom Price, South Carolina

1983 Bob Bradley, Clemson (D)

1984 Robert Williams, Omaha World-Herald

1985 Jerry Miles, NCAA

1986 Larry Keefe, Seton Hall (D)

1987 Tom Rowen, San Jose Mercury-News (D)

1988 Fred Gerardi, KESY Radio, Omaha

1989 Jim Wright, NCAA

1990 Steve Weller, SIU-Edwardsville

1991 Bill Little, University of Texas

1992 Kirk Bohls, Austin American-Statesman

1993 Bo Carter, Southwest Conference

1994 Lou Pavlovich Jr., Collegiate Baseball

1995 Steve Pivovar, Omaha World-Herald

1996 Gary Johnson, NCAA

1997 Dave Wohlhueter, Cornell

1998 Allan Simpson, Baseball America

1999 Alan Cannon, Texas A&M University

2000 Jim Callis, Baseball America

2001 Dick Case, USA Baseball (D)

2002 Russell Anderson, Conference USA

2003 John Manuel, Baseball America

2004 Dana Heiss Grodin, Sports Weekly

2005 Dennis Poppe, NCAA

2006 Mike Montoro, Southern Miss

2007 Barry Allen, Alabama



(D) – Deceased

Holy Cross names Mike Reed as Assistant Coach

FROM PRESS RELEASE
WORCESTER, Mass. – The College of the Holy Cross has named Mike Reed as an assistant baseball coach, as announced by head coach Greg DiCenzo and Athletic Director Richard M. Regan, Jr.

A 1994 graduate of Salem State, Reed’s years of experience ranges from his recent assistant coaching position at Milford High to beginning his career with the Milford Legion baseball club. Other highlights of Reed’s career include his role as head coach at Clark University from 1995-1999, in which the team improved from three wins in 1995 to a school record 15 wins in 1999. Under his coaching, the team was also a two-time Constitution Athletic Conference Semi-finalist (1998-99).

After Clark, Reed took on an assistant coaching position at Babson College. During his time as assistant coach, he scouted over 200 games, contacted over 800 prospective student-athletes, and generated over 100 applications during this two year span. In 2001, Reed was named head coach at Babson.

Aside from his extensive and successful coaching career, Reed was a section sergeant of the 101st Airborne Division from 2002-2006 in the United States Army in Fort Campbell, KY.

Kansas dominates Croatia

The Kansas baseball squad opened fall practice with an exhibition victory over Croatia by an 8-0 scoreline. The Jayhawks used nine pitchers who each pitched one inning while allowing only two hits. KU got five runs over the first three innings to take control of the game. The Croatian team was playing their last game before heading to the European championships in the coming weeks. The full recap from KU Athletics is available by clicking here. The Daily Kansan also wrote an article on the game which is available here.

Brown's Dietz signs with D-Backs

Brown University pitcher Jeff Dietz has signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks for the 2008 season. He won the Ivy League pitcher of the year award in 2007 while leading the Bears to the Ivy League title and their first ever NCAA tournament berth. Dietz went 9-3 including a complete game victory over Penn in the Ivy League championship series in which The College Baseball Blog was in attendance for. The CBB recap of the Ivy Championship is available by clicking here.

Perfect Game names Top 20 Prospects in VL

FROM VALLEY BASEBALL LEAGUE
Baseball website PGcrosschecker.com recently compiled its list of the top 20 players in the Valley Baseball League. The list was compiled by Allan Simpson with input from the league's managers and scouts.

Similar to the recently released Baseball America list, PG Crosschecker identified Winchester's Luke Greinke as the league's top prospect. He was also the league MVP. He was followed by Covington outfielder Jason Kipnis, but then six of the next seven players listed were pitchers.

Simpson noted that league officials felt that the 2007 season saw a jump in overall talent around the league, in particular in the pitching department. The numbers appear to support that assertion. In 2007, league pitchers as a whole had a 3.70 earned run average while hitters had a .247 batting average as a league. In 2006, hitters posted a .258 average while pitchers compiled a 3.88 ERA, and the year before saw a .257 batting average and 3.97 ERA as a league.

While Waynesboro finished first in the regular season and won the Jim Lineweaver Cup as league champions, the Generals placed just three players in the top 20 and none higher than #11. In fact, many of the top prospects come from the lower half of the standings. Simpson noted that was a sign of the league's improved depth.

PGCrosschecker.com Valley League Top 20 Prospects

1. Luke Greinke, UT, Winchester (Auburn)

2. Jason Kipnis, OF, Covington (Arizona State)

3. Zac Blakney, RHP, Fauquier (Montevallo)

4. Shayne Moody, SS, Woodstock (Charlotte)

5. Ashur Tolliver, LHP, Harrisonburg (Arkansas-Little Rock)

6. Donald Jordat, RHP, Luray (Miami-Dade C.C.)

7. Rob Gilliam, RHP, Luray (UNC Greensboro)

8. Tim Sexton, RHP, Staunton (Miami-Dade C.C.)

9. Josh Judy, RHP, Haymarket (Indiana Tech)

10. Tyler Kuhn, SS/2B, Luray (West Virginia)

11. Pat Irvine, C/OF, Waynesboro (Elon)

12. Garrett Parker, RHP, Harrisonburg (Oklahoma City)

13. Bobby Hernandez, RHP, Staunton (Barry)

14. Josh Eidell, RHP, Woodstock (Villanova)

15. Elih Villanueva, RHP, Luray (Florida State)

16. Jeremy Cruz, 1B, Luray (Stetson)

17. Chris Masters, LHP, New Market (Western Carolina)

18. Brandon Sizemore, 2B, Waynesboro (Charleston)

19. Kurt Davidson, C/1B, Waynesboro (Akron)

20. Dustin Umberger, RHP, Luray (Liberty)

Full scouting reports from the summer on each player are available here. A subscription is required to view the insider-level reports.

U of British Columbia visits France

From Guest Bob Broughton of Tbirdbaseball.net

The U. of British Columbia Thunderbirds, wearing jerseys that say “Team Canada” on them, won four of six games against the French Senior National Team in the last week of August in Clermont-Ferrand, France.

This was a good result against a French team that has some hope of qualifying for the 2008 Olympics in a tournament in Barcelona next month. However, the most pleasant surprise for the Thunderbirds was the performance of RHP Taylor King, a transfer from Pierce College in the Los Angeles area. In his very first start for the Thunderbirds against the French, he pitched six shutout innings. (His second start, in the final game of the series, was less successful; he was chased after giving up four runs in three innings.)

King potentially fills a major hole in the UBC pitching staff, and there's a history behind it. The Thunderbirds made their first and only appearance in the NAIA National Championship Tournament in Lewiston, ID in 2006, and finished fourth with a 2-2 record. Although most of that team graduated, UBC had plenty of reasons to expect continued future success. Their two best starters were returning, and they had a very good recruiting year.

Problem was, one of those starters, Shawn Schaefer, became an unexpected academic casualty at the end of the fall semester. Brendan Rolfe, a senior who had been used mostly as a reliever, did an admirable job of taking Schaefer's place. The Thunderbirds won two of four against Lewis-Clark State, who eventually won the NAIA championship and had eight players drafted, and one more signed as a free agent. However, an embarassing late-season fade and an two-and-barbecue result in the Region I tournament left the Birds with a record of 21-20 for 2007, and they didn't have a player drafted for the first time since 2000.

UBC had what appeared to be an excellent recruiting year, but it turned out to be too good. One of the signees, RHP Mitch Hodge, was drafted in the fourth round. He had been projected to go in the twelth round, and he wasted no time in signing with the Royals. Another signee, outfielder Cody Phipps, was drafted by the Astros, and he turned pro, too.

So, UBC Head Coach Terry McKaig got on the phone, and landed Taylor King, who was playing for the BC Ballers of the Pacific International League. (One of his teammates with the Ballers was the aforementioned Shawn Schaefer.) King had already been approached by Lewis-Clark State and Cumberland, another NAIA power, but he had been hoping to hear from McKaig.

King's collegiate career started at Cal State-Northridge, but arm trouble and surgery landed him at Pierce College, where he did well. During the summer, he also pitched for the Nanaimo Coal Miners. They won the Western Canada championship, and one of his teammates was UBC sophomore Mark Hardy, who was the starter for both of those wins against Lewis-Clark State, and also did very well in France. Hardy allowed only one run in 10 1/3 innings of work.

The Thunderbirds will start the 2008 season on February 14, at NAIA Fresno Pacific. They have been doing a February California tour for several years. In the past, they have been able to schedule several Division I teams. They couldn't do this in 2008 because of the new rule that prohibits D-I teams from playing prior to February 22. Instead, the Thunderbirds will play a mixture of NAIA and Division III teams.

A complete video of the fifth game, in Windows Media Player format, is available here.

Steve Bray named head coach of Concordia-Irvine

Steve Bray has been named the new head coach of the Concordia-Irvine baseball program for the 2007-2008 season. Bray has spent the last three seasons as the pitching coach for the Eagles. He brings a strong background including pitching with San Mateo for two seasons before transferring to South Carolina for his junior season. His appointment should give the Eagles a presence in California since he is from the area originally. Thanks to the members of The UBC Thunderbird Baseball Fan Page for the information.

2008 Indiana Baseball Schedule Released

The Indiana Hoosiers have released their 2008 schedule which is highlighted with the opening series at LSU, taking part in the Austin Peay tournament, and heading to Fresno State over spring break to play six games. They will play a full Big Ten schedule this year missing out on a series with Ohio State which should bode well since Ohio State made the NCAA tournament in 2007. The full schedule is available here.

Oregon strikes gold

The University of Oregon introduced George Horton as its new baseball coach on Saturday, having reached agreement with the two-time national coach of the year who led Cal State-Fullerton to six trips to the College World Series in 11 seasons, including the national championship in 2004.

"The gold standard," director of athletics Pat Kilkenny said of Horton, who has a career record of 490-212-1.

"The bottom line is that the University of Oregon has immediate credibility as a baseball program. President (Dave) Frohnmayer said if you do it, be the best you can be and get the best you can get, and there's no doubt we did get the No. 1 coach in America."

The details of the agreement: A five-year contract that runs through June 30, 2012, subject to state approval, at $400,000 per year - a base salary of $150,000 per year and an additional $250,000 per year in guaranteed income derived in part from Oregon's contracts with the Oregon Sports Network and Nike.

RegisterGuard.com

Oregon.Scout.com