CSN baseball inks a record eight players to D-I schools

By Dan Cabrera, Sports Information

Friday, Nov. 16, 2007

The College of Southern Nevada baseball team has always strived on having its athletes achieve excellence on and off the field.

And as we near the baseball program's 9th season, that excellence has only improved even more this season as CSN kicked off the countdown to the 2008 season by having a school-record eight players sign with Division I schools on Wednesday in the early signing period.

San Diego State was the big winner, scooping up three Coyotes, two of whom are right-handed pitchers. Sophomores Drew Leary of Sierra Vista High in Las Vegas and 2007 Scenic West Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year Tyler Lavigne (Centennial) joined sophomore shortstop Easton Gust in signing with the Aztecs.

Right-hander Colby Shreve, a Bonanza graduate, coupled up with catcher Braeden Schlehuber and signed with Arkansas. Shreve was an eighth-round draft pick by the Atlanta Braves in this year's draft.

Outfielder Brandon Trodick (Cimarron-Memorial) signed with Nevada-Reno, and outfielder Tyson Mehlhoff committed to UNLV.

Devin Shepherd, an outfielder who transferred from Oklahoma, signed with Oregon State. Shepherd played with the Sooners last season but transferred to CSN in hopes of getting drafted. Players are not eligible to be drafted at four-year schools until they are a junior, but at the junior college level, players can get drafted at any time.

Of these eight athletes, only two (Schlehuber and Lavigne) have never been drafted.

"I think all of these guys will have good enough years to be drafted again," said Coyotes head coach Tim Chambers, who guided CSN to a 41-18 record and a No. 16 finish in the national rankings last season. "I expect a lot out of these guys next year."

Lavigne, who went 8-2 with a stellar 0.79 ERA out of the bullpen last season, earned NJCAA All-American honors for his efforts. Leary went 5-4 with a 3.72 ERA, and Shreve finished 5-2 with a 2.78 ERA.

Gust was among the best defensive players in the Scenic West last year. He committed just eight errors in 59 games while batting .286 at the plate.

Chambers said he expects about three or four more players to sign with D-I schools in the near future.

In the program's nine-year history, close to 90 CSN baseball players have went on to play at the Division I level.

"We've had to sell our program as getting players ready to take the next step," Chambers said. "We know playing at CSN is not a kid's ultimate goal in baseball, but it certainly is a great steppingstone to get where you want to go."

The Coyotes open up the 2008 season on Jan. 25 against Cochise College (Ariz.) at Morse Stadium.