Personal
Parents are James and Shirlynn ... married to Shauna Nielsen ... served a Church mission to Santiago, Chile ... majoring in sociology.
At BYU
SENIOR: Brings an 11-game current hitting streak into the season. JUNIOR: Selected to the All-Tournament at NCAA Regional in Los Angeles and to the All-Mountain West Tournament Team ... honored as a scholar-athlete by the Cougar Club ... played some at third and first base, but primarily as a designated hitter ... led off the ninth with a home run to right field to ice the game for the Cougars in a 6-4 victory which forced game two of the MWC Championship against San Diego State ... belted the game-winning home run with a two-run blast in the seventh inning of an 8-6 victory over UNLV in Provo.
Before BYU
Was team MVP at Scripps Ranch High ... was All-Western League ... lettered in golf ... coached by Roger Engle.
Other College
Defensive Player of the Year for the Scenic West Conference at Ricks College ... two-time All-Region 18 and two-time team MVP ... hit 26 career home runs ... coached by Jerry Schleglemilch.
Stats
Year Avg. G-GS AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB SO
2002 .282 51-45 174 35 49 10 1 8 31 85 16 36
2003 .330 52-53 203 45 67 18 1 9 44 114 18 24
Selected to the All-Tournament at NCAA Regional in Los Angeles and to the All-Mountain West Tournament Team ... honored as a scholar-athlete by the Cougar Club ... played some at third and first base, but primarily as a designated hitter ... led off the ninth with a home run to right field to ice the game for the Cougars in a 6-4 victory which forced game two of the MWC Championship against San Diego State ... belted the game-winning home run with a two-run blast in the seventh inning of an 8-6 victory over UNLV in Provo.
Brought an 11-game hitting streak into the season ... had a 14-game streak mid-season and ended the year leading the team with a nine-game streak ... Mountain West Conference Player of the Week vs. Utah for his performance in Salt Lake City ... went 6-for-14 (.429) from the plate in that series against Utah ... posted his best performance of the series at Utah in game two, going 3-for-4 with a home run, a double and three RBI ... in the series at Salt Lake City he totaled seven RBI, three doubles and a home run ... hit a grand slam in a 17-2 victory over Air Force at Provo.