Nu signs 8 for baseball

Benard · November 19, 2004

With a 43-man roster that includes 14 players who saw action last season, Nebraska Baseball Coach Mike Anderson can only speculate about the direction his team is headed next spring.

He knows his pitching staff is deep, with 20 players vying for no more than 12 regular spots. And Anderson is aware that Nebraska must fight through inexperience nearly everywhere but on its infield.

On Friday, the Huskers announced an eight-man recruiting class, two days after the weeklong fall signing period concluded. NU signed four-junior college players, including All-America catcher Jesse Shriner of Lamar (Colo.) Community College.

Ralston right-hander Mike Nihsen, an All-Nebraska selection as a junior, is the only pitcher in the class.

"The thing I like," Anderson said, "is that we were very specific. It's like we were recruiting for a lineup, not just to get the best players. We wanted the right kids, and we were very selective."

Shriner hit .432 with 10 home runs, 82 RBIs and 22 stolen bases in a wooden-bat junior-college league. Infielder Steve Edlesfsen of Barton County (Kan.) CC, was a 41st-round draft pick of the Boston Red Sox last spring, and outfielder Nick Jaros of Maple Woods (Mo.) CC stole 40 bases last season as a freshman.

The Huskers signed a pair of catchers, Anderson said, because projected starter Adam Moore, a junior, looks like a candidate to leave school a year early for professional baseball. NU missed on big-time catching prospect Brent Milleville of Wichita, Kan., who signed with Stanford.

Anderson said Nebraska identified Nihsen, who finished 5-2 last spring for Ralston, as the top high school prospect in the state. He picked the Huskers over Creighton.

• Steve Edlefsen (infielder, 6-foot-2, 175 pounds, Bloomington Minn., Barton County, Kan., CC); Luke Gorsett (outfielder, 6-3, 205, Denver, Garden City, Kan., CC); Andrew Gudmunson (infielder, 6-5, 205, Minot, N.D.); Jeff Lanning (catcher, 5-11, 195, Ankeny, Iowa); John Lee (outfielder, 5-11, 175, Mason City, Iowa); Nick Jaros (outfielder, 6-1, 200, Platte City, Mo., Maple Woods, Mo., CC); Mike Nihsen (right-hander pitcher, 6-2, 180, Ralston); Jesse Shriner (catcher, 6-0, 195, Littleton, Colo., Lamar, Colo., CC)