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Shortstop leaving Huskers
OWH
LINCOLN — Two-year Nebraska starting shortstop Ben Kline, a former dual-sport standout from Omaha Central, is leaving the baseball program.
Kline started 82 games in 2008 and 2009 but saw his offensive production slide after a promising freshman season.
“I feel the same about the school,” Kline said Monday. “I like it, but I don’t think I fit in well. Everybody’s going to hit a wall at some point, but I don’t think I ever got to that point that met my expectations.
“There’s a lot more that I can improve on offensively and defensively.”
Kline’s decision surprised Mike Anderson, the coach said. Kline contacted Anderson to request a scholarship release last week from Wilmington, N.C., where Kline is playing this summer in the Coastal Plains League.
“Ben’s going to take off,” Anderson said. “That’s all I know. It’s different from what he said a couple weeks ago. It’s always disappointing for both sides, but you move on. You absolutely move on.”
Kline started 34 games this spring as a sophomore and hit .242 with 15 RBIs. He tied for the team lead with three triples and cut in half his strikeout total over 2008. But his on-base percentage of .296 ranked lowest on the team among players with more than 20 starts, and the 6-foot-3 Kline did not homer in 298 career at-bats.
“I had different thoughts on how things would go,” Kline said. “I don’t think that I improved the way I wanted to in the program. Growing up in Nebraska and being around Nebraska baseball your whole life, it grows on you. Obviously, this is not an easy decision.”
He was a cornerstone of Nebraska’s class of 10 recruits signed in the fall of 2006 — a group that has not materialized as NU hoped.
From the class, three players never appeared in uniform, including two who were drafted and signed professional contracts. Kline is the third to leave school, following Clay Cuno and heralded prospect David Stewart.
Tyler Rank is injured and out of the game. Elkhorn graduate Matt Freeman is returning from surgery. And Dan Johnston of Papillion-La Vista is away from the team, though he has a “welcome invitation” to return, Anderson said.
Kline twice earned All-Nebraska honors at Central and helped the Eagles to their first state tournament in more than two decades as a senior in 2007, hitting .458 with six homers. He also played four seasons of varsity basketball and averaged double-figure point totals on Central’s Class A-title teams in 2006 and 2007.
Baseball America rated Kline as the No. 2 high school prospect in Nebraska in 2007.
He said he’s unsure of his transfer plans. Kline is required to sit out next season at a Division I school and would have two years to play two seasons, starting in 2011.
Nebraska is left with Kyle Bubak as its top returning candidate to play shortstop. Bubak hit .277 in 41 games in his first season at Nebraska. The Huskers finished last in the Big 12 and 25-28-1 overall, missing the NCAA postseason for the second time in 11 years.
Anderson said he expects a competitive situation at shortstop, with four players who’ve played the position among Nebraska’s class of recruits.
OWH
LINCOLN — Two-year Nebraska starting shortstop Ben Kline, a former dual-sport standout from Omaha Central, is leaving the baseball program.
Kline started 82 games in 2008 and 2009 but saw his offensive production slide after a promising freshman season.
“I feel the same about the school,” Kline said Monday. “I like it, but I don’t think I fit in well. Everybody’s going to hit a wall at some point, but I don’t think I ever got to that point that met my expectations.
“There’s a lot more that I can improve on offensively and defensively.”
Kline’s decision surprised Mike Anderson, the coach said. Kline contacted Anderson to request a scholarship release last week from Wilmington, N.C., where Kline is playing this summer in the Coastal Plains League.
“Ben’s going to take off,” Anderson said. “That’s all I know. It’s different from what he said a couple weeks ago. It’s always disappointing for both sides, but you move on. You absolutely move on.”
Kline started 34 games this spring as a sophomore and hit .242 with 15 RBIs. He tied for the team lead with three triples and cut in half his strikeout total over 2008. But his on-base percentage of .296 ranked lowest on the team among players with more than 20 starts, and the 6-foot-3 Kline did not homer in 298 career at-bats.
“I had different thoughts on how things would go,” Kline said. “I don’t think that I improved the way I wanted to in the program. Growing up in Nebraska and being around Nebraska baseball your whole life, it grows on you. Obviously, this is not an easy decision.”
He was a cornerstone of Nebraska’s class of 10 recruits signed in the fall of 2006 — a group that has not materialized as NU hoped.
From the class, three players never appeared in uniform, including two who were drafted and signed professional contracts. Kline is the third to leave school, following Clay Cuno and heralded prospect David Stewart.
Tyler Rank is injured and out of the game. Elkhorn graduate Matt Freeman is returning from surgery. And Dan Johnston of Papillion-La Vista is away from the team, though he has a “welcome invitation” to return, Anderson said.
Kline twice earned All-Nebraska honors at Central and helped the Eagles to their first state tournament in more than two decades as a senior in 2007, hitting .458 with six homers. He also played four seasons of varsity basketball and averaged double-figure point totals on Central’s Class A-title teams in 2006 and 2007.
Baseball America rated Kline as the No. 2 high school prospect in Nebraska in 2007.
He said he’s unsure of his transfer plans. Kline is required to sit out next season at a Division I school and would have two years to play two seasons, starting in 2011.
Nebraska is left with Kyle Bubak as its top returning candidate to play shortstop. Bubak hit .277 in 41 games in his first season at Nebraska. The Huskers finished last in the Big 12 and 25-28-1 overall, missing the NCAA postseason for the second time in 11 years.
Anderson said he expects a competitive situation at shortstop, with four players who’ve played the position among Nebraska’s class of recruits.
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