Personnel Breakdown Onward and Upward Notre Dame baseball program looks to build on historic 2001 season, led by Top Returners veteran core of position players and the nation’s top-ranked freshman class. Steve Stanley (Sr., CF) Prior to the Notre • BIG EAST Player of the Year (’01) Dame baseball program’s 2002 • Career: .363, 84 SB, 179 R 1998 fall season, head • 2001: .400, 31 SB, 32 RBI, 76 R coach Paul Mainieri made
Outlook Brian Stavisky (Jr., LF) a one-time decision that • Second Team All-BIG EAST (’01) he has yet to repeat in his • Career: .338, 24 HR, 111 RBI, 34 2B eight years at the helm of • 2001: .386, 10 HR, 66 RBI, 19 2B the Irish program. Mainieri decided to Steve Sollmann (So., 2B) play a game at Michigan • First Team All-BIG EAST (’01) State during that • 2001: .362, 5 HR, 36 RBI, 9 2B upcoming fall season – Paul O’Toole (Sr., C/3B) even though he knew it • Second Team All-BIG EAST (’01) would count against the • Career: .314, 20 HR, 113 RBI, 43 SB 56 games his team • 2001: .323, 4 HR, 35 RBI, 15 SB would be permitted to play the following Top Players Lost spring. The reason Aaron Heilman (Sr., RHP) behind his decision was • Four-Year All-American simple: the 1998 Irish • Career: 43-7, 2.49 ERA, 425 Ks team had lost several • 2001: 15-0, 1.74 ERA, 111 Ks veterans to graduation Senior centerfielder Steve Stanley leads a veteran core of position and the professional players into the 2002 season for head coach Paul Mainieri and the Alec Porzel (Sr., SS) draft, many of them rest of the Irish coaching staff. • First Team All-BIG EAST (’01) from key positions, and • Career: .311, 37 HR, 217 RBI, 32 SB several members of the large incoming class what Notre Dame baseball is all about and they • 2001: .295, 8 HR, 59 RBI, 6 SB likely would be facing the challenge of start- have shown that special leadership from day Danny Tamayo (Sr., RHP) ing as freshmen in the ’99 season. one. Of course, now they are experienced and • First team All-BIG EAST (‘01) The newcomers included darting center- battle-tested – and they appreciate the impor- • Career: 12-5, 3.27, 141 Ks fielder Steve Stanley, hard-nosed catcher Paul tant things like what it takes to get ready for a • 2001: 8-3, 2.72 ERA, 106 Ks O’Toole and a third baseman, Andrew Bushey, college season. who had a game’s-worth of dirt across his uni- “They will be ready for the task at hand and Top Newcomers form by the start of the third inning. Several the younger kids will feed off that ... and Matt Macri (Fr., SS/RHP) other freshmen played key roles that day and they’ll learn from it as well. • Clive, IA (Dowling HS) went on to be important contributors during Stanley, O’Toole and Bushey each are heading • Nation’s #2-rated freshman prospect the next three seasons as the Notre Dame pro- into their fourth season as starters, with the • 2001: .465, 10 HR, 65 RBI gram took its place among the nation’s elite. other returning regulars including junior out- Three years later, most of those freshmen fielders Brian Stavisky and Kris Billmaier and Chris Niesel (Fr., RHP) remain and they are part of an eight-member the rightside infield tandem of sophomore sec- • Plantation, FL (Aquinas HS) senior class that already has combined for 744 ond baseman Steve Sollmann and his class- • First Team All-American (’01) career starts on the college level. mate Joe Thaman at first base – with seniors • 2001: 13-0, 0.35 ERA, 120 Ks/11 BB, 81 IP The fall of 2001 likewise held major signifi- Matt Bok and Ken Meyer again slated to split Grant Johnson (Fr., RHP) cance for another Notre Dame freshman class, as the DH duties. • Burr Ridge, IL (Lyons Township HS) the current group of 13 newcomers was ranked Three of the returners – team captains Bushey • Member of U.S. Junior National Team by Baseball America as the nation’s top recruit- and Stanley, along with Sollmann – were first • 2001: 12-1, 0.70 ERA, 120 Ks/17 BB, 91 IP ing class. And thus the convergence of those team all-BIG EAST performers a year ago, with two groups forms the basis for high expectations Stanley earning BIG EAST co-player of the year as the Irish head into their 2002 and All-America honors. Stavisky and O’Toole opener ranked as high as third were named second team all-BIG EAST in 2001 in the nation (the highest pre- while Bok was a third-team selection, as was season ranking in the program’s pitcher J.P. Gagne – who combines with fellow history). junior righthander Pete Ogilvie as Notre Dame’s “It would be very fulfilling top returning pitchers from the 2001 staff that for this senior class to go out finished fifth in the nation with a 3.22 team ERA. with another great season – and The Irish offense returns its top five leaders that includes contending for a in batting average from 2001 while seven of the spot in the College World eight starting position players – plus the senior Series,” says Mainieri., whose DH tandem of Bok and Meyer – likewise return. squad is set to return 16 of 21 The offense returns 85% of its hits, 82% of the letterwinners but must replace RBI and 81% of the home runs (33 of 41) from one of the nation’s top pitching the 2001 squad that finished 26th in the nation duos, All-American Aaron with a .322 team batting average (the returners Heilman and first team all-BIG also accounted for 91% of the stolen bases, 84 EAST performer Danny Tamayo, of 92, and 86% of the walks in 2001). while the only position starter The loss of Heilman and Tamayo leaves a lost is shortstop Alec Porzel (a returning group of pitchers that started less 2002 four-year starter at three differ- than half of the 2001 games (30 of 63) and reg- ent positions who owns many of istered just 26 of the 49 wins (also 47%). The BASEBALL the Notre Dame and BIG EAST eight returning pitchers accounted for 49% of Junior Peter Ogilvie could emerge as the No. 1 starter, after career records). the innings, 43% of the strikeouts and all eight an impressive debut season in 2001. “This senior class epitomizes saves from a year ago.