The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
2011 UAB Baseball Season Preview: Outfielders
2/14/2011 12:00:00β―AM | Baseball
Feb. 14, 2011
With the 2011 UAB baseball season just days away, uabsports.com provides a look at this year's Blazer team.
This is the first in a three-part series of previews and features the UAB outfield. Check back Tuesday for a look at the Blazer infield and Wednesday for a preview of the UAB pitchers and catchers.
UAB opens its season Friday in Auburn, Ala., with a 2 p.m. contest against 13th-ranked Virginia. It is the first of three games for the Blazers at the Auburn Tournament.
Outfielders
The 2011 UAB outfield features a pair of established players and an exciting group of talented newcomers.
Preseason all-conference center fielder Jamal Austin is back for his junior season as the foundation of the UAB outfield. A second-team all-league performer last season, Austin emerged as one of the top players in Conference USA both offensively and defensively.
Austin's team-best .364 batting average was good, but his .418 mark in conference play (fourth-best in C-USA) was even better. He continued to create headaches for the opponents on the base paths, leading C-USA with 28 steals and being thrown out just five times. Austin also put that speed to use in the outfield, covering lots of ground and taking would-be hits away from opposing batters.
"I'm sure everybody likes their center fielder," UAB head coach Brian Shoop said. "We love our center fielder, and I would take him over anybody in the league. I think he is a game-changer in every aspect. I think he's great defensively, and he takes a lot of hits from our opponents and turns them into outs for us. He has tremendous hand-eye coordination, he's a very good hitter, and he is just dynamic on the bases."
The Blazers also feature experience in right field with the return of sophomore Ryan Ussery. As a freshman last season, Ussery started 46 games and hit for a .275 average. He also has the speed to affect the game on both sides of the ball as he went 10-for-12 on steal attempts in his rookie campaign.
While returning players fill the spots in center and right, whichever player gets the nod as the opening day starter in left field will be someone new to the UAB program.
The Blazer outfield will eventually include highly touted freshman Ivan De Jesus from Puerto Rico, but an injury will sideline him for at least the early part of the season.
De Jesus was selected in the sixth round of last year's Major League Baseball draft by the Chicago Cubs but opted to enroll at UAB instead of signing a professional contract. He put up big numbers as a high schooler in Puerto Rico and led his national team to the Big League Baseball World Series title this past summer.
With De Jesus out, UAB likely will look to three junior college transfers - Coy Arrowood, Ryan Nance and Michael Busby -- in the left field spot.
Arrowood joins the Blazers after two seasons at Shelton State Community College in Alabama. He provides the UAB lineup with another strong defender and speedy player in the outfield after being caught stealing just twice in 27 attempts over his two junior college seasons.
Nance and Busby played together in 2010 at Hinds Community College, where they teamed to win a Mississippi state championship. Both players can also pitch and play in the infield. Nance hit .340 and scored 28 runs last year at Hinds, while Busby hit .324 and drove in 40 runs.
Another newcomer, Ryan Prinzing, will also provide depth in the outfield. The product of Oswego High School in Illinois was a three-time all-area selection.
Those newcomers are part of a large group of 18 new players on this year's UAB team that will look to build on the success of back-to-back winning years.
"You're going see a lot of new guys making an impact on our team," Shoop said. "We just like who they are, how they work and how they carry themselves. It's a good group that we're proud to go into the year with."
