University of Minnesota Athletics
Nick O'Shea Inks Deal With Cincinnati Reds
6/12/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
University of Minnesota junior first baseman Nick O'Shea was the second Gophers player taken in this year's Major League Baseball Draft, selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the 24th Round. On Saturday, he became the third player to sign a Minor League contract.
A native of Blaine, Minn. (Centennial HS), O'Shea was drafted by the Reds with the 24th pick in the 24th round (745th overall) on Tuesday afternoon, and he received a signing bonus to begin his professional baseball career.
O'Shea, a 6-foot-3, 225-pound right-handed batter, earned Third Team All-Big Ten honors this season after batting .299 (49-for-164) with team-leading totals of 10 doubles, seven home runs, 34 runs batted in, and a .500 slugging percentage.
He started 44 games for the Gophers this season, 37 at first base and seven behind the plate. Reportedly, the Reds are going to take a look at him as a catching prospect.
O'Shea batted .300 (6-for-20) with a team-high seven RBI, three runs scored, one double, and a home run at last month's Big Ten Baseball Tournament.
As a sophomore in 2010, O'Shea was named First Team All-Big Ten after leading the team with a .360 batting average, along with team-highs of 60 RBI and 13 home runs.
In his first season with the Gophers, O'Shea was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team, Collegiate Baseball Magazine's Freshmen All-America Team, as well as earning All-Big Ten Tournament accolades. He batted .287 that season, with 11 home runs, 44 RBI and 13 doubles.
O'Shea also stands out in the classroom, where he earned First Team Academic All-District V recognition the past two seasons as a mechanical engineering major.
For his career, O'Shea belted 31 home runs and drove in 138 runs for the Gophers.
O'Shea joins teammates AJ Pettersen, a 25th-round selection of the Minnesota Twins, and Justin Gominsky, an 11th-round pick of the Houston Astros, as Gopher draft picks who have signed Minor League contracts.
