Alex Gordon Season 2003

Honors & Awards

• 2005 First-Round MLB Draft Pick (K.C. Royals)
• 2005 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Winner
• 2005 Xanthus Dick Howser Trophy Winner
• 2005 Brooks Wallace Award Winner
• 2005 ABCA National Player of the Year
• 2005 Baseball America National Player of the Year
• 2005 ESPY Award Finalist for Male College Athlete of the Year
• 2005 Omaha World-Herald Ware Award Winner
• 2005 Lincoln Journal Star Husker Athlete of the Year
• Two-time NCBWA District VI Player of the Year
• Two-time First-Team All-American (ABCA, Collegiate Baseball, Sports Weekly, Baseball America, NCBWA)
• Two-time Big 12 Player of the Year (Coaches)
• Two-time Howser Award Finalist
• Two-time ABCA All-Midwest Region Team
• Two-Time Big 12 All-Tournament Team
• 2005 NCAA Lincoln Regional All-Tournament Team
• 2005 Big 12 All-Tournament Team
• 2005 Husker Power Lifter of the Year
• 2004 First-Team Summer All-American (Baseball America)
• 2004 U.S. National Team Member
• 2004 Dairy Queen Classic All-Tournament Team
• 2004 Husker Power Lifter of the Year Finalist
• 2003 Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American
• 2003 Big 12 Freshman of the Year (Waco Tribune)
• 2003 Honorable-Mention All-Big 12 (Coaches)
• Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll (Spring 2004)

2005: A career .355 hitter in three seasons at Nebraska, Gordon finished his Husker career in the top 10 in eight offensive categories: total bases (447, third); homers (44, fourth); RBIs (189, fourth); doubles (53, fourth); runs (188, eighth); hits (249, ninth); slugging percentage (.657, ninth) and triples (11, 10th). Gordon played every game of his final two seasons at NU and closed his career with 171 consecutive starts. The Lincoln, Neb., native capped his career by becoming the No. 2 overall pick by the Kansas City Royals in June of 2005. His selection was the highest by a Husker since Darin Erstad was tabbed No. 1 by the Anaheim (now Los Angeles) Angels 10 years earlier. Gordon is the highest draft pick in Big 12 baseball history.

In his final season at Nebraska, Gordon led the Huskers to a sweep of the Big 12 regular-season and tournament titles, hitting .372 with 19 homers, 66 RBIs and 23 stolen bases. A two-time Big 12 Player of the Year, Gordon led the conference in six categories, and ranked among the league leaders in all 12 offensive categories. He became the first player since Baylor’s Jason Jennings to repeat as Big 12 Player of the Year.

2004: Gordon enjoyed one of the most prolific offensive seasons in school history en route to unanimous first-team All-America honors, the first Husker player to do so since current KC Royal Ken Harvey in 1999 • Topped NU in nearly every offensive category and was among the national leaders in homers (25th) and RBIs (11th) per game along with slugging percentage (.754, ninth) • Ranked in the top four of the Big 12 in nine offensive categories, leading the circuit in slugging percentage (.754), on-base percentage (.493) and triples (five), while ranking second in homers, third in RBIs and walks (47) and fourth in total bases, runs scored and batting average • Big 12 Player of the Year who was one of the best clutch hitters in the league, batting .387 with runners in scoring position and driving in a team-high 27 runs in two-out situations • Paced NU with 24 multi-hit games and 20 multi-RBI games while ranking second on the squad with eight game-winning RBIs • Reached safely in 56 of 59 games and went hitless in consecutive games only three times all season • Played every inning in Big 12 play, hitting .297 with six homers and 20 RBIs • Played in 520 of a possible 524 innings during the entire 2004 season • Opened 2004 with a bang, belting two homers and driving in a career-best five runs against Northwestern on Feb. 19 • Selected to the Dairy Queen Classic All-Tournament team in the Metrodome, hitting .455 (5-for-11) with four doubles, including a school-record tying three vs. West Virginia on March 7, and four RBIs • Tied a career high with five RBIs vs. New Mexico on April 6, including a grand slam • Sparked NU’s win over No. 10 Wichita State on April 13 by going 3-for-4 with a homer and four RBIs • Hit .417 (5-for-12) at Missouri, including a four-RBI contest (4/17) • Went 3-for-4 with a homer, four RBIs and three runs vs. Northern Colorado on April 28 • Batted .500 (5-for-10) with two RBIs in a three-game series at No. 21 Oklahoma State • Closed the year with a homer and three RBIs against No. 1 Texas in the Big 12 Tournament on May 28.

2003: Gordon proved to be one of the Big 12’s top freshmen, helping NU win 47 games and the Big 12 regular-season title • Finished his initial campaign with a .319 average, seven homers and 48 RBIs in 62 contests • Named a Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball and the Waco Tribune’s Big 12 Freshman of the Year • Proved to be one of the league’s top clutch hitters, pacing the Huskers in hitting with runners in scoring position (.416) and with two outs (.354) with 22 RBIs • Tied for the team lead with 13 doubles while also ranking among the team leaders in walks (29, second), homers (third), RBIs (third) hits (69, fourth) and runs scored (45, fourth) • Reached safely in 56 of his 61 contests, including a season-long 12-game hitting streak from March 21 to April 8 • Recorded 19 multiple-hit games, including a trio of three-hit efforts, while ranking third on the team with a .426 on-base percentage • Started all 27 Big 12 games, hitting .299 with four homers and 24 RBIs, while three of his homers in league play either tied games or gave NU the lead for good • Enjoyed his best Big 12 series at Kansas, going 5-for-10 with a homer, six RBIs and five runs scored • Sparked the Huskers to the win in the series finale over the Jayhawks with his first-inning grand slam on April 5 • Was the lone Husker selected to the Big 12 all-tournament team, going 9-for-20 with a homer and nine RBIs in four contests • Tied season highs in both hits (three) and RBIs (four) in NU’s second-round win over Baylor, including a decisive three-run triple • Was 6-for-22 at the NCAA Regional, highlighted by a two-hit, three-run performance in an elimination-game victory over Eastern Michigan on May 31.

Lincoln Southeast High School: Gordon wrapped up one of the finest careers in Nebraska high school baseball history playing for Coach Randy Brolhorst at Lincoln Southeast High School • Started all four seasons at Southeast, hitting .483 with 25 homers and 112 RBIs during his high school career • Was a three-time first-team All-Nebraska selection by both the Omaha World-Herald and Lincoln Journal Star and was named one of the nation’s top 100 seniors by Baseball America • Chosen as the Gatorade Nebraska Player of the Year in 2002, after finishing second in the state with a .500 average and 31 RBIs • Led Southeast to a state tournament appearance as a junior in 2001, topping the state in hitting (.597), doubles (17) and homers (10), while also ranking among the state leaders in hits (46), runs scored (39) and RBIs (30) • Earned first-team all-state honors in football (defensive back) as a senior, as he led the state with seven interceptions. while averaging 20 yards per catch and 35 yards on kickoff returns • Chosen as the Omaha World-Herald’s Male High School Athlete of the Year in 2001, becoming the only junior in the 52 years of the award program to earn the prestigious honor • Selected NU over Baylor and Tennessee.

Personal: Born on Feb. 10, 1984, in Lincoln • Parents are Leslie and Mike Gordon • Has three brothers (Eric, Brett and Derek) • Is a pre-criminal justice major at Nebraska • Comes from a family rich in baseball tradition, as both his father (Mike, Nebraska) and older brother (Eric, Nebraska-Omaha) played collegiate baseball, while his grandfather (Charlie) was the longtime coach at Lincoln Southeast.