The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
2008 Baseball Roster
Roster
Kyle Russell
- Position:
- OF
- Height:
- 6-5
- Weight:
- 185
- Class:
- Junior
- Hometown:
- Tomball, Texas
- High School:
- Tomball
The nation[apos]s premier power hitter ... two-year starter in rightfield for the Horns ... a five-tool player who has great instincts, both at the plate and in the field ... has power to all fields ... owns one of the best arms in collegiate baseball.
SOPHOMORE (2007)
2007 HONORS
· USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Finalist
· Dick Howser Trophy Finalist
· Wallace Award Finalist
· First-team All-American - Louisville Slugger/Collegiate Baseball
· First-team All-American - Baseball America
· First-team All-American - ABCA/Rawlings
· First-team All-American - Pro-Line Athletics/NCBWA
· First-team ABCA All-Midwest Region (unanimous)
· District VII Player of the Year
· Big 12 Conference Player of the Year
· First-team All-Big 12 Conference
· Big 12 Conference Player of the Week (2/12)
· Big 12 Conference Player of the Week (5/23)
2007 SEASON
· Started all 63 games in rightfield for the Horns.
· Led the nation with 28 home runs and ranked seventh in slugging percentage (.807).
· Batted .336 (75-for-223) with 11 doubles, five triples, 28 home runs, 71 RBI and 10 stolen bases.
· Led the Big 12 in home runs (28), total bases (180) and slugging percentage (.807) and ranked second in triples (5), third in runs (68), RBI (71) and walks (46) and seventh in on-base percentage (.456).
· Broke Jeff Ontiveros[apos] UT single-season home run record of 20.
· Had six two-home run games on the season, including three in league action.
· Led Texas with 20 multi-RBI games and added 22 multi-hit efforts.
· Batted .297 (30-for-101) in 27 Big 12 Conference games with 14 home runs and 33 RBI.
· His 14 home runs in Big 12 action were six more than the nearest competitor.
· Also led Big 12 in RBI (33), slugging percentage (.752) and total bases (76) in league games.
· Went a combined 4-for-13 (.308) in Big 12 Tournament action with a triple, three RBI and two runs scored.
2007 HIGHLIGHTS
· Hit his first home run of the season against UT Arlington (2/6), going 3-for-3 with two runs, one double, one homer, one stolen base and three RBI.
· Tamed pitcher-friendly Blair Field, going 3-for-4 with two home runs, three runs and four RBI against Long Beach State (2/9).
· Hit 2-for-3 with two walks, one double, two runs and three RBI against UT Pan American (2/13).
· Went 2-for-4 with two home runs, two runs and two RBI in series opener versus Stanford (2/16).
· Hit 2-for-2 with two walks, one triple, one home run and three runs scored in series opener against Oral Roberts (3/2).
· Batted .583 (7-of-12) with one double, three home runs, four runs and six RBI in three-game series versus Miami of Ohio (3/9-11).
· Went 3-for-4 with two solo home runs in series opener vs. the Red Hawks (3/9).
· Hit 2-for-5 with one home run and four RBI in second game against Miami (3/10).
· Opened up Big 12 Conference Play with seven home runs in the first seven games.
· Batted .417 (5-for-12) with two walks, four home runs, six runs and seven RBI in Big 12 season-opening series against Baylor (3/16-18).
· Hit 2-for-5 with one home run, two runs and three RBI in second game versus the Bears (3/17).
· Went 2-for-3 with two home runs, three runs and three RBI in series finale at Baylor (3/18).
· Hit two home runs, scored three runs and drove in four in three-game series against Kansas State (3/23-25).
· Hit a solo home run in UT[apos]s home win over No. 8 Rice (3/27).
· Batted 2-for-4 with a solo home run in series opener versus No. 17 Oklahoma (3/30).
· Logged two home runs, four runs and six RBI in three-game series at Kansas (4/5-7).
· Went 2-for-5 with two home runs and four RBI in series finale against the Jayhawks (4/7).
· Batted .385 (5-for-13) with four runs and three RBI in sweep of Texas Tech (4/13-15).
· Tied UT single-season HR record with No. 20 against Rice (4/17).
· Batted .667 (6-for-9) with two home runs, three runs and five RBI in the final two games of a three-game series at Nebraska (4/21-22).
· Hit for the cycle and went 4-for-5 with three runs and five RBI in win over UT Pan American (4/24).
· Went 2-for-4 with two home runs, three runs and two RBI in series opener versus Missouri (5/4).
· Went 2-for-4 with one triple, three runs and two RBI against Kansas State in first game of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship (5/23).
· Hit 1-for-2 with three walks, one home run and two runs against Brown in the first game of the NCAA Regional (6/1).
· Roamed the outfield for Coach Bill Pintard[apos]s Santa Barbara Foresters of the California Collegiate League, helping the team to a CCL title and a fourth-place finish at the National Baseball Congress World Series.
· Hit .247 with four home runs, 23 runs, 22 RBI and 10 stolen bases in 29 games for the Foresters.
FRESHMAN (2006)
2006 HONORS
· First-team Freshman All-American - Collegiate Baseball
· Second-team All-Freshman Team - Baseball America
2006 SEASON
· Started 48 of the 55 games in which he played either in right field (35), at first base (5) or as the team[apos]s designated hitter (8).
· Hit .276 overall and was second on the club in home runs (10) while boasting the third-highest RBI (42) and slugging (.546) totals on the club.
· Became the first UT freshman to hit 10 or more home runs in one season since J.D. Reininger hit 13 round-trippers in 2002.
· Ranked among the top five on the team in runs (35 - 5th), triples (3 - 4th), total bases (89 - t5th), sacrifice flies (4 - 1st) and steals (8 - 3rd).
· Owned 11 multi-hit games and 12 multi-RBI outings, which ranked third on the squad. Also put together a career-long, 11-game hit streak.
· Ranked third on the team with 21 two-out RBI and accounted for four game-winning RBI.
· Played in all 26 Big 12 games, including 23 starts.
· Tied for third among league players with seven steals during Big 12 competition.
· Tied for the league and team lead with seven home runs in Big 12 play.
· Finished conference play positioned among the top five on the team in slugging (.506 - 4th), runs (18 - 4th), RBI (17 - 3rd), home runs (t1st), total bases (41 - 5th) and stolen bases (t2nd).
· Went a combined 4-for-13 (.308) in Big 12 Tournament action with a triple, three RBI and two runs scored.
2006 HIGHLIGHTS
· Delivered a walk-off, two-out, two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth as a pinch-hitter to lift Texas to a 5-4 win over No. 2 Rice (2/11) at the Houston College Classic. The home run was the first of his career and came in only his second career at-bat.
· Recorded a pair of two-hit outings at No. 11 Stanford (2/18 & 20).
· Combined for nine hits in 14 at-bats (.643) while accounting for five runs scored, 15 total bases for 1.071 slugging percentage and nine RBI during Texas[apos] five games between Feb. 20-26 en route to being tabbed the Phillips 66 Big 12 Player and the NCBWA National Hitter of the Week on March 28. He also set individual game career bests for runs (3 vs. Villanova on 2/24), hits (3 vs. Villanova on 2/26) and RBI (4 vs. Villanova on 2/26) in that five-game span.
· Went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a pair of RBI at No. 3 Rice (3/7).
· Tallied two RBI against No. 11 Arizona State (3/14).
· Posted a double and a home run during a 2-for-5 effort versus Oklahoma State (3/24), in which he also scored twice and tallied four RBI.
· Connected on a pair of home runs while accounting for two runs scored and three RBI versus Oklahoma State (3/26) to become the first UT player to hit multiple home runs in one game since May 20, 2005 (David Maroul at Texas A&M).
· Singled in one run, scored another and turned in an outstanding diving catch in right-center field to save a run at No. 14 Oklahoma (4/1).
· Went 2-for-3 with a home run, two runs scored, three RBI and two steals at No. 19 Baylor (4/13).
· Batted a combined .333 (3-for-9) with two runs scored over a three-game series with Texas A&M (4/29-5/1).
· Scored twice and tallied one RBI while homering against Kansas (5/5).
· Collected two hits in games versus Baylor (5/25) and No. 12 Nebraska (5/27) during Big 12 Tournament play.
· Roved the outfield for the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Code Baseball League under head coach Mike Roberts during summer 2006.
· Made 33 appearances, hitting .208 with eight doubles, two triples, three home runs, 14 runs and 18 RBI for the Kettleers.
HIGH SCHOOL
· A four-year letterwinner and senior captain as an outfielder for Coach Rick Lynch[apos]s Tomball (Texas) High School baseball team.
· A four-time all-district and two-time all-city and all-state (2004-05) performer for the Cougars.
· Tabbed a 2005 second-team Preseason All-American by Baseball America.
· Helped Tomball post a 26-7 overall record by hitting .470 with
career highs for home runs (15) and RBI (52) as a senior en route to being named a second-team All-American and the District 17-5A MVP.
· Assisted the Cougars in receiving a No. 1 state ranking and reaching the third round of the playoffs for a second straight year in 2005.
· Hit a career-best .524 with 35 runs scored, 50 RBI, 16 stolen bases and 10 home runs out of his 45 total hits in 2004. Also put together a 28-game hit streak during his junior campaign.
· Aided the Cougars in compiling a 31-3 record in 2004 while earning a No. 1 national ranking and reaching the third round of the playoffs.
· Named to the 2004 USA Junior National Team, where in six games he batted .368 with five runs scored and team-best totals for doubles (3), triples (1), home runs (1) and RBI (8).
· Earned his second straight all-district honor as a sophomore while also participating in the 2003 Area Code Games.
· Batted .415 with 21 RBI and 24 total hits, including four home runs, as a freshman en route to garnering first-team all-district accolades in 2002.
· Earned two letters in football as a quarterback Coach Gene Johnson (2001-02).
· Selected to play in the 2005 All-American Baseball Game in New Mexico.
· Volunteered time with special education students at Tomball High School.
· Patrolled the outfield for head coach Phil Cross[apos] Houston Heat Silver U18 baseball team during the summer of 2005 and helped the team win the Premier Baseball World Series.
PERSONAL
Born Kyle D. Russell on June 27, 1986, in Houston, Texas ... parents are Gerald and Joyce Russell ... has two older siblings, Leah and Lane ... his mother, Joyce, graduated from UT in 1973, while his dad, Gerald, graduated from the Forty Acres in 1974 ... majoring in education/youth and community studies ... has posted a perfect 4.0 this fall.
