Classroom:Brian is a fifth-year senior who will be graduating with a degree in accounting this spring. He currently has a 3.72 grade point average and has been on the Dean's List for all nine semesters that he has been at Penn State. He won the Shorty Stoner Award last year, which is a team award given to the team member with the highest GPA. He is a three-time academic All-Big Ten selection and will likely make it four years on that team following this season.
Character:Brian is a team captain for 2008. He is a tremendous leader through his work ethic, desire, and determination. He was redshirted as a true freshman and dedicated himself to becoming better and working hard to attain his goals as a starter in the Big Ten Conference. Brian will be successful in anything that he chooses to do in life.
Competition:Brian was a third team All-Big Ten selection last year after completing his second straight season with a batting average of over .300. He is the only member of this year's team that has hit over .300 in at least two of his previous collegiate seasons and is a career .304 hitter entering this season. He has been a very versatile player throughout his career. After redshirting his freshman year, he played primarily in right and center field as a freshman and sophomore and then shifted to playing primarily center and left field last year. This year, he will be the team's starting center fielder. In addition to being a consistent .300 hitter throughout his career, he is also a solid fielder, as he has a career fielding percentage of .971, having committed just six career errors in over 200 chances.