pick 81 Eric Sogard 2B Arizona State
Player Bio: Eric Sogard :: Baseball
**2007 Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year**
2006 (Sophomore): Burst onto the scene, earning All-American honors from NCBWA (Second Team), Collegiate Baseball (Third Team) and Rivals.com (Honorable Mention)...also named First Team All Pac-10...appeared in 55 games, starting 43 in the infield and outfield...hit .353 (65-184) with 50 RBI and 47 runs scored...tied with Ike Davis for team lead with nine home runs...finished third in the Pac-10 with a .625 slugging percentage thanks to his 13 doubles and five triples...also finished fourth in the conference with a 1.057 OPS...named Pac-10 Player of the Week (4/17) thanks to a series against USC where he hit .615 (8-13) with six RBI, two homers and seven runs scored...had 18 multi-hit games, including seven with three hits...also had 13 multi-RBI games...made his outfield debut at Stanford (4/29), making several highlight reel catches...played for the Bend Elks of the West Coast Collegiate Baseball League over the summer...led the WCCBL with a .347 average (41-118)...also led the league with 38 walks and a .513 on base percentage...had a .962 OPS.
2005 (Freshman): Saw action in 20 games and made two starts... hit .182 (4-for-22) with four RBI... went 1-for-5 in first career start vs. Baylor (2/27)... also had a hit and one RBI against Western Illinois (3/13)... was expected to sit out the 2005 season as a redshirt... went 1-for-1 with one RBI against UCLA (4/23)... drilled a pinch-hit, two-run double with the bases loaded in the eighth inning against Cal State Fullerton (6/11) in his first career postseason at-bat.... played for the Liberal Beejays in the Jayhawk Summer League... hit .347 (33-for-95) with six doubles, two triples, two home runs and 22 RBI... also had a .952 OPS (.436 on-base percentage + .516 slugging percentage).
High School: A 2004 graduate of Thunderbird High School in Phoenix, Ariz... was ranked as the No. 7 high school prospect in the state of Arizona in 2004... earned three varsity letters under head coach Brian Dyer (2003-04) and Pat Higgins (2001-02)... Dyer is the son of former ASU and big league catcher Duffy Dyer... also lettered two years in soccer as a midfielder... played summer baseball with the Arizona C.U.B.S in Connie Mack and in the USA Junior Olympics with the Chaparral Firebirds... played with the Chicago Cubs scout team in the fall of 2002 and the Phillies scout team in 2003... saw limited duty as a varsity call-up as a freshman, going 2-for-3 with one double and one stolen base... named MVP of varsity team and second-team all-Skyline Region as a sophomore in 2002... hit .418 (38-for-91) with nine doubles, two triples, six home runs and five stolen bases... named first-team 4A All-State by the Arizona Republic his junior year... also earned Skyline Region Player of the Year honors and Northwest Valley Player of the Year honors... hit .547 (35-for-64) with 10 doubles, two triples, six home runs, 34 RBI, 13 stolen bases and a 1.047 slugging percentage... repeated as a 4A All-State selection as a senior in 2004... hit .450 (40-for-89) with 10 doubles, two triples, eight home runs and 16 stolen bases... played in the "Super 50" All-Star game and was a member of the 4A North All-Star team and started at shortstop for both teams... completed his prep career with a .466 (115-for-247) batting average with 116 runs scored, 30 doubles, six triples, 20 home runs, 89 walks, 35 stolen bases and 106 RBI... holds the school career records for hits, batting average and on-base percentage... also competed in the Arizona Junior and Senior Sun Belt Tournaments and the TeamOne West Showcase.
Personal: BIS major studying business and communications... parents are Rudy and Anna Sogard of Phoenix, Ariz... father played baseball at DePauw University and set the school home run record in 1975... has one younger brother, Alex, who is on the baseball team at Oregon State ... an uncle, Steve Sogard, played college baseball at Tufts University... has a 3.75 GPA in high school and earned an ASU academic scholarship... favorite MLB team is the Boston Red Sox and favorite player is Alex Rodriguez... enjoys skiing, hiking, playing cards and Ping-Pong... full name is Eric Sidney Sogard... born May 22, 1986 in Phoenix, Ariz.