Diamond Gem
Look for the name of Southern junior second baseman
Michael Woods in the early rounds of June's
Major League Baseball draft.
The 6-2, 195-pounder stood second in the nation in batting (.460)
headed into last weekend's Southwestern Athletic Conference
baseball tournament. Woods, a Baton Rouge, La.,
native, smacked three home runs in the SWAC tournament to help head coach
Roger Cador win his tenth title, the 22nd in
Southern's history. Woods raised his batting average to .468.
"We've gotten three good years out of him,"
said Cador of his star. "He's really elevated our
program. To get a big-name player like him to cast his lot
with a historically black college is quite an
accomplishment."
Cador said landing Woods, a major talent out
of Baton Rouge's Broadmoor High School who was recruited by most Southeastern Conference
schools, was pretty simple.
"All the other schools were talking about
moving him to the outfield. We thought he'd have
more value as a second baseman. And that's where
we've played him."
Woods was drafted by Oakland late in last
year's draft but decided to return to Southern. That
will hardly be the case this year.
"Every scouting director from just about every major league team has
been in here to see him," said Cador who has had 38 players drafted in his 17 years
at Southern. "That's usually a good indication of how high he'll go. But with all
the high school kids (usually taken in the draft) it's hard to say."
Woods has hit 13 home runs this season to only trail
Rickie Weeks on the 43-10 Jaguars team. Woods has also
belted 27 doubles to also place second in the nation in
that offensive category. He added the tournament most
valuable player and outstanding hitter awards to the
player of the year and outstanding hitter honors he received
in the regular season. Woods hit .397 last year and led
the conference in home runs (11).
"He's a big, fast guy who's a good athlete,"
said Southern Sports Information Director, Kevin
Manns. According to Cador, that athletic ability has helped
him on offense and defense.
"He's good on offense, but what I've been
telling people is that once he gets with those major
league teams, they'll find out about the defensive aspects of
his game," said Cador. "He has great baseball
instincts, great anticipation."
Fresh Diamond Gem
Southern freshman Rickie Weeks has been
invited to this summer's USA Baseball team and a spot in
the Cape Cod League, the top summer league for
college players. The invites mean baseball insiders
recognize Weeks, who plays both shortstop and center field, as
one of the top freshmen in the nation.
The six-foot, 190-pounder has been a mainstay
on head coach Roger Cador's 2001 Southwestern
Athletic Conference championship team at Southern
(43-10). The true freshman from Altamonte Springs,
Fla., batted .438 and leads SU in home runs (13), triples
(12), runs (67) and RBIs (64). He also has 13 doubles and
23 stolen bases in 24 attempts. He's the only Jaguar to
start and play in every game this season.
Weeks, who hit only five home runs in his
high school career, has generated the power explosion
primarily as a result of adding strength and bulk by
working out in the Jaguars weight room. He came into
Southern at 5-10, 175.
He's the only SU player to clear the Blue
Monster at (Southern's) Lee-Hines Field, 395 feet away to center field.
He's done it twice. He homered in his first collegiate at-bat and had
four homers in his first four games. Weeks is the son of Rickie Weeks
Sr., who played shortstop and outfield at Stetson University.
