Sooners Among Summer?s Top Prospects

NORMAN, Okla. – The University of Oklahoma baseball team features three returners that were named to Baseball America Top Prospect Lists from their respective summer leagues. Sophomores Alec Hansen (Loveland, Colo.) and Sheldon Neuse (Fort Worth, Texas) each made the Top-10 list from the California Collegiate League and junior Hunter Haley (Nacogdoches, Texas) earned a spot on the Texas Collegiate League Top-10.

Hansen, a 6-foot-7 right-handed pitcher, was named the number two prospect as a member of the San Luis Blues. He totaled 31.1 innings of work in 15 appearances and held a 4.60 earned run average to go with 52 strikeouts for a 14.9 k/9 average. Most notably for Hansen, who walked 13 batters in 11.1 innings for OU in the spring, were his 22 walks for a 2.36 strikeout-to-walk ratio. In just 10 appearances for the Sooners, Hansen impressed by lighting up the radar gun, consistently in the high-90s on his fastball and arrived at Oklahoma after being drafted in the 25^th round of the 2013 MLB Draft by the Colorado Rockies.

Following a Freshman All-America campaign that earned him Big 12 Rookie of the Year, Neuse started his summer as a part of the Team USA Collegiate National Team and finished as the California League's number four prospect. Primarily the Sooner third baseman and three-hitter, he has also taken the mound in the late innings to help nail down several big wins. Neuse saved four games in seven appearances for the San Luis Blues and struck out 13 in seven innings without allowing a single run. At the plate, he hit .312, slugged .388 and owned a .374 on-base percentage. Last spring, Neuse hit .304, slugged .521 and led OU with seven home runs and 47 RBI. He was a 24^th round pick of the Texas Rangers out of high school in 2013.

Haley, the number two prospect in the Texas League who played for the Brazos Valley Bombers, showed off his power in the spring with six home runs and a .472 slugging percentage that earned him a spot in the College Home Run Derby at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha. However, the left-handed hitting outfielder took the summer to work on his switch-hitting and went on to hit .294 with 20 runs and 16 stolen bases in 23 games and zero home runs. Through two seasons in Norman, Haley has hit .282 and slugged .439 with 65 runs scored and 54 driven in.