CSN Baseball to Retire Three Jerseys on Opening Day
Harper, Chambers, and Dunn
Conference Media Relations
The College of Southern Nevada baseball program will kick off their 2011 season by retiring three jerseys prior to the start of their season opener against Arizona Western College this Friday.
Baseball prodigy Bryce Harper, who signed a five-year, $9.9 million contract with the Washington Nationals in August after being selected as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft, will have his No. 34 jersey retired.
In his one season at CSN, Harper blew away many of the school's statistical records in 2010, including 31 home runs, 98 RBIs, 101 hits, 98 runs scored, .987 slugging percentage, and 225 total bases – all in just 66 games. He hit .443 last season, second only to Jon Slack's .446 batting average in 2000. Harper was also the recipient of the 2010 Golden Spikes Award, the highest honor for an amateur baseball player. Only one other non-Division I player has ever received the award.
The first coach of the Coyotes, Tim Chambers, will also have his No. 6 jersey retired. During his 11-year tenure, Chambers led the Coyotes to the 2003 JUCO World Series national championship, and guided them back to Grand Junction for a third-place finish last season. He also led his teams to six Scenic West Athletic Conference championships, six Region XVIII championship game appearances, three Region XVIII titles, and two Western District championships, all the while keeping CSN exposed at the national level with many national rankings over the years.
Chambers, who also served as Director of Athletics from 2001-2010, left CSN on Jun. 11 to fill the head coaching vacancy at UNLV, fulfilling both a professional and personal dream of one day coaching at the NCAA Division I level.
Finally, left-handed pitcher Mike Dunn will have his No. 44 jersey retired. Dunn, a Cimarron-Memorial High grad, is the second CSN product to make it to the major leagues, having spent time with the New York Yankees, Florida Marlins and his current team, the Atlanta Braves. Dunn was with the Yankees when they won the 2009 World Series, but he wasn't listed on the postseason roster.
The first Coyote to make it to the big leagues was shortstop Sean Kazmar, who is currently with the San Diego Padres organization. The former Las Vegas High standout had his No. 4 jersey retired in 2009, becoming the first Coyote to earn that honor.
Friday's game against the Matadors starts at 6 p.m. at Morse Stadium, located at the CSN Henderson Campus.