Nate Recknagel Set Records, Led Michigan Baseball To Big Ten Titles
From Lake Orion, Mich., Nate Recknagel originally went to Oakland University to start his baseball career. After a monster freshman season - and the dismissal of the coach he committed to - Recknagel left Oakland and landed at Michigan.
Recknagel was an instant success with the Wolverines, hitting .372 with eight home runs and 41 RBI as Michigan won Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles in 2006. He hit .352 and .368 over his next two years, finishing his career a .364 hitter (ninth all-time at U-M). Recknagel is also second in the record books for career home runs (43), sixth in runs batted in (170), 11th in doubles (47).
Over three years, Recknagel was on Michigan teams that won three Big Ten regular-season titles, two tournament titles, went to three NCAA regionals and advanced to the 2007 Super Regional. He was the 2008 Big Ten Player of the Year after setting a U-M single-season record with 23 home runs, a mark that still stands.