Brett Lilley   •  3B/INF • University of Notre Dame

Returning starter at third base, tabbed for preseason all-BIG EAST honors by the league's coaches and Baseball America (which also rated him the BIG EAST's "top defensive third baseman") ... his first season with the Irish in 2005 produced Freshman All-America honors (also third team all-BIG EAST and league rookie of the year) ... set for return from back injury that sidelined him for most of 2005 summer (he played just four games with the Delaware, Ohio, Cows) and all of `05 fall practice ... pesky lefthanded batter and strong top-of-the-order producer, due to his on-base ability and advanced hitting approach ... led the BIG EAST in `05 with a .502 on-base pct. that included 30 times hit-bypitch (4th-most in NCAA history) ... top candidate for All-America and Academic All-America honors, entering `06 with 3.62 cumulative GPA as a business major (3.67 in spring of `05, 3.65 in fall of `05) ... tough competitor and strong leader who plays with controlled intensity ... effective bunter who also can hit for high average ... has great knowledge of strike zone and fireplug attitude that puts pressure on defenses ... shows great ability to control bat and use whole field, with gap power ... adds speed and great baserunning instincts ... has great range and quickness, with good hands and strong arm ... prep shortstop who has proved to be a fearless defensive player at the hot corner in `05 ... hit 1- for-5 (R, SB) for Blue in `04 fall intrasquad game ... 13th Ohio native (five starters from `02 CWS team) to play for Irish in 12-year Mainieri era (64 all-time monogram winners) ... inherited No. 2 jersey worn previously by All-American Steve Stanley ('02) ... his former Central Catholic HS teammates Alex Schmidt (Ball State) and Brad Competty (Oakland) play for teams on Notre Dame's 2006 schedule.

FRESHMAN YEAR: Earned Freshman All-America honors (per Collegiate Baseball) while also being named BIG EAST rookie of the year and third team all-BIG EAST ... completed one of top seasons ever by ND freshman, leading team in six categories ... joined Eric Danapilis (.429, in '90) and Pete Schmidt (.367, '71) as only freshmen ever to lead the Irish in batting (.355) ... his .502 on-base pct. was best in BIG EAST and just shy of ND freshman record (.509, by Danapilis), also 9th in ND history (2nd-best since `94) ... his teamrecord 30 times hit-by-pitch ranked 2nd in nation and 4th in Div. I history ... totaled 76 hits and 64 "free passes" (34 walks, 30 HBP), with Ryan Topham (63 BB, 4 HBP in `95) being the only ND player ever with more free passes in a season ... led team in batting with runners in scoring position (.448) and with 2-outs (.439, 12 RBI), 3rd with .515 leadoff OB ... advanced runners team-best 66% of time, delivered RBI 73% of time (2nd on team; 11-of-15) with runner on 3rd and fewer than 2-outs, and owned team-best .368 batting vs. RHPs (4th with .323 vs. LHPs) ... team leader in plate discipline, at +31 (34 BB+30 HBP-33 Ks; rest of team was -16) ... midseason switch from second to third base helped turn ND's season around (14-14 start; 24-10-1 after switch) ... made just 8 errors at third (35 GP, 29 E-free; .923 fielding pct.), after ND had 18 third-base Es in first half of `05 ... had hits in 55 of 63 games, reached base in 58 and went hitless in back-to-back games just twice (no 3-game hitless slumps) ... BIG EAST leader in OB, 6th in walks (34) and runs (56), 8th in hits (76), 9th in batting ... led BIG EAST freshmen in batting, OB and walks (2nd in runs) ... could have been first team all-BIG EAST but two top hitters - BC's Jared McGuire (.381) and WVU's Justin Jenkins (.359) - also played third ... team leader in batting, OB, HBPs and sac. bunts (9) ... joined Matt Edwards as only players to start all 63 games ... 2nd on the team in hits, runs, walks and multi-hit games (20), 3rd in multi-RBI games (9), 4th in stolen bases (9), total bases (81) and RBI (28) ... had 5-hit game vs. Cincinnati, a 4-for-4 vs. UConn and six 3-hit games ... other '05 stats: 5 doubles, .379 slugging, 14 Es and .949 fielding pct. - plus .333 batting in BIG EAST games (20 R) ... his 51 error-free games included 21- game span without an E (96 chances) from March 24-April 21 and 14-game Efree stretch (five postseason games) ... made just one error in BIG EAST play (.990) ... Brian Stavisky (64, in '00) is only ND freshman ever to start or play in more games ... his 172 fielding assists set ND freshman record ... Brant Ust (66, in '97) is only ND freshman ever to score more runs ... team's 2nd-best hitter in postseason (.360, 5 RBI, 5 R, 5 HBP) ... hit .417 in NCAA Gainesville Regional (5-for-12, 3 RBI, 2 R, 4 HBP) ... 2nd on team in batting at home (.415, 15 RBI, 30 R, 18 BB, 10 HBP) and on road (.308, 13 RBI, 26 R, 16 BB, 20 HBP) ... made 63 starts in 2-hole (12 leadoff) ... had 4 HBP (one shy of NCAA record) in early win at Central Florida (4-2) ... first ND freshman ever to post 5-hit game in home opener (vs. Cincinnati, 2 RBI, R, 2 SB) ... hit 2-for-4 with key opposite-field double in 13-6 upset of #17 USC (2 RBI, R, SAC) ... helped post 21-1 win at Pittsburgh (2-for-5, 3 R, HBP) ... played lead roles in NCAA wins over Stetson (3-for-5, 2-run single; 7-4) and UNC (RBI single, 2 HBP; 3-0) ... had back-to-back hitless games on Spring Break but went 10 weeks before his only other consecutive games without a hit.

PREP & PERSONAL: Set Canton Central Catholic HS record for career batting avg. (.483; school-record .495 as freshman) ... played for Hoover HS as senior but slowed by hand injury (6-for-16, 5 RBI, 4 BB, 3 HBP) ... rated among Ohio's top-10 prospects (#1 at 2B), per Buckeye Scout ... all-state SS for '03 CCCHS team that went 32-2 as state runner-up (.469, 28 RBI, 45 R, HR, 2 3B, 15 2B, 13 BB, state-record 19 HBP, .685 OB, 8 Es, 33 GP) ... first team all-state as sophomore 2B (.486, 19 RBI, 32 R, 6 2B, 3B, 19 BB, 7 HBP, .630 OB, 4 Ks, 2 Es, 25 GP) ... hit .495 in '01 (all-district, 33 RBI, 40 R, 12 2B, 2 3B, 5 SB, 11 BB, 5 HBP, .632 OB, 4 Es, 29 GP) ... one of two preps in `04 summer Pizza Oven Wood-Bat League, featuring former college/pro players and rated nation's best amateur league ... named to Pizza Oven all-state game (2nd on team with .387 batting; also 13 BB) ... played '02-'03 summers with Stark County Stars (hit .440 for `02 Regional runner-up) ... played summer of '01 for Boys of Summer regional qualifier (team-best .550 batting) ... competed in St. Louis with Ron Hunt Eagles in summers of '99 (team-best .450) and '00 (teambest .522) ... lettered as WR, DB and kicker with Hoover ('00) and CCC ('01-'02) football (only sophomore to start both ways in '01) ... made 8-of-9 FGs as prep (33-yarder sent '01 regional-title game into OT) ... member of National Honor Society (4.41 GPA) ... visited campus on USC-ND football weekend (player host was Greg Lopez) ... his sister Tricia is a star softball shortstop at Purdue ... born July 30, 1985, in Canton, Ohio ... son of Bill and Deborah Lilley ... full name is Brett William Lilley ... an accounting major, enrolled in the Mendoza College of Business.