Sean Gaston  •  Catcher  •  University of Notre Dame

2005 CCBL Season: Was named Cotuit Kettleers Most Valuable Player in 2005... batted .287 and was named to the Western Division All-Star team.

Talented second-year catcher who will be key factor in '05, following graduation of two-year starter Javi Sanchez ... excellent catch-and-throw defensive player who will be looking to improve his receiving, footwork and transfer to throw ... saw limited action in '04 (23 games/12 starts), due to bout with mononucleosis and presence of the veteran Sanchez ... will be counted on as take-charge leader and confident director of pitching staff ... surprising offensive force, with tremendous lefthanded swing and ability to drive the gaps (he earned national player-of-the-week honors in '04, after starting college career 10-for-12) ... a strong fundamental player ... Academic All-America candidate with a 3.43 cumulative GPA that included 3.60 in '04 spring semester ... played for Waterloo (Iowa) Bucs of wood-bat Northwoods League in summer of '04, appearing in 25 games while ranking 2nd on team with .268 batting avg. (5 RBI, 13 runs, 2 doubles, 8 walks) ... hit 2-for-10 in '03 Blue-Gold fall intrasquad series (RBI, 2 R, BB, K), as member of victorious Blue ... leading hitter for Blue in '04 fall intrasquad game (3-for-5, 3 R, RBI, 3B, 2B, SB) ... he and ND classmate Mike Dury were roommates on Indiana Bulls team that won '01 national title (two of their Bulls teammates, A.J. Prickel and Eric Osborn, are shortstops at Purdue) ... could face former Brownsburg HS teammate Kyle Freeman (Valparaiso) in '05 ... one of four Indiana natives on '05 roster ... noteworthy ND players who have worn No. 11 include pitchers Tom Bujnowski ('52, '56-'57) and Phil Donnelly ('61-'62).

FRESHMAN SEASON: Had strong start to college career - earning national hitter-of-the-week honors - but later missed a month due to mononucleosis ... hit .316 in 23 games played (18-for-57, 12 GS, 11 RBI, 11 R, 18 H, 3 2B, 5 BB, 2 HBP, 9 Ks, SF, 4 SB) ... his .989 fielding pct. included an error and 2 passed balls ... hit .364 with runners on base ... named BIG EAST Conference player of the week and national co-hitter of the week (selected by National Collegiate Baseball Writers) after batting 10-for-12 in second-week action at Florida Atlantic (6 RBI, 7 R, 3 2B, 2 SB) ... that three-day stretch ended up comprising 10 of his 18 hits for the season (6 of 11 RBI, 7 of 11 runs, all 3 extra-base hits , 2 of 4 SBs) ... joined '02 outfielder Brian Stavisky as second ND freshman ever named BIG EAST player of the week ... four recent ND players - RHP Aaron Heilman in 2000, Stavisky in '01, and 2B Steve Sollmann and RHP Grant Johnson after the '02 NCAA regional - have received a national player/pitcher-of-the-week award ... saw first action off the bench in 19-6 win over Winthrop at FAU Classic (1-for-1, 2 RBI, R) ... started next day in non-tournament game vs. Florida Memorial (4-for-5, RBI, 3 R, 2B, SB; 12-3) ... entered `04 having never posted 4-hit game in competitive baseball career ... went one better next day vs. Minnesota (19-7), hitting safely in first 5 ABs (3 RBI, 3 R, 2 2B, SB) before 8th-inning flyout prevented him tying the Irish hit record ... batted in 7-hole vs. Gophers, with 2-out, opposite-field single to left in the 2nd; single through right side (SB/R) in the 4th (helping cut deficit to 4-2); 2-out-double to right-center as part of a 4-run rally (6-6) in 5th; opposite-field RBI double to left-center as Irish exploded for 7 runs in the 6th (13-6); and RBI single through the right side in 7th (15-6) ... first ND freshman with 5-plus hits since Scott Sollmann in '94 (vs. Purdue) ... Joe Binkiewicz (`89, vs. Dayton) is only other ND freshman ever to collect five hits in a game ... singled and scored as part of ND's 4-run 2nd vs. Penn State, in San Antonio (8-2) ... helped post 4-0 win at West Virginia, with RBI groundout, single and run scored ... hit 2-for-2 with 2 RBI vs. Oakland (17-5) ... missed month of action (17 games) from April 22-May 20, due to mononucleosis ... caught final two innings in 9-0 win over Virginia Tech (ending Sanchez's streak of 92 straight innings caught) ... played final two innings of NCAA regional win over Kent State (7-1).

PREP & PERSONAL: Runner-up for 2003 Indiana Mr. Baseball Award, after batting .478 (8 HR, 8 3B, 35 R) with stellar defense for Brownsburg High School state runner-up squad ... ranked by Perfect Game/Baseball America as No. 9 prep prospect in Indiana ('03) ... selected by Chicago White Sox in 50th round of '03 Major League draft ... set BHS career records for doubles (31), fielding pct. (.933), games played (113) and putouts (2nd with .453 career batting) ... threw out 78% of attempted basestealers in '02 spring and summer (opponents attempted just six steals in '03, one successful) ... hit .478 as junior (12 RBI), .450 as sophomore, .378 as freshman ... 2000 Metro West player of year (all-conference) ... member of '02 Chicago White Sox Area Code Team ... hit .398 in '02 summer with Indiana Bulls (3 HR, 31 RBI, 7 SB, 43 games), after starting for Bulls '01 national champs ... selected by Chicago White Sox in 50th round of '03 MLB draft ... all-tournament at '01 NABF Nationals ... National Honor Society officer and member of student council, graduating with 4.0 GPA ... made official visit '02 ND-Pittsburgh football weekend (first-ever visit to campus) ... born Feb. 12, 1985, in Indianapolis ... son of Keith and Patsy Gaston ... full name is Sean Patrick Gaston ... enrolled in College of Arts and Letters ... intends to major in political science and history.