Columnist Spencer Patterson: Schnurstein takes step toward pro career

Spencer Patterson

Wednesday, July 10, 2002 | 10:12 a.m.

Spencer Patterson covers high school sports for the Las Vegas Sun. Reach him at spencer@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4085.

When Basic High School baseball star Micah Schnurstein passed up a Division I scholarship at UNLV to sign with the Community College of Southern Nevada last January, it raised more than a few eyebrows around town.

Schnurstein defended his decision on signing day, explaining that he wanted to "keep his options open," keeping one eye on a future professional career.

The former Wolves' hitting star recently made that dream a reality, signing with the Chicago White Sox, who took the third baseman in the seventh round of this year's Major League Baseball draft.

"It was kind of a surprise," CCSN coach Tim Chambers said. "We didn't anticipate him signing, though when I saw him go in the seventh round I knew there was a possibility he would."

Schnurstein, who received a reported $90,000 signing bonus, has already made an impact for his new club, the Phoenix White Sox of the Arizona (Rookie) League. In 14 games, the two-time Sun All-State first-teamer is batting .293 with eight doubles, one homer and 13 RBIs.

Losing Schnurstein's bat will be a blow to a Coyotes squad that has already seen Zeke Parraz (Georgia), Cooper Fouts (Texas Tech), Derek Rodriguez (Arizona) and Nate Nowicki (San Diego) sign with Division I schools after one season at the junior college.

But Chambers remains confident his program will remain competitive.

"Losing Micah hurts, but the class we've got coming in is outstanding," Chambers said, pointing out that the other eight members of his incoming freshman class who were drafted last month have opted not to sign thus far.

The CCSN coach was also upbeat about seeing his players move on to the next level of baseball.

"We don't encourage them to leave after one year, but I'm proud of the tremendous success we've had sending kids off, not only to the pros, but also to Division I schools," Chambers said. "The schools out there see that we have kids who know how to play, and go to school at the same time."

Other area products who have signed to play professionally since last month's draft include first baseman David Jensen (Green Valley/BYU), who has played in 19 games for the class A Spokane Indians, and pitcher Steve Russell (Cimarron-Memorial), who has pitched in two gams for the Rookie League's Danville Braves.

Desert Pines' running back Cornell Johnson plans to take his time before deciding between the Division I powers pursuing him.

"I'm going to wait to commit ... maybe even until signing day," Johnson said. "I'm not worried about making a decision right now."

The 6-foot-1, 210-pound Johnson is one of 10 running backs listed among ESPN's Tom Lemming's list of the nation's top 100 incoming seniors. He is the only player from Nevada on that list.

Johnson lists his top three college choices, in no particular order, as Nebraska, Miami and UCLA, with Oregon and Tennessee also in the mix. The Bruins already have offered him a scholarship, as have Arizona, Washington State and UNLV. He has also received considerable interest from Washington.

Last week, the Huskies got their second verbal commitment in three years from a Las Vegan, with Williams following in the footsteps of former Valley star James Sims ('00).

The 6-3, 185-pound Williams started for the Wildcats' 2001 4A state title team, catching 46 passes, including a touchdown in Las Vegas' championship win over McQueen. Williams also received offers from UNLV, Oregon State, Washington State and Arizona, and also was being pursued by Oregon and UCLA.

"It's a tremendous honor for him," Wildcats coach Kris Cinkovich said. "We've never had a kid get a scholarship before the season even began."