Brayden Ashdown Class: Sophomore Hometown: Tucson, AZ High School: Catalina Foothills Height / Weight: 6-1 / 180 Position: Outfielder Birthdate: 04/14/1988 Bats/Throws: R/R

Second-year outfielder who gained valuable experience as platoon starter in right field, during 2007 season ... one of team's top defensive outfielders, with quickness and good route running ... showed key improvements during 2007 fall practice, with more steady play at the plate and a boost in strength... could provide key depth to the outfield unit in 2008 ... uses long frame for short, compact swing that can produce stinging line-drives with gap-to-gap power ... played for the Blue team in the annual Blue- Gold intrasquad series, during the falls of 2006 (0-for-7, sac. bunt, 4 Ks, E) and 2007 (1- for-8, BB, HBP, SAC, 4 Ks) ... third Arizona native to monogram with Notre Dame baseball ... Mike Naumann (Tucson/Salpointe Catholic HS) was a top lefthanded reliever and a 2001 Academic All-American... inherited #12 jersey worn previously by third baseman Andrew Bushey (the 2002 College World Series team's third baseman) and several other top players, including early-1950s RHP/OF Jim Gibbons, OF Shaun Fitzmaurice (member of '64 U.S. Olympic team), late-'80s iron-man SS Pat Pesavento, dominating RHP David Sinnes ('90-'93) and mid-'90s 1B/C Mike Amrhein ... could face two former teammates from the White Soc Scout League - Mike Weldon and T.J. Steele - when the Irish play Arizona during the 2008 season ... Brayden Ashdown #12 Student- Athletes carried 3.49 cumulative GPA into '08 spring semester (his freshman year included 3.68 GPA in '06 fall semester and 3.53 in '07 spring).

AS A FRESHMAN: Platooned with sophomore Ryan Connolly as starters in right field (and 9-hole hitters) for most of 2007 season ... appeared in 36 games while starting 26 (24 in RF; plus single starts in left, vs. Iowa and center, vs. Harvard) ... his starts included batting once in the 6-hole and five times in the #8 spot (plus 18 at #9) ... his season stats included 12 hits (.158 batting avg. ) and 12 walks (plus 4 RBI, 7 R, 2 2B, 21 Ks, HBP, 5 SAC and 2-3 SBs) ... made a pair of errors in 53 fielding chances (.962 fielding pct.) ... hit .184 in BIG EAST play (7-for-38, RBI, 2 R, 6 BB, HBP, 10 Ks, 2-3 SB, E) ... doubled and scored versus Iowa (8-1 loss, at Stetson) ... added a pair of sac. bunts and scored a run the next day, in 16-6 win over #7 Nebraska (K) ... helped beat Cleveland State in home opener (2-for-4, 2 RBI, 2B; 5-3) ... added hits in next two games, wins over Western Michigan (1-for-4, RBI, R, BB, 2 Ks; 17-9) and South Florida (1-for-3, K; 1-0) ... closed USF series with 2-for-4 game (1-9) ... went 1-for-3 with pair of walks, run scored and sac. bunt in two-game series at Pittsburgh (2-4, 0-5) ... similarly was 2-for-5 in pair of 4-3 losses at Cincinnati (RBI, 2 BB, SB, K) ... played in BIG EAST Tournament games versus Rutgers and Villanova (1-for-6, R, 4 Ks; 2-13, 2- 3).

PREP & PERSONAL: Inducted into Catalina Foothills High School baseball hall of fame, where he was a four-year letterwinner and three-year starter in center field (his .911 career fielding pct. is best in team history) ... led Falcons to national rankings in the '05 and '06 seasons ... ranks among CFHS career top-three in runs (124), hits (110), and walks (74), also top-five in career on-base pct. and triples ... captained team as a senior while being named defensive MVP, with his '06 stats including a .329 batting avg., 29 runs and a .529 on-base pct. (also led pitching staff with 2.90 ERA and 12.2 Ks/7 IP) ... named all-conference each of final three seasons while helping team win four conference and regional titles ... leading member of two state runner-up teams ('04, '05) ... named second team all-state, first team allregion and first team all-Southern Arizona as a junior, after batting .435 and setting team records with a .669 on-base pct. and 59 runs (also '05 team offensive MVP) ... hit .455 as 3-hole hitter for '05 summer-league team ... named team all-conference as a sophomore (.341 batting, .520 on-base) ... shifted to leadoff position in summer season after his sophomore year, earning '04 summer-team MVP honors after batting team-best .482 with 20 stolen bases ... invited to play with American Legion team at Tournament of Stars in Joplin, Mo. ... attended Notre Dame fall baseball camp in '05 and '06 ... earned two varsity letters in football, as a wide receiver, defensive back and kicker ... an allconference and all-city football player as a junior ... member of National Honor Society and a National Merit Scholar quarterfinalist ... awarded Dr. Voie Stuart Chase Coy Scholar-Athlete Award for Academic Excellence five times (three in baseball, two in football) ... his grandfather Bill Farthing played football, basketball and baseball at Northwest College (Powell, Wyo.) ... his father Boyd Ashdown and grandfather Laurence Ashdown played football at Southern Utah ... born April 14, 1988, in Salt Lake City, Utah ... son of Boyd and Kristin Ashdown ... full name is Brayden Boyd Ashdown ... a double major in English and pre-professional studies, enrolled in the College of Arts and Letters.