Kyle Weiland Class: Junior Hometown: Albuquerque, NM High School: Eldorado Height / Weight: 6-3 / 180 Position: Righthanded Pitcher Birthdate: 09/12/1986 Bats/Throws: L/R

Elite closer talent who is expected to return to that role full-time in 2008, after splitting time in '07 as a starter and reliever ... ranked third nationally with 16 saves as a freshman in 2006 ... was hampered as a sophomore ('07) by the nagging effects of a shoulder injury, suffered in the winter of '06 ... appears to be fully healed from that injury and ready to return to form as a dominating closer ... coming off a quality summer baseball experience in the Cape Cod League (as a member of the Falmouth Commodores) ... also made some key adjustments to his mechanics during 2007 fall workouts, with a more linear approach to the plate and less throwing across his body ... a classic "gamer" who delivers in the clutch, with effortless arm action on his low-90s fastball and hard, biting breaking ball ... has outstanding poise and competitive moxy ... knows how to pitch within his abilities ... ... uses lanky 6-foot-3, 180-pound frame for effective arm whip ... exciting pitcher who comes right at opposing hitters ... a highly projectable talent who was rated by Baseball America as BIG EAST's second-best prospect for 2008 Major League draft, behind ND classmate and hard-throwing lefthander Sam Elam (ranking done prior to 2007 season; update entering the '08 season not published in time for media guide) ... has good arm strength and all-around athleticism ... enters 2008 with a 3.87 career ERA, 7-7 record and 18 saves (in 20 opp.), plus an average of nearly 9.0 strikeouts per 9.0 innings (8.44; 85 Ks, 90.2 IP) ... two shy of tying the ND career saves record (20), shared by John Corbin ('97-'00) and Ryan Doherty ('03-'05) ... his other career stats with the Irish include 47 walks, 88 hits allowed, a .263 opp. batting avg., 17 wild pitches and 17 hit batters in 43 appearances ... all but six of his appearances have been in relief ... allowed only one home run in his first two seasons with the Irish ... his career stats are skewed by his six starts in 2007 (when he compiled a 7.06 ERA and allowed .346 batting) ... on the flip side, his career stats as a reliever include a 2.35 ERA and .218 opp. batting avg. (47-for-216, plus 16 earned runs, 59 Ks, 31 BB, 11 WP, 10 HB and 5-4 record in 61.1 IP/37 GP) ... surprisingly has allowed 52% of inherited runners to score (13-of-25) with the Irish but first batters faced out of the bullpen have hit only 8-for- 31 (.258, 7 R, 4 BB, 2 HB, 10 Ks) ... his careerhigh strikeout totals: seven in '06 (relief) at UConn (4/30) and vs. College of Charleston (6/2, NCAAs/at Kentucky); six in '07 vs. Georgetown (4/15/07) and Louisville (5/13/07) ... his longest career outings: 7 IP vs. CoC in 6.0 in '07 vs. West Virginia (4/21); 5.2 vs. Rutgers (5/22/07, BIG EAST Tournament); and 5.0 in three games ('06 at UConn; '07 vs. UL and GU) ... was one of 36 players invited to late- June tryouts for 2006 U.S. National Team (he was not among the 21-player final roster that included just four RHPs) ... made three middle-relief appearances in that tryout phase, striking out five batters in 4.1 total innings (5 runs/3 earned, 6 hits, 4 walks) ... saved win for Red squad in U.S. team scrimmage (1.0 IP, R, H, BB, 2 Ks) before pitching versus teams from New England Collegiate League: the Torrington (Conn.) Twisters (1.2 IP, 2 R/ER, 2 H, 2 BB, K; USA lost 7-2) and the Newport (R.I.) Gulls (1.2 IP, 2 R/ER, 3 H, BB, 2 Ks; U.S. won 8-3) ... had solid 2007 summer season with Falmouth in the Cape Cod League (2.38, 1-2, SV, 14 GP/1 GS, 22.2 IP, 16 H, 13 BB, 2 HB, 27 Ks, 3 WP), helping Commodores go 22-22 before topping western division rival Bourne Braves in the playoffs (7-2, 5-3) but losing to Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox in championship series (2-8, 0-2) ... pitched in second playoff win over Bourne (0.2 IP, R, 2 H, B, HB, K) ... his Falmouth teammate Keith Cantwell also pitches in the BIG EAST, for Seton Hall ... pitched sparingly with Great Lakes League's Delaware (Ohio) Cows in summer of '06 (2 GS, 0-1, 6 IP, 3 R, 7 H, 2 BB, 10 Ks) ... has totaled three saves, 11 career strikeouts and only two walks in five career Blue-Gold Series fall intrasquad appearances (10.1 IP, 4 R, 11 H, 2 HB, WP, GS) ... saved both wins for victorious Gold squad in 2007 BGS - working out of his own jam in game-2 (1.1 IP, 2 H, BB, HB, K; 3-1) before logging final inning in game-3 (H, K; 7-5) ... also helped Gold win '06 BGS, striking out the side to save game-1 (2- 1) before closing 8-3 win in game-3 (2 IP, 3 H, 4 Ks) ... had no-decision in his '05 start for the Gold (5 IP, 4 R, 5 H, BB, 2 HB, 4 Ks; Blue won 6-4) ... hails from same high school (Eldorado) as former ND standout Christian Parker ('95-'96), who pitched 10 years in pro ball ... third New Mexico native to monogram with ND baseball ... previous Irish players to wear #33 include All-America catcher Elmer Kohorst and Ron Reed (who later played in the major leagues and NBA) ... posted a 3.47 GPA in the 2006 spring semester and a 3.33 in the fall of '07.

AS A SOPHOMORE: Eased back into regular duty, after recovering from offseason shoulder injury (suffered in the fall of 2007) ... failed to rediscover his groove from the previous season, in large part due to the lin- gering effects of the injury and his dual role in 2007 as a closer and starter ... shared team lead in saves (2) while ranking second in wins (5-3) and fourth in strikeouts (37) ... had rare distinction of ranking fifth on the staff in starts (6) and third in games closed (5) ... did not allow a home run in 41.1 innings and 205 batters faced ... only five pitchers in the ND record book have logged more innings in a season without serving up a home run: Darin Schmalz (84.2, in '96), Tim Kraus (62.2, '94), Tom Thornton (54.2, '03), Peter Ogilvie (52.0, '01) and current sophomore RHP Eric Maust (44.1, '07) ... his other season stats included a 5.66 ERA in 13 appearances, plus 27 walks and 49 hits allowed (.304 opp. avg., 11 WP, 9 HB) ... finished third on team with 8.1 Ks/9 IP and fourth with a 1.5 flyout-togroundout ratio ... situationally, he ranked third on the staff in low opp. batting with runners on base (.265), plus fifth in batting by lefthanded hitters (.277) and in 2-out opp. batting average (.186) ... his season stats revealed possibly a greater comfort level pitching out of the bullpen, as he totaled a 2.25 ERA, 3-0 record and lowly .191 opp. batting avg. as a reliever (compared to 7.06, 2-3 and .346 as a starter) ... his other bullpen stats (in 12.0 innings) included 11 walks and 11 Ks (8 H in 42 ABs, 3 earned runs, 5 WP, 2 HB) ... owned the best bullpen ERA of any Irish pitcher in 2007 ... allowed 4- of-9 inherited runners to score but shut down his first batters faced when coming out of the 'pen (0-for-5, R, BB, HB, 3 Ks) ... his other stats as a starter: 29.1 IP, 23 ER, 41 H in 119 ABs, 16 BB, 26 Ks, 6 WP, 7 HB) ... made his debut in 13th game of season, pitched final 2.0 innings for spring-break makeup game at Webber International (WP, 2 Ks; 11-8) ... pitched 2.2 innings five days later to pick up 5-2 win over Dayton (R, 2 H, 2 BB, 2 HB, 2 Ks; at Florida Gulf Coast) ... added short relief stints in home opener versus Cleveland State (save, IP, 2 BB, WP, 2 Ks; 5-3), in series finale with South Florida (IP, 2 R, H, 2 BB, WP, K; 1-9) and in 7-3 win over Oakland (save, 1.1 IP, H, BB, K) ... made first of four straight starts at Cincinnati (3 IP, 4 R, 7 H, 2 BB, HB, WP, 2 Ks; 9-5), followed by two more no-decisions in home games with Georgetown (5 IP, UER, 4 H, 3 BB, HB, 6 Ks; 11-2) and West Virginia (6 IP, 4 R, 8 H, 2 BB, 3 HB, WP, 6 Ks; 17-6) ... suffered game-2 loss at Rutgers (4.2 IP, 4 R, 6 H, 3 BB, 2 HB, 3 WP, 4 Ks; 0-7) ... pitched out of bullpen the next week versus Seton Hall (3 IP, 3 H, BB, WP, 2 Ks; 1-15) and then took loss as starter in series finale at Louisville (5 IP, 6 R/4 ER, 7 H, BB, WP, 6 Ks; 3-7) ... failed to convert save but ended up being pitcher of record, in 5-4 win over UConn (IP, 3 BB, WP, K) ... suffered toughluck loss in BIG EAST Tournament opener to Rutgers (3-13), after logging 5.0 solid innings but failing to close out the 6th ... that game was tied (2-2) entering the 6th and he then was one out away from escaping a bases-loaded jam, before a pair of walks ended his day (the bullpen then let in three more of his runs, for a final line of 5.2 IP, 7 R, 9 H, 3 BB, 3 Ks, 101 pitches).

AS A FRESHMAN: One of 15 players named to Baseball America's elite first team Freshman All-America list for 2006 (one of 16 named first team by Rivals.com) ... also named to Collegiate Baseball magazine's Freshman All-America team while being one of 36 invited to official tryouts for USA Baseball National Team ... one of only six (two pitchers) who were BA and RR first team Freshman All-Americans while also being named to the CB team and receiving Team USA invite ... fourth Notre Dame player ever to be both a BA first team and CB Freshman All-American ... named second team all-BIG EAST Conference ... finished third in nation with 16 saves, behind Oregon State's Kevin Gunderson (20) and Don Czyz of Kansas (19) ... ended up 13 innings shy of NCAA minimum for ERA leaders (his 2.37 would have ranked 36th) ... ranked third in BIG EAST with 30 appearances (his ERA would have ranked 3rd, his .224 opp. batting avg. 5th) ... blew past ND freshman saves record (9, by Aaron Heilman in '98) and bested season record (13) set by J.P. Gagne in '03 ... his ERA ranked 25th in ND record book (min. 40 IP) ... finished one shy of Heilman's ND freshman record (31) for appearances (his 30 are 3rd-most overall in ND history) ... his .224 opp. batting avg. ranks third-best ever by ND freshman (13th overall, since '91) ... finished fourth on staff in ERA and opp. batting, fifth in Ks (48) and innings (49.1) ... his other stats included a 2- 4 record (6 WP, 8 HB) ... second on staff with a 1.71 groundout/flyout ratio (58 GOs) ... allowed 9-of-16 inherited runners to score (56%) ... opposing batters reached 50% of time when leading off ... allowed .308 batting by first batters in his outings (8-for-26, 3 BB, HBP, 6 R, 7 Ks) but held all others to .210 (31-for-148) ... led staff with lowly .183 opp. batting when runners were on base and .145 with 2-outs ... his 9-inning averages: 8.8 Ks (3rd on staff), 3.6 BB, 7.1 H (3rd), 10.6 GOs, 39.0 batters faced ... averaged nearly 20 outs (19.4) per 9.0 IP via Ks or GOs ... limited righthanded hitters to .198 batting (2nd on staff; .276 by LH batters) ... his impressive second half of season included 1.34 ERA and .208 opp. batting in final 20 GP (35 Ks, 8 BB, 25 H, 33.2 IP) ... his only failed save came in series finale vs. St. John's, but Irish rallied (7- 5) to give him win (2 IP, 2 R/1 ER, 4 H, BB, K, WP, 2 inher. runners scored) ... allowed costly early home run (pinch-hit blast in extra innings of loss to Memphis) but did not allow a long ball in final 28 GP (40 IP) ... his stats in BIG EAST games included a 2.14 ERA, 6 saves and .244 opp. batting (14 GP, 21.0 IP, 18 Ks, 9 BB, 19 H, 0 HR, 4 HB, 4 WP) ... signature outing came in NCAA Lexington Regional, logging season-high 7.0-plus innings before 5-4 loss to College of Charleston in 16 innings (R, 4 H, BB, 7 Ks, 9 GOs, 103 pitches/60 strikes, 1-for-9 batting with runners on, 0-for-8 with 2-outs) ... his clutch pitches in that game included 10thinning K with runner on 3rd, 12th-inning K with runner on 2nd and groundout to end the 14th (runner on 3rd) ... other extended outing came in finale at UConn, logging 5.0 IP as game ended 1-1 after 13 innings due to travel curfew (0 R, 2 H, 2 BB, 7 Ks) ... picked up wins over St. John's (2.0 IP, 2 R/1 ER, 4 H, BB, K; 7-5) and IPFW (1.2 IP, K; 4-3) while top saves included shutout outings vs. #15 Texas A&M (2.0 IP, 4 BB, K; 5-4), Illinois (0.1 IP; 4-2), Central Michigan (2.0 IP, 2 H, 3 Ks; 11-9), Ball State (0.2 IP; 6-4), South Florida (1.0 IP, H, 2 Ks; 9-6), Rutgers (2.2 IP, 2 H, 4 Ks; 14-12), Purdue (1.0 IP, H; 2-1) and UConn (0.2 IP; 7-6) - plus pair of saves at BIG EAST Tournament vs. USF (1.1 IP, H, 2 Ks; 3-1 opener) and in 5-3 elimination game vs. SJU ( 2 IP, R, 3 H, BB, 3 Ks).

PREP & PERSONAL: All-state as a senior at Eldorado High School (5.20, 4-1, 2 SV, 53 Ks, 35 IP) ... team MVP for '05 team that won conference and regional titles ... also played third base and hit .455 as a senior (31 RBI, 8 HR, 8 2B) ... rated by Baseball America as New Mexico's top prep prospect in '05 (Team One Baseball rated him nation's #151 prospect) ... hit two home runs in New Mexico north-south all-star game (also played in east-west game) ... went 6-2 as a junior (3.43, 48 Ks, 49 IP; hit 5 HR) ... had 11 Ks in 8-inning complete game ('04 district playoffs) ... went 8-1 with 1.66 ERA in '04 Summer Legion (33 Ks, 38 IP; hit .395, 6 HR) ... tossed no-hitter for '04 American Legion state champs ... selected for New Mexico showcases in '03-'05 and '04 Best of the West (at Loyola Marymount) ... received Academic Excellence Award ... nationallyranked youth swimmer who swam eighthfastest 50-meter butterfly time in U.S. history for his age (in '96) ... his sister Crystal Weiland is a varsity swimmer at the University of New Mexico ... born Sept. 12, 1986, in Albuquerque, N.M. ... son of Bill and Mary Beth Weiland ... Kyle Edward Weiland ... an anthropology major, in the College of Arts and Letters.