May 23, 2005

NEW ORLEANS, La. - Jake Gautreau and Rick Jones were named Conference USA 10th Anniversary Player and Coach of the Year, respectively, and the pair were joined on the C-USA All-Decade Team by former Green Wave greats Michael Aubrey, James Jurries and Chad Sutter, the league announced Monday.

Sutter (1998), Jurries (2002) and Aubrey (2003) all earned C-USA Player of the Year honors during their respective careers, while Gautreau is the only two-time Player of the Year recipient after claiming the honor in 2000 and 2001. Jones, meanwhile, is the all-time winningest coach in the history of C-USA, and has now led the Green Wave to four regular-season league titles.

Joining the Tulane quartet on the All-Decade Team are Houston pitchers Kyle Crowell, Shane Nance and Brad Sullivan, Southern Miss outfielder Jeff Cook, USF catcher Ross Gload, Louisville outfielder Mark Jurich and Cincinnati infielder Kevin Youkilis.

Gautreau (1999-2001) was a three-time All C-USA honoree, including first-team honors his final two seasons at Tulane. He claimed Freshman All-America honors from Baseball America in 1999, All-America recognition from the American Baseball Coaches Association and Collegiate Baseball in 2000 and was a consensus All-American in 2001.

A Golden Spikes finalist as a junior, Gautreau ranks third in C-USA history in home runs (58), fourth in RBI (233), sixth in total bases (511), tied for 12th in runs scored (200), tied for 13th in doubles (54) and 15th in hits (275). He was drafted in the first round - 14th overall - by the San Diego Padres in 2001, and is currently playing with the Triple-A Buffalo Bison of the Cleveland Indians' organization.

Sutter (1996-99) earned All C-USA honors all four years at Tulane, and was the first player in league history to earn both Freshman and Player of the Year in his career. He earned Freshman All-America honors from Collegiate Baseball in 1996 and All-America recognition from Collegiate Baseball, Baseball Weekly, CollegeBaseballInsiders.com and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association in 1999.

During his career, Sutter set Tulane and C-USA records with 75 home runs and 280 RBI, records that still stand, and he currently ranks second in C-USA history in total bases (583), fourth in hits (315), and is tied for sixth in runs scored (227). Sutter was drafted in the 23rd round by the New York Yankees in 1999, and after playing a year and half in the organization, rejoined the Green Wave as an assistant coach in 2001.

The only four-time, first-team All C-USA selection in league history, Jurries became the second player in C-USA history to earn Freshman and Player of the Year honors in his career, and was the first player in league history to claim National Freshman of the Year honors in 1999 when he picked up the distinction from Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball and CollegeBaseballInsiders.com.

He was a consensus All-American in both 1999 and 2002, and ranks first in C-USA history in hits (352), total bases (618) and runs scored (284), second in home runs (62) and RBI (257), fifth in doubles (66), seventh in batting average (.369), and ninth in stolen bases (80). Jurries was drafted in the sixth round by the Atlanta Braves in 2002, and is currently playing in Triple-A Richmond.

Aubrey, meanwhile, is the latest player in league history to claim both Freshman and Player of the Year honors during his career, and joined Jurries as the only student-athletes in school history to claim National Freshman of the Year recognition. A Freshman All-American in 2001, Aubrey earned outright All-America honors from the American Baseball Coaches Association, Baseball America, Baseball Weekly, CollegeBaseballInsiders.com, Collegiate Baseball and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association in 2003, and was also named NCBWA District VII Player of the Year that season as well.

He posted a .369 career batting average with 268 hits, 52 doubles, 38 home runs and 200 RBI while at the plate, and tallied an 11-2 record to go with 4.82 ERA 82 Ks and a .277 opponent batting average in 132.1 innings from the mound. Aubrey was drafted in the first round - 11th overall - by the Cleveland Indians in 2003, and currently plays for the Double-A Akron Aeros.

While players have come and gone, the one mainstay has been Jones, who has guided the Green Wave to nine NCAA Regionals in the 10-year history of the league, including a school-record seven straight dating back to 1998. Tulane has advanced to the Super Regionals twice, and is the only league team to advance to the College World Series with a trip in 2001.

Under Jones, 39 players have earned All C-USA honors on 60 occasions, 15 have been named All-American, 10 were Freshman All-Americans and 37 have gone on to play pro ball. He was named C-USA Coach of the Year in 1997 and 2001, coached the C-USA Player of the Year from 1999-2003, and has three of the last six C-USA Freshmen of the Year. In his 12th season at Tulane, Jones sports a 514-234-1 record, including a 201-76-1 mark in C-USA action.

Conference USA All-Decade Team
Michael Aubrey INF Tulane
Jeff Cook OF Southern Miss
Kyle Crowell P Houston
Jake Gautreau INF Tulane
Ross Gload C South Florida
Mark Jurich OF Louisville
James Jurries INF Tulane
Shane Nance P Houston
Brad Sullivan P Houston
Chad Sutter C Tulane
Kevin Youkilis INF Cincinnati

Player of the Decade: Jake Gautreau, Tulane
Coach of the Decade: Rick Jones, Tulane