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FISHKILL, N.Y. -- Having been assigned to the Hudson Valley Renegades after being selected by the Tampa Bay Rays in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, former Panther Brett Nommensen has been featured in the Hudson Valley Times Herald-Record.

Nommensen is projected as the Renegades' starting center fielder. The Tampa Bay affiliate is a member of the New York-Penn League. Hudson Valley opens its season the weekend of June 19-21 with a three-game series Aberdeen Ironbirds.

Kevin Witt wrote the quality feature about Nommensen in the Times Herald-Record, which serves the Hudson Valley and Catskills.

Renegades: Nommensen Can Rake It >>> Story Link
By Kevin Witt
Times Herald-Record

Brett Nommensen read a fastball away and drove it down the left-field line. He felt something pop in his right wrist, and as he pulled into second base, he felt tingling down his hands. It was April 10, just 28 games into his senior year at Eastern Illinois.

The hit pushed his batting average to .521, the second-highest in the country. His on-base percentage and slugging percentage were No. 1. Eastern Illinois coach Jim Schmitz said Nommensen had "the best first half I've seen in 25 years."

Nommensen crossed home plate, trotted into the dugout — and his season basically was over. He fractured the hook in his hamate bone, underwent surgery and didn't return until May 22 for his team's final game.

His second start in more than two months is expected to come Friday at Dutchess Stadium, likely near the top of the lineup as the Hudson Valley Renegades' starting center fielder. Nommensen was the Tampa Bay Rays' eighth-round pick on June 10.

It didn't take long for him to make a good impression on Renegades manager Brady Williams.

"He's a good-looking hitter," Williams said. "He's fast. I saw him last night in a (simulated) game, and he hit a triple. I don't think anything scares him. He's ready to get after it."

It's been a crazy last few months for Nommensen, a 22-year-old native of the Chicago-suburb town of Fox River Grove, Ill. Schmitz said Wednesday he could talk for an hour about Nommensen, the person and the player. The kid got better every year he was there, and developed an uncanny ability to read pitchers.

They do chants from the bench at Eastern Illinois. When Nommensen stepped into the box to lead off a game, you heard, "Oh, no," because the opposing pitcher was in for a tough night.

Read the rest of the feature by clicking HERE.