ELLENSBURG (Feb. 8) -- Three former Central Washington University baseball players who signed professional baseball contracts and had one-year stints in Minor League Baseball highlight the 18-player CWU baseball all-decade team.

The team was chosen by 19th-year head coach Desi Storey and features all but one player from the Wildcats' Division II baseball era. The only all-decade player who played in Central's final years in the NAIA is right-handed pitcher Josh Clark, who had six of Central's 14 wins during the 2000 season.

The former professionals on the all-decade team were all powerful hitters during their careers on the Ellensburg campus, although one -- Troy Martin -- went on to be a pitcher at the pro level. Martin signed with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in August 2005 and spent the summer of 2006 with the Princeton (W.Va.) Devil Rays. First baseman Brian Viafore was the only Wildcat during the 2000s to be drafted by a Major League team when he was a 28th-round choice of the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2003. He spent that summer with the Yakima Bears before being released. Central's third professional during the decade is statistically the greatest hitter in the history of the program, as shortstop Jamie Nilsen, an undrafted free agent signee with the Kansas City Royals in 2008, was the two-time Great Northwest Athletic Conference Player of the Year (2007 and 2008) and owns virtually every major hitting record in CWU history. Nilsen finished his career batting .399 with 29 home runs, 183 runs batted in, and was named to the all-GNAC first team an unprecedented four straight years.

The 2005 squad, which won 31 games -- the second-most in school history -- was deemed the “team of the decade” by Storey. That squad had five of its members on the all-decade team, including all three of its outfielders -- Martin, Ryan Rockhill, and Josh Small. Small batted .421 in his only season in the CWU program, while Rockhill capped his three-year career during that '05 campaign. The middle infield combination of Nilsen and Gordon Chubb from that team also earned all-decade status, although Chubb's selection was as a pitcher, where he finished his career with a 10-3 record, 121 strikeouts, and just 24 walks in 111 1/3 innings of work over two seasons.

Chubb and Clark were two of four starting pitchers selected to the team by Storey. The other two pitching arms are both familiar faces to recent Wildcat fans, including Tyler Levin, who himself pitched professionally overseas after leaving Central. The 2007 GNAC Pitcher of the Year had a 17-7 record and 2.66 earned-run average in his two seasons with the Wildcats and became the first pitcher in school history with four wins in the month of February (2007). He also fanned 155 hitters with just 27 walks. The other hurler, Michael McCanna (Addy/Chewelah HS), is a senior on this year's squad and has a 10-4 career record. Right-hander Jason Kelley, who played just one season for CWU, was named the top reliever of the decade with a 2.32 ERA and four saves in 24 appearances in 2003.

Three-fourths of the infield, plus the all-decade team's designated hitter Jason Smith, were members of the Wildcats during the 2002 and 2003 seasons. Joining first baseman Viafore was second baseman Anthony Rodriguez and third baseman Trevor Knight.

Local hitting star Scott Wilson was selected as the top catcher in the decade. The son of former CWU head coach Ken Wilson, the younger Wilson batted .392 over two seasons.

The outfield was the position of greatest depth on the all-decade team, as Storey named five outfielders to the squad. Joining Martin, Rockhill, and Small were three-year Wildcats A.J. Gosney and Willie Kahn. Both were twice named first-team all-GNAC, and Gosney was twice an American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Division II West Region Gold Glove winner.

CENTRAL WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY BASEBALL ALL-DECADE TEAM: 2000-09
Team of the Decade: 2005 (31-24 record, second-most wins in school history)

Pitcher:
Gordon Chubb (2004-05; Pasco)
Josh Clark (1998-2000; Olalla/South Kitsap HS)
Tyler Levin (2007-08; Everett)
Michael McCanna (2008-present; Addy/Chewelah HS)

Relief Pitcher:
Jason Kelley (2003; Centralia)

Catcher:
Scott Wilson (2003-04; Ellensburg)

First Base:
Brian Viafore (2002-03; Fircrest/Bellarmine Prep)

Second Base:
Anthony Rodriguez (2002-03; Silverdale/Central Kitsap HS)

Third Base:
Trevor Knight (2002-03; Shelton)

Shortstop:
Jamie Nilsen (2005-08; Federal Way/Thomas Jefferson HS)

Outfield:
A.J. Gosney (2007-09; Veradale/Central Valley HS)
Willie Kahn (2002-04; Kennewick)
Troy Martin (2004-05; Renton/Liberty HS)
Ryan Rockhill (2003-05; Bellevue/Sammamish HS)
Josh Small (2005; Kent/Kentwood HS)

Designated Hitter:
Jason Smith (2002-03; Chehalis/W.F. West HS)