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Tuesday, april 27, 2021
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BOUND FOR MINNEAPOLIS
Pendleton infielder/
pitcher Nic Sheley
signs with North
Central university
and stronger, he’s very versatile,
and he’s consistent on the hill. He
has different types of pitches that
have movement and it disrupts
the hitter’s timing. In the field, he
has soft hands and is working on
getting his hands and feet faster.
He’s a great kid who has a lot of
potential in a lot of avenues of life.”
The Bucks are off to a 5-1 start
heading into their Tuesday, April
27, game at The Dalles.
“We are off to a pretty good
start,” Sheley said. “At South
Albany, we were an underdog
team. We’d pull off some wins no
one thought we would.”
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
E N DL ET ON —
The Pendleton High
School baseball team
has been sending
players to the college
level for years.
This season, the Bucks are up
to three.
Infielder/pitcher Nic Sheley has
signed to play for North Central
University in Minneapolis, Minne-
sota. The Rams are a NCAA Divi-
sion III program that plays in the
Upper Midwest Athletic Confer-
ence.
“We are excited to have him
here,” Rams coach David Babcock
said. “Seeing video of him, he
looks like a Division II player,
which would be able to help us
right away.”
The Bucks also have had
Kyle Field sign with Community
Colleges of Spokane, and Tucker
Zander with Eastern Oregon
University.
“The goal of any coach is to get
their players recognized at the next
level,” Pendleton coach TJ Hague-
wood said. “When someone goes
to the next level, it is the combi-
nation of summer ball, camps and
high school programs. A lot goes
into it. We can’t take all the credit.”
Sheley, who moved to Pendle-
ton the summer between his soph-
omore and junior years of high
school, played summer ball with
most of his high school teammates,
but the COVID-19 pandemic
canceled his junior year of high
school ball, making the recruiting
process a little more difficult.
“With my dad being an Assem-
bly of God pastor, I was reaching
P
In the middle of the action
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Pendleton’s Nic Sheley (13) delivers a pitch against Hood River Valley on Tuesday, April 13, 2021. Sheley has
signed to play for North Central University in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Rams are a NCAA Division III pro-
gram that plays in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference.
out to schools with a connection
to the church,” he said. “I reached
out to North Central and got a hit,
which was nice.”
Babcock didn’t hesitate to take
a good look at Sheley.
“In recruiting Nic, we had a
connection through the Assem-
bly of God church,” he said. “We
thought he would be a good fit for
us, as a person and a player.”
Sheley played his first two
seasons of high school ball for
south albany before his family
moved to Pendleton.
“The competition is different
because of the area we are in,”
Sheley said. “I think I was expect-
ing a little more competition, but
because of COVID, everyone’s
programs are a little different right
now.”
Being the new kid on the block,
Sheley had to earn his roster spot,
which was fine by him.
“It has been nice to have to push
myself to earn a spot,” he said. “I
play wherever coach needs me. I
have great teammates, which has
made the transition great.”
Haguewood said he got a call
from South Albany coach Brad
Kidd, who gave Sheley a glowing
recommendation.
“He told me I had a good family
coming in, and that he was a good
kid,” Haguewood said. “This
family has been a great addition
to our baseball family and commu-
nity. Nic is a good teammate and
has been a benefit to us.”
Sheley has shown marked
improvement since he first arrived
in Pendleton, and Haguewood has
taken notice.
“He has improved in the short
time he has been here,” Hague-
wood said. “He’s gotten bigger
North Central University is
located in the midst of the major
league teams in Minneapo-
lis, which gives the students an
opportunity to take in their favor-
ite sports.
With cold and snowy winters
in Minneapolis, the Rams get to
play at least one doubleheader at
U.S. Bank Stadium, home of the
Minnesota Vikings.
“That’s fun for the players,”
Babcock said.
Sheley plans to major in sports
management with an emphasis on
coaching. He would like to be a
baseball coach.
North Central also is a stone’s
throw from museums, historic
buildings, Mall of America, and
if you are adventurous there is the
Minneapolis Food Tour in June.
The university also is 3 miles
north of the intersection where
George Floyd died last year.
Floyd’s memorial was held in the
sanctuary on the campus.
Sheley said the civil unrest in
Minneapolis is concerning, but it
did not deter him from selecting
North Central.
“i think i will feel safe on the
school campus,” he said. “I’ve been
praying through these times. Part
of the reason I chose North Central
was because of how involved they
are in the community.”
Oregon State QB looking to prove he’s a worthy starter in 2021
By NICK DASCHEL
The Oregonian
COrVallis — The final
minutes of the longest, weirdest
college football season were about
to end in December 2020 when
Oregon State coach Jonathan Smith
turned to freshman quarterback
Ben Gulbranson.
In a nutshell, Smith asked
Gulbranson, wanna play?
Wanna play? You mean after
graduating early from high school
and enrolling at Oregon State in
January? Having spring practice
pulled and wondering for months
if there would be a football season
because of coronavirus? Then when
a season finally emerges, playing
games inside empty stadiums?
Wanna play?
“I was all for it,” Gulbranson
said.
That one series, culminating
in an 18-yard touchdown pass to
Zeriah Beason on the final play
of Oregon state’s 2020 football
season, served as Gulbranson’s
college baptism. It’s a piece of
Amanda Loman/Associated Press, File
Oregon State quarterback Ben Gulbranson (17) throws to an open receiv-
er against Arizona State in Corvallis in December 2020. The young signal
caller got his first taste of live action in the team’s last series of the sea-
son, and he capitalized by throwing a touchdown pass to receiver Zeriah
Beason.
proof that enthusiasm for the 6-foot-
3, 216-pounder with a big arm has
merit.
“It was huge for his confidence,”
offensive coordinator Brian Lind-
gren said. “Just the fact that I went
out there, I did some things, I made
some plays, in the Pac-12. OK, I
know I can do this. I can build on
this.”
Given Gulbranson’s position of
quarterback, that final series was
beyond personal.
“i think it gives his teammates
confidence,” Lindgren said. “It kind
of opened everybody’s eyes around
the program, coaches and players.”
That one series, combined with
Gulbranson’s work last fall in prac-
tice, confirmed that he’s ready to
challenge as Oregon State’s next
starting quarterback. This spring,
Gulbranson and redshirt sophomore
Chance Nolan are taking turns with
the starting unit, as Tristan Gebbia
heals from a hamstring surgery.
Those three are expected to duel
for the starting job when preseason
practices commence in August.
“He’s very much like Tristan.
Really sharp, really understands
the game. Loves football,” Lind-
gren said. “One of those guys that’s
kind of a gym rat, always around
the facility trying to get more infor-
mation.”
Gulbranson knows what it’s like
to compete, yet be a good teammate.
He’s a twin, and one of five children.
Gulbranson’s twin sister, abby, is
SPORTS SHORT
OHA changes mask mandate for outdoor sports
Bend Bulletin
saleM — The Oregon Health
Authority has finally changed its
mask rule for outdoor noncon-
tact sports, announcing Monday,
April 26, that masks do not need
to be worn by athletes “compet-
ing in noncontact sports outdoors
and maintaining at least 6 feet of
distance from others and the other
virus protective protocols.”
The change comes in response
to summit’s Maggie Williams’
school record-breaking, 800-meter-
run on April 21.
Williams broke the storm girls
800-meter record in 2 minutes, 8.45
seconds, while wearing a mask. She
collapsed at the finish, in complete
oxygen-debt, according to Summit
track and field coach Dave Turn-
bull.
“The Oregon Health authority
regularly reviews COVID-19 guid-
ance based on medical evidence
and evolving science. We are revis-
ing the current guidance on the use
of masks outdoors during competi-
tion,” the April 26 statement from
the OHA said. “The guidance will
allow people to take off face cover-
ings when competing in noncontact
sports outdoors and maintaining at
least 6 feet of distance from others
and the other virus protective proto-
cols.
“The exception will not apply
while training and conditioning
for these sports or for competitions.
The exception will not apply before
and after competing.
“as always, OHa will revise
guidance as needed to protect
public health during the pandemic.”
Pendleton’s Olivia Corbett hits the
ball during a singles match against
Ridgeview’s Kylee Rost in Pendleton
on Monday, April 26, 2021.
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
finishing her freshman year at Cal
Poly in San Luis Obispo. She’s not
a college athlete, but played four
sports in high school.
“She’s always been by my side,”
Gulbranson said.
Gulbranson comes from a
professional family, his father
Scott a doctor and mother Amy an
engineer. The classroom is import-
ant to the Gulbransons, but the
parents wanted the children to be
well-rounded. Ben tried most of the
traditional sports before settling on
football and basketball heading
into high school at Newbury Park
in California, northwest of los
Angeles.
Gulbranson said about eighth
grade, he believed college foot-
ball was in his future. At Newbury
Park, Gulbranson had a measur-
ing stick and role model in quarter-
back Cameron Rising, who was two
years older and on the radar of most
college football programs. Rising
eventually signed at Texas. (Rising
is now at Utah.)
See Beavers, Page A11