REBELS TAB THREE ON MW 25TH TEAM
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After the Hustlin’ Rebels wrapped up the 2024 season last weekend, the Mountain West released their 25th Anniversary Team on Wednesday afternoon. The Scarlet & Gray were honored with three former student-athletes on the list, honoring the collegiate careers of Bryson Stott, Xavier Scruggs and Eric Nielsen.
Stott kicks off the accolades as the most recent member of the roster, attending UNLV from 2016 to 2019 before entering the MLB Draft. After wrapping up the 2019 season, Stott was selected with the 14th overall pick by the Philadelphia Phillies. He collected a slew of honors repping the Scarlet & Gray, winning the Mountain West’s Tony Gwynn Co-Player of the Year award, an All-America honoree four times over being recognized by Perfect Game (second team), ABCA (third team), Baseball America (third team) and Collegiate Baseball (third team), as well as making deep runs in the Brooks Wallace Award and USA Baseball’s Golden Spikes Award. After the 2019 season, Stott led the Rebels in nearly every offensive category, such as: batting average (.356), slugging percentage (.599), on-base percentage (.486), doubles (20), homers (10), runs (65), walks (55) and total bases (133). Stott is currently the everyday second baseman for the Phillies, hitting a grand slam in the 2023 NL Wild Card Series (Game 2) against the Miami Marlins.
Scruggs also debuted as a professional after three seasons with the Rebels (2005-08), choosing a collegiate career after being drafted out of high school by the Seattle Mariners. He picked up 34 home runs and 112 RBI during the three seasons in Las Vegas, hitting a career batting line of .328 / .427 / .652. Scruggs’ 2008 season was filled with honors, winning the Mountain West triple Crown with the highest batting average, home run and RBI total during the season. His totals would garner the MW Tony Gwynn Player of the Year honor, a spot on the Louisville Slugger Second Team All-America list and the NCBWA District VIII Player of the Year award. Scruggs made his MLB appearance with the St. Louis Cardinals, currently a panelist for the MLB Network show ‘Off Base.’
Nielsen rounds out the Rebels’ alumni on the MW 25th Team, the fifth baseball player selected in the UNLV Athletics Hall of Fame back in 2017. As a double-honoree in the Hall of Fame with the 2003 UNLV Hustlin’ Rebel baseball team, he was a three-year starter in the outfield. Nielsen reigned as the first player to win the Mountain West Triple Crown in 2004 as a junior, also being noted as the only Rebel in history at the time who picked up a triple-digit note in hits for a season (101). He later was honored on the Louisville Slugger All-America First Team and Mountain West Player of the Year award, spending five years in the Toronto Blue Jays’ minor league system.