by Daniel Schrader
Daily Lobo
He was a high school standout in Albuquerque baseball first.
Now - one year into his baseball career at UNM - Jordan Pacheco is a collegiate standout.
Pacheco was selected last week to the Louisville Slugger Freshmen All-American team. This award, which is doled out by the newspaper Collegiate Baseball, is yet another addition to an extraordinary first year for the Lobo infielder and pitcher.
Last month, the second baseman put his stamp on UNM athletics when he was the first freshman baseball player in school history to gain All-American honors by being named to the Collegiate Baseball All-American third team.
"It feels good," Pacheco said. "I hope it fuels other guys coming in here to see that they can do that."
With the addition of Pacheco as a freshman All-American, head coach Rich Alday has six Lobos under his tutelage to have won the honor.
"He is a tremendous worker and a very good student," Alday said. "He's a wonderful guy to coach."
Pacheco's awards didn't stop at both All-American honors. He was also one of only two freshmen in the country among the 64 nominees to the Dick Hower National Player of the Year watch list.
"It was a good award and a good honor," Pacheco said. "We have a lot of guys on this team that are capable of that."
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Pacheco capped off the 2005 season with a .408 batting average, 52 RBIs and 15 home runs. He was also a Mountain West Conference first-team selection.
Pacheco honed his skills under head coach Stan McKeever at La Cueva High School.
"Playing at La Cueva taught me not to mess around," Pacheco said. "That program taught me to stay with my game plan and work hard."
Pacheco gained All-State recognition his senior year of high school by batting .500 with 35 RBIs. He also finished his final year as a pitcher with a 4-0 record and a 3.58 ERA. With these accomplishments, Pacheco led the Bears to two straight state championships in 2003 and 2004.
"Playing baseball at La Cueva made me a better person," Pacheco said. "Their success is great for the school and great for the program."
With the completion of his freshman year, Pacheco will have his work cut out for him as a team leader in the years to come. UNM finished in the bottom half of the teams in the MWC tournament with a disappointing single win.
The Lobos ended up with a 26-32 overall record. They finished the 2005 season with an even 15-15 MWC record.
"We were pretty young and had some injuries," Alday said. "We had five starting sophomores and two freshmen. Those along with some injuries really hurt us a lot."
The Lobos will likely be returning more than 20 players from last season's roster. With a loss of only eight seniors, the majority of the same squad will be returning to set their sights on a MWC title.
"Everybody likes everybody on this team," Pacheco said. "Our health will be back next season. We've got a couple of good pitchers that will be back along with some healthy hitters. We will definitely get over .500 next season."
