Lynn, MA. 12/8/2009.... The North Shore Navigators announced the signing of Catcher Bryce Tafelski of the University of California at Santa Barbara. Tafelski a right handed hitting catcher was drafted out of high school by the Cleveland Indians. He will form a potent right/left catching tandem with returning Navigator catcher John Hill of Concordia.The TAFELSKI FILE:
2009Appeared in 18 games as a freshman, making 13 starts, all at catcher...Four of his 10 hits went for extra bases...Hit first career home run on Apr. 15 vs. Cal State Bakersfield...Had career-best three RBI in the game...Batted .286 in eight Big West games...Went 2-for-4 with two RBI, a run and a double in his first game, Feb. 22 at Cal State Bakersfield...Had two hits and two runs scored on Apr. 1 at No. 21 San Diego State...Went 2-for-4 with a double and run scored on May 17 at UC Riverside...Vs. No. 1 UC Irvine on May 22, went 1-for-2 with two RBI and a double.
High SchoolPlayed for Dave Kuehn at Santa Ynez High School...Played catcher for the Pirates...Voted MVP of the Los Padres League, First Team All-County, and First Team All-State his senior year...Hit .451 with eight homeruns, 39 RBI, 10 doubles, and 20 steals as a senior...Amassed a .380 batting average with six doubles, nine home runs, two triples, 23 RBI, and 21 stolen bases...Selected team MVP, First Team All-League and First Team All-County his junior year...Helped the Pirates win first place in the Santa Ynez/Cabrillo baseball tournament...Went 12-for-15 with four home runs and 16 RBI in the four-game tournament...Competed in basketball and football for the Pirates...A member of the National Honors Society.
Born in Goleta, Calif...Majoring in business economics...Would play football if he was not playing baseball...Roots for the Seattle Mariners, Green Bay Packers and Los Angeles Lakers...Favorite athletes are Jason Varitek, Brett Favre, Josh Hamilton and Kobe Bryant...Lists "Disturbia" amd "Sandlot" as his favorite films...Enjoys viewing "Man vs. Wild" and "Sportscenter" weekly...Would choose Adam Sandler or Denzel Washington to star him in a Hollywood movie...Lists "Sports Illustrated" and "ESPN" as his favorite magazines...Favorite book is "Where the Red Fern Grows"...The best player he ever faced was Danny Duffy...His favorite aspects about UCSB are the beach, playing baseball, and the girls...Most memorable sports moment was setting the home run record at Santa Ynez High...Would invite Jessica Simpson, Pamela Anderson, and Jessica Alba to dinner if he could...The best baseball advice he ever received was given to him by Vince Sagisi who said: "When you step inside those white lines, give it everything you possibly have" and "Don't ever quit until the game is over"...Has the unique skill of being able to juggle...Also recruited by Cal Poly and UCLA...Was drafted out of high school by the Cleveland Indians...His father, Mark, also attended UCSB...Has one brother, Keith...Son of Mark and Reta Tafelski.
