The Ross Report - Stephen Strasburg

Christina Ross was a three-year letterwinner for the Aztec softball team from 2006-08. Last month, Ross became the second All-American in program history when she was named to the Easton Second Team. Over her career, Ross twice earned MWC Pitcher of the Year honors and was a three-time all-league selection. Ross is the career SDSU record holder in solo shutouts (23), shutouts (tied - 28) and strikeouts (612), despite playing just three seasons for the Aztecs. Ross is currently interning in the Aztec media relations office.

SAN DIEGO -- A consensus All-American as a sophomore in 2008, Aztec right-hander Stephen Strasburg made national headlines when he struck out 23 batters against Utah on March 11. He finished the season ranked among the top five in the nation in both strikeouts and earned run average. Along the way he set Mountain West Conference and SDSU records for strikeouts in a game and season.

That performance catapulted him into national prominence and earned him a place on the U.S. National Collegiate Team this past summer where he went 4-0 with a 0.88 earned run average, helping the team to a pair of international tournament titles. He was then selected as the only collegiate player on the U.S. Olympic squad that captured the bronze medal in Beijing in August. While in China, he made a pair of appearances, striking out 16 over 11 innings and holding the Netherlands to one hit in the team's first win.

Strasbrug reflected on last season, his Olympic experience and the coming season in this week's edition of the Ross Report.

Ross Report:

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On his trip to Beijing for the Olympics:
It was just a great experience going all the way out there to China. It was a great atmosphere with thousands of fans. Definitely something I'm going to remember for the rest of my life.

On what he wants to accomplish at SDSU:
Definitely our number one goal right now is to get to a regional and eventually a college world series. I think we have a great team this year, a lot of new young talent. We're ready to do big things, we're working real hard in the fall.

On what the baseball team is doing to prepare:
We're having individual workouts, we're really getting after it in the conditioning and the lifting and when we come out on the field we're giving 110%.

On his 23 strikeout game vs. Utah last season:
It was kind of weird at the time, I didn't really realize what I did. It was a close game, so I was just going out there trying to keep my team in the ballgame. It just worked out that we won 1-0. It started to hit me later in the week, I said "Ok, I struck out 23. That's a pretty big deal I guess."

On what he expects going into the (MLB) draft next year:
I'm just gonna go out there and do my best this season, try to get to a regional. Whatever happens, happens. It's going to happen for a reason.

On whether there is a particular team he'd like to play for:
Any team that would give me the opportunity to play in the big leagues at some time, it would be a great experience. I'm a baseball fan. I don't really like a certain team, I just like watching baseball.

On playing for Tony Gwynn:
It's a great learning experience. Coach Gwynn is a great individual and was a great player during his time. It's great to sit down and talk to him about all of his memories and stuff.