Rye's own Colin Moran, now a third baseman for the Tar Heels and nephew of Rye's B.J. Surhoff, looks to be a top pick for Major league Baseball:
"The kid from Rye, N.Y., could play a little, but he wasn't quite ready. So he headed to the University of North Carolina to sharpen his skills, get the college experience. Three years later, he was thought to be one of the top hitting prospects in that year's Draft.
That was the storyline in 1985, when B.J. Surhoff ended up being the No. 1 overall pick, by the Brewers, in the First-Year Player Draft. It looks like history is about to repeat itself, and Surhoff only has to look down his family tree to watch it unfold.
Colin Moran is the third baseman for the 2013 version of the Tar Heels, one of the higher-ranked teams in college baseball. He's also Surhoff's nephew, and he's following nearly the same path as his uncle.
Moran isn't a complete copycat, even if he throws right and hits left just like Surhoff did. Surhoff attended Rye High School, while his nephew went to Iona Prep. Moran went undrafted out of high school, while his uncle was taken in the fifth round by the Yankees in 1982. Surhoff left Chapel Hill with a career .392 average, a record that stood until Dustin Ackley recently surpassed it. Moran? He's only hit .354 as his team headed toward conference tournament play. And while Moran's name will likely be discussed by the Astros, who hold the top pick, most don't see him as Houston's Plan A, so he won't be able to match Uncle B.J. in that regard. That's fine with the 21-year-old, who never really thought of his amateur career as a remake."
