Kam Lane thought he was going to play college baseball for Washington State after he graduated from Eagle High in 2015.
But shortly after Lane arrived on the Cougars’ Pullman, Wash., campus in June, the entire coaching staff that recruited him was fired.
Lane ended up transferring to Salt Lake Community College, where he has started at center or right field for the past two seasons.
His collegiate career will receive a major upgrade this fall when he joins the University of Miami program.
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Lane said he accepted a partial scholarship with the Hurricanes on Friday. The 6-foot-2, 185-pound outfielder also had interest from Utah, Washington, UC San Diego, Seattle and New Mexico, he said.
“It was kind of a dream come true. From the baseball side, playing in the ACC and then academically as well,” said Lane, who plans to go to law school.
Heading into the 2017 season, the Hurricanes’ 44-year postseason streak was the longest in history for any NCAA sport and included four national championships. Miami’s run ended in May when the NCAA Division I Baseball Selection Committee left it out of the 64-team tournament.
“It was the day after my birthday, and my (SLCC) coach called and said he got a call from a coach at Miami asking about me,” Lane said. “...Then they called me about a week later. I ended up sending them a ton of video. They heard and saw the right things and then last Thursday night they came back with an offer.
“I committed Friday morning.”
In two seasons with the Bruins, Lane batted .304 with a slugging percentage of .446 to go with 72 RBIs, 18 doubles, 18 stolen bases, nine home runs and five triples.
Salt Lake Community College competes in the Scenic West Athletic Conference, which is a wood bat league. The Bruins lost in the conference championship this spring to the College of Southern Nevada, which is where current Washington Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper played.
Rachel Roberts: 208-377-6422, @IDS_VarsityX
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