Los Osos grad Arby Fields completes transfer to LSU
Arby Fields is still unsure where he went wrong at Northwestern but the Los Osos High School graduate is hoping everything will go right at LSU. After three semesters at Northwestern and one at Cypress Junior College, the two-sport star from Rancho Cucamonga has transferred to LSU where he will focus on baseball and potentially not set foot on a football field.
Eight months ago Fields was coming off a fantastic freshman baseball season -- the starting center fielder hit .292 with 27 RBIs -- and entered football season as the starting running back for the Wildcats.
There were a couple of fumbles and a nagging shoulder injury, but Fields is unsure to this day why he fell out of favor at Northwestern. The team's leading rusher as a freshman had just six carries over the final eight games of his sophomore season.
"To be honest, I never got a straight answer," Fields said. "I really didn't know what it was. I didn't leave on a bad note. I wasn't forced out or anything but the coaches and I weren't on the same page. I decided that if I was going to achieve my goals in life I needed to make a change."
Fields left Northwestern in December for Cypress Junior College, where he hit .344 this season with 25 RBIs and 35 runs scored. During his stay he received scholarship offers from Alabama, Auburn, USC, Arizona State and LSU, among others. Somewhere along the way football became expendable.
"If I was just going to go somewhere and play baseball I wanted to go to Omaha and the College World Series," Fields said. "Not that Northwestern isn't capable of that, but you see the SEC schools and the Arizona State's in the College World Series all the time. I took a trip to LSU and fell in love with it."
Fields has spoken with the LSU football coaching staff about joining the team but is determined not to let football hinder his development as a baseball player, something he felt occurred being spread thin at Northwestern.
Fields rushed for 302 yards and five touchdowns on 82 carries at Northwestern in 2009. In the first four games of his sophomore season -- all victories -- he gained 160 yards on 56 carries before falling precipitously on the depth chart. Northwestern lost six of its final eight games to finish in a tie for seventh in the Big Ten.
"We're disappointed that Arby has made the decision to leave Northwestern," Northwestern head football coach Pat Fitzgerald said in a statement. "He is an outstanding young man and we wish him nothing but the best in his future endeavors."
During the Wildcats' wait to play in the Ticket City Bowl after the regular season, Fields considered transferring directly to schools such as Oregon, Oregon State and Miami. In an effort to avoid sitting out a year he elected to return close to home at Cypress Junior College. Football isn't off the table but baseball is the obvious priority, according to Fields.
"I've talked about football and baseball with LSU and I'm considering my options," he said. "But baseball is the one where I want to make my career if I can. I felt like football hindered my ability to be the best I can be."
After a stellar career at Los Osos High School, Fields was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 32nd round of the 2009 Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft. At Los Osos he was issued scholarship offers by schools including Washington State, Nevada, UNLV, Duke, Idaho State and Colorado State. UCLA and Northwestern were the most accommodating in allowing Fields to pursue both his sporting interests.
About Clay
Clay Fowler has been covering high school sports for six years in California and Texas. He was born in Dallas, attended the University of Texas and worked in Central Texas before joining the Daily Bulletin staff in 2006.
Email Clay here
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