 In the summer of 2001, he played for the Peninsula Oilers in the Alaska Baseball League, and in the summer of 2002 he played for the Hyannis Harbor Hawks, then known as the Hyannis Mets, in the Cape Cod League.As a freshman right fielder for the University of California at Berkeley Bears, where he majored in American History, in he batted .310, and had a team-best 11 stolen bases.He had a school record 23-game hitting streak.