BELLEVUE, Neb. -- Bellevue University baseball coach Duane Monlux announced today the signing of Owen Viano (Boise, Idaho/Treasure Valley CC) to a Letter of Intent to continue his academic and athletic careers at BU beginning in the fall.
Viano, a 6-3 outfielder, comes to Bellevue from Treasure Valley Community College in Ontario, Ore. He started all 25 games in which he appeared in 2021, hitting .299 with an .856 OPS, accounting for 13 extra-base hits and 23 RBI.
Prior to Treasure Valley, Viano attended Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Ore. where he started eight of 10 games before the season came to a premature end. He hit .222 and drove in seven runs with half of his hits going for extra bases.
Coach Monlux on Viano:
"Owen is a big, physical kid we feel is just beginning to scratch the surface as a player. He played for former LC-State Baseball Coach Jeremiah Robbins while he was at Umpqua so we know he has some toughness that he can bring to the team. We are really pumped to get him to campus in the next couple of weeks."
Viano joins earlier signees Blake Crippen (LHP, Hillsboro, Ore./Lane CC), Alec Ackerman (IF, Parker, Colo./San Jose State), Kanta Kobayashi (OF, Tokyo, Japan/Gonzaga), Alex Stufft (IF, Temecula, Calif./Westmont), McKinley O'Connor (C, Panaca, Nev./Antelope Valley College), Mathieu Sirois (1B, Quebec City, Que.), and Tradd Richardson (C, Frenchtown, Mont./Lassen College) in the Bruins' 2021 signing class.
Bellevue finished the year at 41-18, won the NSAA Regular-Season title, and reached the NAIA National Tournament for the 23rd time in program history. It was their eighth 40-win campaign in the last nine full seasons of competition.
Previous College Stats:
| Season | GP | AVG | OBP | SLG | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | Runs | SB |
| 2020 (UC) | 8 | .222 | .382 | .370 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 4 | 0-0 |
| 2021 (TVCC) | 25 | .299 | .382 | .474 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 23 | 18 | 3-5 |
| Totals | 33 | .282 | .382 | .451 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 28 | 22 | 3-5 |
