A player as solid as Landon Nakata probably would have started at several schools in at least one of his first two years of college. However, at Penn State for the last two years, the middle infield has been the property of draft picks Matt Cavagnaro and Scott Gaffney. With each of them playing professional baseball now, the time has come for Landon, and he should see his playing time greatly increase this year after starting just 11 games in his first two years. After receiving just spot starts at second base and a few at third base last year, Nakata will likely start at either second or short this year. During his first few years, he has displayed outstanding plate discipline, including logging a .444 on-base percentage as a freshman, and a knack for making the most of his playing time, which included having a third of his hits go for extra bases last year. After learning from two of the finest middle infielders to ever play at Penn State in his first two years, Landon will now have every opportunity to cement his own legacy as a talented middle infielder for the Nittany Lions.

Summer 2007: Played for the Waimea Waves of the Hawaii Collegiate Baseball League....Helped lead the team to a 20-12 overall record and a first place finish in the six-team league.

"Lando has done a great job handling many different roles for us the past two seasons. He has bounced around the infield and has shown he is capable of playing any of the positions on a regular basis. Lando plays hard in practice and always seems to find a way to get the job done. We anticipate him to be an everyday starter for us while providing an offensive spark as well." From the Coaches' Suite

2007 (Sophomore): Spent the season as a backup for all three infield positions but mainly was Mike Deese's backup at third....Started four games at third, two at DH, and one at second....Got a hit in four of his seven starts....Hit .273 with nine hits in 33 at bats with a .394 slugging percentage and a .342 on-base percentage....Had three extra-base hits on the year, the first of his career, and scored six runs in just 37 plate appearances.
Game-by-Game Highlights: Drew a walk as a pinch hitter and scored a run in his first appearance of the year at North Carolina (3-2)....Got a hit and recorded a season-high three defensive assists in the finale at North Carolina (3-4)....Went 1-for-2 with a run and an RBI after entering as a defensive replacement at Kansas (3-13)....Recorded his second career multi-RBI game vs. Temple (4-11) as he drove in two runs and scored one....Drew a leadoff walk and scored the first of four runs in the seventh inning of the third game at Michigan State (4-15), helping Penn State to take the lead after it entered its final at bat trailing by three....Entered the game as a replacement at third for Mike Deese and went 2-for-2 with a double and a triple and two RBI in the third game of the Northwestern series (4-21)....Went a perfect 3-for-3 at Indiana (4-28)....Doubled and scored in the series finale at Indiana (4-29)....Went 1-for-2 vs. Ohio State (5-19).

2006 (Freshman): Started four games and played in 19 as a true freshman....Displayed outstanding plate discipline as he drew seven walks and struck out just five times in only 21 at bats....Had a .429 on-base percentage, which would have been second on the team if he had qualified for the team lead....Was flawless in the field in 17 chances.
Game-by-Game Highlights: Drew a walk in his first plate appearance and had a two-run single in his first official career at bat vs. Sacred Heart (3-5)....Entered the game as a pinch hitter and later as a defensive replacement and went 2-for-3 with a run scored at Arizona State (3-25) while playing in front of his family, who had come to Tempe from Hawaii for the weekend....Got his first career start the next day at ASU (3-26)....Pinch ran and scored the go-ahead run in a win over Minnesota (3-31) in the Big Ten opener....Scored a run vs. Duquesne (4-12)....Drew a walk and scored a run vs. Michigan State (4-15)....Got his second career start and drew a walk and also had two sacrifice bunts vs. Michigan State (4-16)....Was one of just two players to have two sacrifices in a game....Went 1-for-4 in his third career start at Northwestern (4-22)....Went 1-for-3 with a run and a walk at Purdue (5-8) while also recorded a season-best five defensive assists.

Punahou HS: Named All-State Honorable Mention by the Honolulu Advertiser ('02, '03, '04); First team All-State his senior year; State Champions ('04); ILH and State Champions ('05); Team went 20-6 as a junior and 21-3 as a senior; Earned four varsity letters; Elected team captain for two years; Attended the same high school as professional golf standout Michelle Wie.

Background: Landon Thomas Nakata was born September 24, 1986 in Honolulu, Hawaii; Parents are Dale and Lawton, Sister Richelle (25); Sister Richelle played volleyball at UC-Davis; Landon is majoring in business.