Honors & Awards

• Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll (Fall 2006; Spring 2007; Fall 2007; Spring 2008; Fall 2008)
• 2008 ESPN the Magazine First-Team Academic All-District VII
• 2008 First-Team Academic All-Big 12
• 2008 UNL HERO Leadership Award

2009 Outlook: One Husker looking for a bounce back year is outfielder DJ Belfonte (BELL-font-e) • Hit .307 as a freshman before hitting just .241 last spring • Provided the Huskers with power from the leadoff spot, tying for the team lead with 15 doubles and three triples while also swiping a team-high 14 bases • Worked hard on making adjustments in the fall and the results were evident in his improved play • Possesses a good eye at the plate and handles the bat well, making him an ideal leadoff hitter • Spent the summer in the Cape Cod League playing for the Harwich Mariners, hitting .280 with 33 runs scored and 11 stolen bases in 31 games • Topped the Mariners in steals, walks (19) and hit-by-pitches (11) in helping Harwich to a 24-20 mark • Carries a 3.70 GPA in finance and will contend for academic All-America honors in 2009, as he posted a 4.00 GPA during the fall semester • Driven competitor with great leadership qualities.

2008: One of two Huskers to start every game, Belfonte was the Huskers’ starting right fielder and split time in the leadoff spot, hitting .241 with a homer, 37 RBIs and 47 runs scored • Paced the Huskers in  doubles (15), triples (three), sacrifice flies (six) and stolen bases (14) while ranking third in runs • Totaled 14 multi-hit games, including his first career four-hit contest against eventual CWS participant Stanford on Feb. 22 • Drew three walks while going 1-for-8 with a triple and two runs scored in the NCAA Lincoln Regional • Hit .200 in 10 at-bats at the Big 12 Championship • Started all 27 league contests and led NU in doubles (six) and stolen bases (seven), but was limited to a .186 average • Scored five times and had two hits in a series win over No. 9 Texas A&M • Went 1-for-2 with two RBIs and a double against Western Illinois on April 29 • Blistered Baylor pitching, hitting .454 (5-for-11) with six RBIs in the series win • Had two hits, including a two-run single in the 10th and three RBIs in NU’s 6-4 win on April 26 before coming back with two hits and three more RBIs in the nightcap • Hit .375 in a two-game series against Creighton, including a 3-for-5 effort with a double, triple, three RBIs and three runs scored in a 16-7 win on April 23 • Went 3-for-12 against Kansas, including a 2-for-4 effort with two doubles on April 19 • Broke out of an 0-for-15 slump in the series finale at No. 21 Oklahoma State on April 13 with a pair of hits, including an RBI double • Had two doubles and scored twice in a win at No. 13 Texas on March 28 • Was 3-for-8 and scored three times in NU’s sweep of Northern Colorado • Was 2-for-12 at Kansas State, but drove in three runs, including the game-tying run in the top of the ninth in the series finale off of All-Big 12 closer Daniel Edwards • Hit .400 (6-for-15) with seven runs scored in a series sweep of Northern Colorado • Nearly hit for the cycle in the series finale against Northern Colorado on March 10, going 3-for-5 with a triple and the first homer of his career - stretching a total of 332 at-bats • Paced NU at Stanford, hitting .467 (7-for-15) with five RBIs in a series loss, highlighted by a 4-for-6 effort with a career-high four RBIs in a 9-2 win on Feb. 22.

2007: Belfonte quickly adapted to the college ranks, earning the starting nod in right field in the season opener and eventually moving into the top of the NU lineup • Became the first Husker since Alex Gordon in 2003 to hit over .300 as a true freshman, batting .307 with 46 runs scored over 58 games • Topped NU in five offensive categories, including on-base percentage (.442), hit-by-pitches (19), multi-hit games (20), walks (34) and sacrifices (15), while ranking second on the squad in runs scored and stolen bases • Batted .250 (4-for-16) with four walks and five runs scored during the NCAA Tempe Regional • Shined offensively at the Big 12 Championship, hitting .357 (5-for-14) and scoring four runs • Highlighted NU’s win over No. 13 Texas A&M on May 23 with a 3-for-5 afternoon with two runs scored, while also adding a pair of hits and scoring twice in a loss to No. 5 Texas on May 26 • Flourished in conference action, hitting a team-best .343 with 24 runs scored in 26 games • Finished 11th in the Big 12 with a .343 average in conference play and ranked in the top 10 in several categories, including hits (33, seventh), on-base percentage (.456, seventh) and runs (24, 10th) - placing first or second among conference rookies in all three categories • Sparked the Huskers to a series win over Baylor, hitting .455 (5-for-11) with a double, two runs scored and three hit-by-pitches • Batted .500 (6-for-12) with two walks and a sacrifice in the series win over KSU • Hit .375 (3-for-8) in his two games against No. 4 Texas with three runs scored, going 2-for-3 and scoring twice on April 21 • Drove in a season-high two runs against No. 23 Oklahoma on April 15, as he went 4-for-13 with three walks and a stolen base in the series • Was 4-for-8 with four walks and scored four times in the series triumph over No. 13 Oklahoma State, including a 3-for-4 effort in the series finale • Hit .357 (5-for-14) at No. 14 Texas A&M with five runs scored, posting a pair of multi-hit games • Went 2-for-4 with three runs scored in the series opener on March 30 • Was 2-for-4 with a double and scored twice against Missouri on March 24 • Had his first career three-hit performance, going 3-for-4 with a walk in a win over Wayne State on March 13 • Had two of NU’s four hits in the series opener with No. 22 Alabama on March 9 • Went 2-for-3 and crossed the plate three times against Iowa on March 4 • Was hit by three pitches and scored twice in a win over Stetson on March 5 • Collected his first career multi-hit day by going 2-for-2 with a double against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Feb. 23.

Rockhurst High School: Belfonte was one of the Midwest’s top players for Coach Jim Degraw at Rockhurst High School in Kansas City • Earned all-state honors as both a junior and senior, despite missing nearly all of his senior campaign with a torn ACL suffered during the fall of 2005 • Ranked as the third-best high school product in Missouri for the 2006 MLB Draft by Baseball America • Played for the Kansas City Sluggers and Coach Shane Weld over the summer of 2006, hitting .395 with four homers, 32 runs scored, 17 doubles and a pair of triples • Garnered All-Missouri honors as a junior hitting .406 with four homers, five triples and four doubles • Was a starter on Rockhurst’s state runner-up team as a sophomore, driving in five runs in the state title game • Named the 2005 Class 6A (largest) Missouri Defensive Player of the Year by the Missouri High School Football Coaches Association, leading RHS in tackles (47), rushing yards (743), and touchdowns (11) for the state’s top-ranked team • Played both safety and running back, earning all-state honors as a defensive back in both 2004 and 2005 • Was a finalist for the Kansas City Sports Commission’s state high school athlete of the year in 2005-06 • Excelled in the classroom, where he was a four-year member of the honor roll, a National Honor Society member and a runner-up for Rockhurst’s Scholar-Athlete Award as a senior.

Personal: Born on May 22, 1987, in Kansas City • Parents are Henry and Carol Belfonte • Has one brother (Sal) and one sister (Franki) • Majors in finance and carries a 3.70 GPA entering the spring semester.