Kurt Giller to have season ending surgery

Freshman Nebraska pitcher and Manhattan native Kurt Giller is scheduled to undergo season-ending elbow surgery after MRI tests from earlier this week revealed a benign cyst on the right humerous of the freshman's elbow.

The results prevented a possible match up this weekend between Giller and his brother Matt, a redshirt sophomore outfielder for the Wildcats.

Matt and Kurt both lettered three years at Manhattan High School.
Matt walked on to the Wildcat baseball team his freshman year, and was eventually redshirted during his first season.

Meanwhile, Kurt accepted an offer to play at the University of Nebraska.
"I tried to get him to come here, and (K-State designated hitter and former Manhattan teammate) Blair DeBord tried to get him to come," Matt said. "I thought it would be kind of cool to have a brother on the team."

The two brothers frequently talk on the phone, and Matt has used his three years of college experience to mentor his younger brother during his freshman campaign at Nebraska.

"We probably talk once a week." Matt said. "Not necessarily about baseball but about life and how his college life is going and trying to help him in anyway I can."

Kurt has appeared in eight games, accumulating an 0-1 record with an 11.20 ERA.

"He has been struggling a little bit lately and so I have been trying to talk to him through the process," Matt said.

Matt has had the best season of his career in 2010. He is hitting .342 and has started 24 of the 26 games thus far. He is also fourth on the team with a .480 on-base percentage.

"He is just a blue collar kid that works extremely hard," head coach Brad Hill said. "He knows some of his limitations, and has done a great job of improving his game.

"He has stuck himself in the lineup with his bat, so we had to find a place for him. He is just a kid that is hungry to help this program to continue to improve."

Playing for and helping the K-State program improve is something Giller has been eager to do while growing up in the Manhattan area.

"It's great," he said. "Every time I put on that K-State jersey, there is a little extra that goes into it. It's a sense of pride."

Kurt Giller declined to be interviewed.