Purdue Personal Preferences
Favorite Athlete or Coach: Charles Woodson
In His MP3 Player: Zac Brown Band
Last Concert He Attended: Dierks Bentley
Favorite Writer: Joe Posnanski
Film Favorites:
Actor: Steve Carrell, Actress: Jennifer Aniston, Director: Clint Eastwood
Favorite Month: June
Favorite Holiday: Christmas
Favorite Food: Buffalo Wings
Favorite Outdoor Activity: Golfing
Favorite Purdue Building: Horticulture Building
Favorite Big City: Singapore
Unique Travel Locale: Bahamas
Foreign Country He'd Most Like to Visit: Japan
Another Sport He Enjoys Playing: Golf
Most Memorable Moment at Purdue: Sweeping Indiana in 2011
Enjoyed this Professor's Class: Paul Siciliano, Horticulture
Photo Gallery Thru 2011 | 2012 Photo Gallery
2012 Season
Academic All-Big Ten... Spillner played in 58 games, making 55 starts, all but in center field... batted leadoff in 52 of his 55 starts... had four hits in each of the consecutive wins against Western Carolina and Auburn... started the season hot overall, going 10-for-21 with seven walks and 12 runs scored in the six February games... homered as part of a four-RBI effort in the game two win at Murray State... the longball was a three-run shot in a tie game and his 200th hit at Purdue... recorded an equal number of walks to strikeouts for the second year in a row... scored four times in the Western Carolina win... hit safely in all three games of the Auburn Tournament as well as the series at Murray State and Ohio State... had two hits in three of the four games of the Wichita State series... each base safely four times and scored three runs in the series-opening win against Penn State... doubled twice in the finale of the PSU series... doubled, walked twice and scored three times in the Big Ten clincher against Michigan... had two hits while reaching base safely in each of his first three plate appearances in the NCAA Regional game against Kent State... finished his career ranked among the Purdue all-time leaders in games played, at-bats, hits, runs scored, doubles, triples, total bases, walks and stolen bases.
2011 Season
Second Team All-Big Ten... Big Ten All-Tournament Team... Academic All-Big Ten... Big Ten Player of the Week (March 14)... Spillner played in all 57 games and started 56 times, primarily in center field... batted leadoff in 44 of the 56 games he started... one of only three players that saw action in every game... finished the season batting primarily sixth in the lineup, hitting safely in each of the final nine games of the year... shared the team lead with 17 doubles... registered an equal number of walks (31) as strikeouts... left-handed hitter batted .301 against lefties... reached base safely 49 percent of the time when leading off an inning... recorded 11 of his 33 RBIs with two outs in an inning... posted a 10-game hit streak March 16 through April 1... shared the team lead with 23 multi-hit games... went 9-for-28 with five walks and seven runs scored during the early-season eight-game win streak... led the way on the spring break trip with seven extra-base hits and 11 runs scored, finishing eight-game tour of Tennessee 13-for-34... led off the game with a home run twice on the spring break trip... kept swinging a hot bat through the end of March, going 9-for-14 in the four games after returning from spring break... finished the month batting .413 with 11 extra-base hits and 18 runs scored... batted .381 with only two strikeouts in 50 plate appearances in midweek action... led the way with a 12-for-33 showing during the eight-game homestand in May... batted a team-best .440 with 14 RBIs and 17 runs scored at home... finished the season strong, batting .351 with a team-high 13 runs scored in May... delivered the game-tying hit with two outs in the ninth inning of the series-opening win against Indiana... hit safely in every game of the Morehead State, Tennessee-Martin, Tennessee Tech, Michigan, Indiana and Iowa series and the Big Ten Tournament... scored a run in every game of the Morehead, UTM, Tech and Northwestern series... Big East/Big Ten Challenge (Feb. 18-20): drove in three runs with recording a hit in the Connecticut win; doubled in the games against Notre Dame and Pittsburgh... at Morehead State (Feb. 26-27): hit safely and a scored a run in all four games, finishing the weekend 5-for-18 with four runs scored... at Tennessee-Martin (March 11-13): earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors for 7-for-13 series, hitting safely and scoring a run in all three games; recorded four hits and three RBIs, scoring the game-tying run in the ninth inning, in the game two win and homering to leadoff the series finale... at Tennessee Tech (March 18-20): homered in the first two games of the series, recording three extra-base hits en route to a 5-for-13 series in which he scored five runs... Bradley (March 25-27): doubled twice and scored three times as part of a four-hit effort in the home win... IPFW (March 29): posted his sixth multi-hit effort in the last eight games, going 3-for-5 in the midweek win... Michigan (April 8-10): hit safely in all three games, recording two hits in the series opener and finale to finish the weekend 5-for-13... at Northwestern (April 23-24): three-hit game in the series-opening win was highlighted by the go-ahead two-run single in the seventh inning; reached base safely seven times and stole three bases on the weekend... Indiana (April 30-May 1): after delivering the big hit in the ninth inning of the 12-inning win in the series opener, came back the next day and recorded three hits and two RBIs... Illinois-Chicago (May 17): singled twice, walked twice and scored twice while moving to the No. 6 hole in the lineup for first time... Iowa (May 19-21): led the way with a 5-for-12 series, delivering the big hit in Purdue's big innings in the games two and three wins... at Big Ten Tournament (May 25-27): went 4-for-9 with three free passes, connecting for a two-run homer in the win against Penn State... Big Ten Rankings: fifth in doubles and walks; eighth in hits and total bases; and ninth in runs scored... Purdue Single-Season Rankings: second in at-bats, ninth in doubles and 13th in hits... Purdue All-Time Rankings: seventh in triples and 13th in stolen bases.
2010 Season
Spillner played in all 57 games and started 54 times, primarily in left field ... one of two players to see action in every game ... led the team in at-bats, triples and walks while ranking second in hits, runs scored, doubles and stolen bases ... established a new Purdue season-season record with seven triples ... one of two regular starters that walked (32) more than he struck out (26) ... reached base safely 48 percent of the time when leading off an inning ... ranked second on the team with 22 multi-hit games, including a team-best 13 three-hit efforts ... recorded 11 of his 18 steals in true road games ... batted .429 in Purdue's 10 neutral-site games ... batted .333 with nine extra-base hits, 15 walks and 20 runs scored in March ... batted .338 with seven extra-base hits and 15 runs scored in April ... hit safely in all three games of the Southern Illinois, Chicago State, Penn State and Indiana series and all four of Purdue's games at the Big Ten Tournament ... Big East/Big Ten Challenge (Feb. 26-March 1): recorded multiple hits, doubled and drove in a run in all three games he started, finishing the weekend 8-for-14 with four doubles and six RBIs; had three hits and four RBIs against Rutgers and reached safely five times as part of three-hit game against West Virginia ... at Southern Illinois (March 5-7): went 3-for-12 with six walks, three RBIs and three runs scored; walked three times and scored in the series-opening win ... at Ohio (March 19-20): finished the weekend 5-for-13 with a triple and four runs scored, scoring a run in all three games of the sweep; had three hits in the series opener ... IPFW (March 23): doubled, walked and scored twice as part of a two-hit effort in the home-opening win ... Chicago State (March 26-27): drove in a run and scored a run in all three games of the series sweep, finishing the weekend 7-for-13 with three triples, four RBIs and four runs scored; had two triples as part of a three-hit effort in the finale ... at Michigan (April 9-11): went 5-for-12 with two doubles, two RBIs and two runs scored; reached base safely five times in the series-opening win, doubling twice and walking twice ... at Illinois State (April 14): went 2-for-5 with a double, two RBIs and a runs scored in the win at the Missouri Valley Conference champion ... Penn State (April 16-18): finished the series sweep 6-for-11 with a double, two RBIs and two runs scored, recording multiple hits in the opener and finale ... at Chicago State (April 20): led off the game with a home run and finished the win with three RBIs ... at IPFW (April 27): went 2-for-5 with a double and two runs scored in the win ... at Indiana (April 30-May 2): led the way with a big series, recording three hits in all three games en route to finishing the weekend 9-for-14 and reaching base safely 13 times ... at Illinois (May 14-16): accounted for three of Purdue's six hits in the game two loss ... Big Ten Tournament (May 26-28): rebounded from a tough end to the regular season with an 8-for-20 showing in the four games, scoring five times; had three hits in the tourney opener against Iowa and win against Northwestern ... Big Ten Rankings: first in triples and fifth in walks ... Purdue Single-Season Rankings: first in triples and fifth in at-bats ... Purdue All-Time Rankings: 12th in triples.
2009 Season
Big Ten All-Freshman Team ... Batted .289 with five doubles, a triple, one home run, 24 RBIs and 26 runs scored in 43 appearances ... Big East/Big Ten Challenge (Feb. 20-22): Appeared in three games, making two starts. Hit .429 (3 for 7) with one RBI ... at Southeast Missouri State (Feb. 27): Hit .444 (4 for 9) with a double, three RBIs and three runs scored in the doubleheader ... at Texas State (March 6-8): Started all three games and went 4 for 10 (.400) with four RBIs and a run scored ... at Butler (March 11): Did not get a hit, but scored a pair of runs ... Dunn Hospitality Classic (March 13-15): Finished 2 for 11 (.182) with an RBI and a run scored ... at Illinois-Chicago (March 17-18): Started both games and went 1 for 4 with an RBI at the plate ... at Tennessee-Martin (March 20): Hit first collegiate home run and finished 1 for 2 with two RBIs and a run scored after entering the game as a reserve ... vs. SIU Edwardsville (March 21): Finished 1 for 1 with double and a run scored after entering the game off the bench ... IPFW (March 24): Went 1 for 4 with two runs scored ... at Northwestern (March 27-28): Drove in three runs despite getting just one hit in 10 at bats ... at IPFW (April 1): Started and went 3 for 7 with three RBIs and two runs scored ... Wabash (April 2): Finished 3 for 3 with a double and three runs scored ... Iowa (April 3-4): Appeared in two games, one start, and went 2 for 5 with an RBI ... Ball State (April 7): Hit .400 (2 for 5) with an RBI and a run scored ... Illinois State (April 8): Drove in one run on sacrifice fly and scored another ... at Penn State (April 10-12): Appeared in all three games, making one start ... at Illinois State (April 15): Finished 1 for 3 at the plate ... Ohio State (April 17-18): Batted .333 (4 for 12) with two doubles and a pair of runs scored in three games played ... Butler (April 22): Finished 2 for 2 with a pair of RBIs and a run scored after entering the game as a reserve ... at Minnesota (April 24-26): Appeared in all three games as a reserve ... Indiana (May 2-3): Scored a run in two appearances off the bench ... Illinois (May 14-16): Appeared in one game as a reserve ... Big Ten Tournament (May 20-22): Appeared in all three games as a reserve and scored one run.
High School
Earned four varsity letters in baseball at Northrop High School ... Led the team with a .445 average as a freshman and was an honorable mention all-conference honoree ... All-conference and all-area in baseball as a sophomore after hitting .475 ... Batted .465 as a junior en route to being named first team all-state, all-conference and all-area ... Named all-conference and all-area for a third time after a senior season in which he hit .451 ... 2008 North/South All-Star Game participant ... Broke 10 baseball records at Northrop during his prep career ... Also earned three varsity letters in football and two in basketball ... Received the Blanket Award as Northrop's most outstanding three-sport athlete his senior year.
Personal
Full name is Tyler Aaron Spillner ... Born May 24, 1989, in Fort Wayne, Ind. ... Son of Mike and Jeanette Spillner ... Has a brother, Michael, and a sister, Rachal ... Has two uncles, Greg and Imen Bojrab, that are Purdue graduates ... Majoring in landscape horticulture and design.
Favorite Athlete or Coach: Charles Woodson
In His MP3 Player: Zac Brown Band
Last Concert He Attended: Dierks Bentley
Favorite Writer: Joe Posnanski
Film Favorites:
Actor: Steve Carrell, Actress: Jennifer Aniston, Director: Clint Eastwood
Favorite Month: June
Favorite Holiday: Christmas
Favorite Food: Buffalo Wings
Favorite Outdoor Activity: Golfing
Favorite Purdue Building: Horticulture Building
Favorite Big City: Singapore
Unique Travel Locale: Bahamas
Foreign Country He'd Most Like to Visit: Japan
Another Sport He Enjoys Playing: Golf
Most Memorable Moment at Purdue: Sweeping Indiana in 2011
Enjoyed this Professor's Class: Paul Siciliano, Horticulture
Photo Gallery Thru 2011 | 2012 Photo Gallery2012 Season
Academic All-Big Ten... Spillner played in 58 games, making 55 starts, all but in center field... batted leadoff in 52 of his 55 starts... had four hits in each of the consecutive wins against Western Carolina and Auburn... started the season hot overall, going 10-for-21 with seven walks and 12 runs scored in the six February games... homered as part of a four-RBI effort in the game two win at Murray State... the longball was a three-run shot in a tie game and his 200th hit at Purdue... recorded an equal number of walks to strikeouts for the second year in a row... scored four times in the Western Carolina win... hit safely in all three games of the Auburn Tournament as well as the series at Murray State and Ohio State... had two hits in three of the four games of the Wichita State series... each base safely four times and scored three runs in the series-opening win against Penn State... doubled twice in the finale of the PSU series... doubled, walked twice and scored three times in the Big Ten clincher against Michigan... had two hits while reaching base safely in each of his first three plate appearances in the NCAA Regional game against Kent State... finished his career ranked among the Purdue all-time leaders in games played, at-bats, hits, runs scored, doubles, triples, total bases, walks and stolen bases.
2011 Season
Second Team All-Big Ten... Big Ten All-Tournament Team... Academic All-Big Ten... Big Ten Player of the Week (March 14)... Spillner played in all 57 games and started 56 times, primarily in center field... batted leadoff in 44 of the 56 games he started... one of only three players that saw action in every game... finished the season batting primarily sixth in the lineup, hitting safely in each of the final nine games of the year... shared the team lead with 17 doubles... registered an equal number of walks (31) as strikeouts... left-handed hitter batted .301 against lefties... reached base safely 49 percent of the time when leading off an inning... recorded 11 of his 33 RBIs with two outs in an inning... posted a 10-game hit streak March 16 through April 1... shared the team lead with 23 multi-hit games... went 9-for-28 with five walks and seven runs scored during the early-season eight-game win streak... led the way on the spring break trip with seven extra-base hits and 11 runs scored, finishing eight-game tour of Tennessee 13-for-34... led off the game with a home run twice on the spring break trip... kept swinging a hot bat through the end of March, going 9-for-14 in the four games after returning from spring break... finished the month batting .413 with 11 extra-base hits and 18 runs scored... batted .381 with only two strikeouts in 50 plate appearances in midweek action... led the way with a 12-for-33 showing during the eight-game homestand in May... batted a team-best .440 with 14 RBIs and 17 runs scored at home... finished the season strong, batting .351 with a team-high 13 runs scored in May... delivered the game-tying hit with two outs in the ninth inning of the series-opening win against Indiana... hit safely in every game of the Morehead State, Tennessee-Martin, Tennessee Tech, Michigan, Indiana and Iowa series and the Big Ten Tournament... scored a run in every game of the Morehead, UTM, Tech and Northwestern series... Big East/Big Ten Challenge (Feb. 18-20): drove in three runs with recording a hit in the Connecticut win; doubled in the games against Notre Dame and Pittsburgh... at Morehead State (Feb. 26-27): hit safely and a scored a run in all four games, finishing the weekend 5-for-18 with four runs scored... at Tennessee-Martin (March 11-13): earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors for 7-for-13 series, hitting safely and scoring a run in all three games; recorded four hits and three RBIs, scoring the game-tying run in the ninth inning, in the game two win and homering to leadoff the series finale... at Tennessee Tech (March 18-20): homered in the first two games of the series, recording three extra-base hits en route to a 5-for-13 series in which he scored five runs... Bradley (March 25-27): doubled twice and scored three times as part of a four-hit effort in the home win... IPFW (March 29): posted his sixth multi-hit effort in the last eight games, going 3-for-5 in the midweek win... Michigan (April 8-10): hit safely in all three games, recording two hits in the series opener and finale to finish the weekend 5-for-13... at Northwestern (April 23-24): three-hit game in the series-opening win was highlighted by the go-ahead two-run single in the seventh inning; reached base safely seven times and stole three bases on the weekend... Indiana (April 30-May 1): after delivering the big hit in the ninth inning of the 12-inning win in the series opener, came back the next day and recorded three hits and two RBIs... Illinois-Chicago (May 17): singled twice, walked twice and scored twice while moving to the No. 6 hole in the lineup for first time... Iowa (May 19-21): led the way with a 5-for-12 series, delivering the big hit in Purdue's big innings in the games two and three wins... at Big Ten Tournament (May 25-27): went 4-for-9 with three free passes, connecting for a two-run homer in the win against Penn State... Big Ten Rankings: fifth in doubles and walks; eighth in hits and total bases; and ninth in runs scored... Purdue Single-Season Rankings: second in at-bats, ninth in doubles and 13th in hits... Purdue All-Time Rankings: seventh in triples and 13th in stolen bases.
2010 Season
Spillner played in all 57 games and started 54 times, primarily in left field ... one of two players to see action in every game ... led the team in at-bats, triples and walks while ranking second in hits, runs scored, doubles and stolen bases ... established a new Purdue season-season record with seven triples ... one of two regular starters that walked (32) more than he struck out (26) ... reached base safely 48 percent of the time when leading off an inning ... ranked second on the team with 22 multi-hit games, including a team-best 13 three-hit efforts ... recorded 11 of his 18 steals in true road games ... batted .429 in Purdue's 10 neutral-site games ... batted .333 with nine extra-base hits, 15 walks and 20 runs scored in March ... batted .338 with seven extra-base hits and 15 runs scored in April ... hit safely in all three games of the Southern Illinois, Chicago State, Penn State and Indiana series and all four of Purdue's games at the Big Ten Tournament ... Big East/Big Ten Challenge (Feb. 26-March 1): recorded multiple hits, doubled and drove in a run in all three games he started, finishing the weekend 8-for-14 with four doubles and six RBIs; had three hits and four RBIs against Rutgers and reached safely five times as part of three-hit game against West Virginia ... at Southern Illinois (March 5-7): went 3-for-12 with six walks, three RBIs and three runs scored; walked three times and scored in the series-opening win ... at Ohio (March 19-20): finished the weekend 5-for-13 with a triple and four runs scored, scoring a run in all three games of the sweep; had three hits in the series opener ... IPFW (March 23): doubled, walked and scored twice as part of a two-hit effort in the home-opening win ... Chicago State (March 26-27): drove in a run and scored a run in all three games of the series sweep, finishing the weekend 7-for-13 with three triples, four RBIs and four runs scored; had two triples as part of a three-hit effort in the finale ... at Michigan (April 9-11): went 5-for-12 with two doubles, two RBIs and two runs scored; reached base safely five times in the series-opening win, doubling twice and walking twice ... at Illinois State (April 14): went 2-for-5 with a double, two RBIs and a runs scored in the win at the Missouri Valley Conference champion ... Penn State (April 16-18): finished the series sweep 6-for-11 with a double, two RBIs and two runs scored, recording multiple hits in the opener and finale ... at Chicago State (April 20): led off the game with a home run and finished the win with three RBIs ... at IPFW (April 27): went 2-for-5 with a double and two runs scored in the win ... at Indiana (April 30-May 2): led the way with a big series, recording three hits in all three games en route to finishing the weekend 9-for-14 and reaching base safely 13 times ... at Illinois (May 14-16): accounted for three of Purdue's six hits in the game two loss ... Big Ten Tournament (May 26-28): rebounded from a tough end to the regular season with an 8-for-20 showing in the four games, scoring five times; had three hits in the tourney opener against Iowa and win against Northwestern ... Big Ten Rankings: first in triples and fifth in walks ... Purdue Single-Season Rankings: first in triples and fifth in at-bats ... Purdue All-Time Rankings: 12th in triples.
2009 Season
Big Ten All-Freshman Team ... Batted .289 with five doubles, a triple, one home run, 24 RBIs and 26 runs scored in 43 appearances ... Big East/Big Ten Challenge (Feb. 20-22): Appeared in three games, making two starts. Hit .429 (3 for 7) with one RBI ... at Southeast Missouri State (Feb. 27): Hit .444 (4 for 9) with a double, three RBIs and three runs scored in the doubleheader ... at Texas State (March 6-8): Started all three games and went 4 for 10 (.400) with four RBIs and a run scored ... at Butler (March 11): Did not get a hit, but scored a pair of runs ... Dunn Hospitality Classic (March 13-15): Finished 2 for 11 (.182) with an RBI and a run scored ... at Illinois-Chicago (March 17-18): Started both games and went 1 for 4 with an RBI at the plate ... at Tennessee-Martin (March 20): Hit first collegiate home run and finished 1 for 2 with two RBIs and a run scored after entering the game as a reserve ... vs. SIU Edwardsville (March 21): Finished 1 for 1 with double and a run scored after entering the game off the bench ... IPFW (March 24): Went 1 for 4 with two runs scored ... at Northwestern (March 27-28): Drove in three runs despite getting just one hit in 10 at bats ... at IPFW (April 1): Started and went 3 for 7 with three RBIs and two runs scored ... Wabash (April 2): Finished 3 for 3 with a double and three runs scored ... Iowa (April 3-4): Appeared in two games, one start, and went 2 for 5 with an RBI ... Ball State (April 7): Hit .400 (2 for 5) with an RBI and a run scored ... Illinois State (April 8): Drove in one run on sacrifice fly and scored another ... at Penn State (April 10-12): Appeared in all three games, making one start ... at Illinois State (April 15): Finished 1 for 3 at the plate ... Ohio State (April 17-18): Batted .333 (4 for 12) with two doubles and a pair of runs scored in three games played ... Butler (April 22): Finished 2 for 2 with a pair of RBIs and a run scored after entering the game as a reserve ... at Minnesota (April 24-26): Appeared in all three games as a reserve ... Indiana (May 2-3): Scored a run in two appearances off the bench ... Illinois (May 14-16): Appeared in one game as a reserve ... Big Ten Tournament (May 20-22): Appeared in all three games as a reserve and scored one run.
High School
Earned four varsity letters in baseball at Northrop High School ... Led the team with a .445 average as a freshman and was an honorable mention all-conference honoree ... All-conference and all-area in baseball as a sophomore after hitting .475 ... Batted .465 as a junior en route to being named first team all-state, all-conference and all-area ... Named all-conference and all-area for a third time after a senior season in which he hit .451 ... 2008 North/South All-Star Game participant ... Broke 10 baseball records at Northrop during his prep career ... Also earned three varsity letters in football and two in basketball ... Received the Blanket Award as Northrop's most outstanding three-sport athlete his senior year.
Personal
Full name is Tyler Aaron Spillner ... Born May 24, 1989, in Fort Wayne, Ind. ... Son of Mike and Jeanette Spillner ... Has a brother, Michael, and a sister, Rachal ... Has two uncles, Greg and Imen Bojrab, that are Purdue graduates ... Majoring in landscape horticulture and design.