Nate Buchter joined the indoor track program over the winter to prepare for his upcoming career in professional baseball, and he’ll continue his track work this spring. One of the top baseball players in Rutgers-Camden history, Buchter will play ball this summer for the Atlantic City Surf of the CanAm League.

        It didn’t take Buchter long to make his mark on the track, as he helped the Scarlet Raptors set a program record in the 4x200 (1:39.19) in his lone indoor meet. That event, the Frank Colden Invitational on Feb. 2, also saw Buchter compete individually at 200 meters, where he ran a 25.81.

        During his four-year career as the Scarlet Raptors’ center fielder, Buchter etched his name throughout the program’s record books. He set the school record for career walks (83) and finished among the all-time leaders in doubles (second at 38), games (third at 134), runs (third at 112), at bats (fourth at 474), hits (fifth at 151), total bases (sixth at 205), stolen bases (sixth at 29) and RBIs (eighth at 74). Buchter finished his career with a .319 batting average, a .432 slugging percentage and a .428 on-base percentage. He also had a .971 career fielding percentage.

        Among Buchter’s other accomplishments on the baseball diamond are the program records for walks in a season (30 in 2007), tying the season mark for most doubles (14 in 2006) and setting the record with a 23-game hitting streak in 2006. His 58 hits in 2006 ranks second on the program’s single-season charts.

        During his senior season in 2007, Buchter hit .315 and earned honors as the South Jersey Baseball Coaches Association Division III Player of the Year, captured team MVP honors and was named to the New Jersey Athletic Conference All-Academic First Team and the Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area Baseball Team. As a sophomore and a junior, he earned NJAC All- Academic Honorable Mention while also hitting .313 and .389, respectively.

        Butcher had an outstanding career at Highland Regional High School, where he earned three varsity baseball letters, captured a pair of letters in basketball and added one in soccer. An All-Olympic Conference Patriot Division Second Team performer in both baseball and basketball as a junior, Buchter also earned a berth on the all-tournament basketball team at the Kingsway Invitational. He captured First Team All-Tri-County Conference Royal Division honors in both sports during his senior year, when the Tartans played in a new conference. He also was named First Team All-Group 3 by the Courier-Post newspaper in baseball, and was a Camden County All-Star selection in addition to playing in the Carpenter Cup. He hit .406 (26-for-64) with six home runs and 26 RBIs as a senior for the Tartans.

        Academically, Buchter was a member of the National Honor Society as a junior and a senior at Highland. During his senior year he was named a Tri-County Conference Scholar Athlete, and captured Highland's Male Athlete of the Year honor.

        Nate is the son of Michael Buchter and Manon Yost of Clementon.