Three years ago, outfielder Kenny Fellows wasn't donning a Michigan baseball cap or lacing up his spikes. Instead, he was in a suit and tie, manning a clipboard, behind former Michigan basketball coach Tommy Amaker's bench.

Fellows had put baseball behind him. After all, he wasn't good enough to play for Michigan. He discovered that when he tried to walk on in the fall of his freshman year - he wasn't even the best player at the tryout.

"In the tryouts, you got to do something to really impress them," Fellows said. "There was only one spot open when I tried out my freshman year, and unfortunately, I wasn't the guy they were looking for."

Fellows wanted to stay involved in athletics, but didn't know how until a flyer in the CCRB caught his eye.

The women's basketball team was looking for student managers, so Fellows decided to give it a shot.

"They gave me an interview, and they must have really been looking for managers, because they a job right on the spot," he said.

After receiving the position so easily, Fellows decided to try for a spot as a manager of the men's basketball team. The team had already filled all its positions, but Fellows got lucky when one manager quit. He was hired a week after his interview.

Matt Duprey, who was the head manager at the time and is now the basketball video coordinator, remembers Fellows's time with the team.

"It's tough that first year, but he was there early to set up for practice and then stuck around late," Duprey said. "We were short for help that fall and just having him there was a real benefit for us, even if it was for that short time."

During the season, as Fellows watched the basketball players run up and down the court, he remembered how much he loved to compete - and how much he missed baseball.

He decided to give baseball another shot. Living on North Campus his freshman year, Fellows had little access to a baseball field, so he decided to hit the gym.

"I worked hard and got into the weight room to give myself an opportunity to make the team the next year," Fellows said. "Fortunately, (Michigan) coach (Rich Maloney) took a chance and gave me an opportunity to come out for the team in the fall."

Although Fellows still wasn't the most talented player, there was one thing he had over his competitors that prompted Maloney to give him another shot - speed.

"(Maloney) told me my arm wasn't great, I wasn't hitting the ball real great, but I had some potential in my speed," Fellows said,

In the offseason, Fellows did everything he could to improve his speed and quickness, looking up different speed drills on the Internet.

When Fellows returned to campus the next fall, he was the fastest player at the tryouts and earned a spot on the team.

At first, Fellows felt a little strange around his new teammates. He wasn't a big scholarship athlete and couldn't jack the ball out of the park like some of them.

But Fellows has taken advantage of his speed and is often used as a pinch runner.

"I think it's kind of a cool role," he said. "Usually when I go in, it's a close game. It's definitely an important role, and I really have an opportunity to contribute to the team."

In Fellows's first Big Ten game two years ago against Northwestern, Maloney subbed him in as a pinch runner, down by one with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Maloney gave him the steal signal and Fellows sped to second base. The Wildcat catcher quickly relayed the throw to the shortstop, who tagged Fellows out to end the game.

Not the best way to start a career.

Fellows has seen his playing time increase from four games in 2006 to 25 games last season. He has already played in 15 of 30 games this season.

Fellows doesn't miss being a basketball manager, but recognizes that if he hadn't had the job, he might not have regained his desire to play baseball.

When Duprey runs into Fellows, he jokes with the walk-on that the basketball team still needs him.

And when Duprey attends baseball games, he turns to the people he's sitting with, points out Fellows and tells them the story of how he started out as a basketball manager.