At 6-foot-4, having decent athletic ability and living in Indiana, Nik Kahl has the profile of a Hoosier basketball player.

But this is not the case for the New Albany High School sophomore. Kahl envisions a future on the pitcher's mound, throwing strikes to Barry Bonds, Albert Pujols or Gary Sheffield -- not shooting threes at Assembly Hall, Mackey Arena or Conseco Fieldhouse.

Like every Hoosier, Kahl has played basketball. However, Kahl has opted to play baseball because he was not interested in the pressure placed on him because he's tall in a fanatical hoops state. He is attracted to the diamond because he can be his own person in the game. It is a team sport, but most of the duties in baseball are done alone.

That may explain why Kahl is a pitcher and first basemen, since those two positions come into play a lot.

"I have been playing baseball ever since I knew what it was," Kahl said.

That experience helped at New Albany. Kahl played for the freshman team last season and was moved up to the junior varsity at the end of the year. The callup showed that the coaches believe Kahl was an above-average player who was ready for a higher level of play.

Kahl said he patterns his play after several major-leaguers.

"I model myself after J.T. Snow (first baseman for San Francisco) because of his defense," Kahl said. "My strength is my defense. If I go 0-for-4 one day but make two good defensive plays, then I will be satisfied."

The tall New Albany sophomore made only one error in 16 games last season -- and no player in baseball has more chances than a first baseman.

Another role model is Todd Helton, the first baseman of the Colorado Rockies. Kahl sees Helton as a hitting model, admiring the University of Tennessee product's power but also his contact hitting, which allows him to hit for a high average. Like Helton, Kahl hits third in the lineup, traditionally a place for a solid hitter who hits for power too.

Kahl has reason to believe he may one day become a major-league player. Rick Romans, a scout for the Atlanta Braves, has watched Kahl play.

Baseball, though, is a risky business, so Kahl's backup plan brought him to the High School Journalism Institute at Indiana University. He has sports reporting on his mind. Although he has written only one piece in the New Albany student paper, he likes writing. Since his summer league team did not advance to the start tournament for the first time in four years, Kahl has had time to write about what he knows well -- sports.

Kahl hopes to follow in the footsteps of Steve Stemle, who played at New Albany and now is in the St. Louis Cardinals' minor-league system.

Kahl has a plan for the future, and it revolves around sports -- whether on the diamond or in the press box. A big part of that future is college.

"I want to go to a Southern school where I can play baseball all year long," he said.

And if baseball doesn't work out, he will choose a college with a reputable journalism program.