Luke Heimlich releases statement

THURSDAY SPORTS NEWS/On eve of College World Series, Oregon State's Luke Heimlich says he won't go to Omaha, hopes to return to OSU as student-athlete next year

Oregon State pitcher Luke Heimlich released a statement Thursday morning, announcing that he will not accompany the No. 1-ranked Beavers to Omaha, Nebraska, for the College World Series, and that he hopes to return to Oregon State as a student-athlete next year.

The junior left-hander, 21, removed himself from action for last week's Super Regional in Corvallis after news broke that he was convicted of a juvenile sex offense at age 15 in 2011. Heimlich was not selected in the MLB draft this week.

The statement will be the only one from Heimlich or his family about his situation for the time being.

The statement:

"For the past six years, I have done everything in my power to demonstrate that I am someone my family and my community can be proud of, and show the one person who has suffered the most that I am committed to living a life of integrity. This situation has caused great pain to my family members over the years and I am devastated that they have to relive it all again so publicly. Today the Oregon State University baseball team is heading to Omaha for the College World Series – something my teammates, my coaches and I have worked for all year and dreamed about for a lifetime. I'm sad to say I am not joining them, because doing so would only create further distraction for my teammates, more turmoil for my family, and given the high profile of the national championship, direct even more unwanted attention to an innocent young girl. I want to wish my teammates the best. I hope they understand this decision as my family and I continue to work through this together. My hope is to return to OSU next year as a student-athlete and continue to earn the trust of my community."