Jay Nilsson born 1 November 1987 in Redcliffe, Queensland

Redcliffe, Queensland

  Redcliffe is a residential suburb of the Moreton Bay Region in the north-east of the Redcliffe peninsula, approximately north-northeast of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia...

 is a former minor league

Minor league

Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities. This term is used in North America with regard to several organizations competing in...

 baseball player for the Gulf Coast Indians

Gulf Coast Indians

The Arizona League Indians are a minor league baseball team in Goodyear, Arizona managed by Ted Kubiak. They are a Rookie-level team in the Arizona League that began play as a Cleveland Indians affiliate in the summer of 2009...

. He is the son of Bob Nilsson

Bob Nilsson

Robert "Bob" Nilsson was the oldest of the four Nilsson brothers and one of the greatest relievers in the history of Australian baseball leagues. Bob's brother Dave Nilsson was the first Australian All-Star in MLB, his brother Gary Nilsson played in the minors and Ron Nilsson also played in...

, a top Australian league reliever of the 1990s. Jay's uncle David Nilsson was the first Australian All-Star in the major leagues. His other uncles Gary Nilsson

Gary Nilsson

Gary Nilsson is a former Australian baseball player who played as a pitcher for the Lakeland Tigers in 1984 and in the Australian Baseball League from to . He is the brother of former All-Star, Dave Nilsson as well as former minor leaguer Bob Nilsson...

 and Ron Nilsson also played in Australia; Gary spent one year in the minor leagues.

Jay signed with the Cleveland Indians

Cleveland Indians

The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...

 in January 2006. In the 2006 Claxton Shield

Claxton Shield

The Claxton Shield was the name of the premier baseball competition in Australia held between state-based teams, as well as the name of the trophy awarded to the champion team...

 competition, he was 6 for 13 with two doubles for the Queensland Rams

Queensland Rams

Queensland Rams compete in the Claxton Shield Baseball Championship in Australia. The Rams were one of the founding teams of the Claxton Shield in 1934 and competed as Queensland until 1988. Between 1988 and 1999, the Claxton Shield was awarded to the winner of the Australian Baseball League...

 to win Rookie of the Year honors. He debuted well in the US that summer, hitting .276/.371/.474 for the GCL Indians. He was 6 for 20 with a walk and a double in the 2007 Claxton Shield. With the 2007 GCL Indians, Nilsson did not fare as well, batting .229/.340/.373 with 27 strikeouts in 26 games and was released in late 2007.

While playing for the Redcliffe Padres

Redcliffe Padres

The Redcliffe Leagues Padres Baseball Club, also known as Peninsula Padres Baseball Club is a baseball club located in Redcliffe, Queensland that participates in the Greater Brisbane League competition and Brisbane North Region competition...

 baseball club as the Major A catcher and he was selected to represent Queensland again for the Claxton Shield 2008

Claxton Shield 2008

The 74th Claxton Shield was held from 28 December 2007 to 10 February 2008. The 2008 Shield was conducted on a Home and Away series made up of 2 Divisions; Eastern Division: Australian Provincial, New South Wales Patriots and the Queensland Rams, Southern Division: Perth Heat, Victoria Aces and...

 squad

In the Greater Brisbane League 2009–10, Jay lead the league in average, batting .443 helping Redcliffe finish 3rd overall.

In 2011, Jay changed clubs in the Greater Brisbane League

Greater Brisbane League

The Greater Brisbane League or formerly the Greater Brisbane Baseball Board league is the largest baseball league in the Australian state of Queensland and covers all teams from Brisbane North, South, West, Metro as well as two Gold Coast teams. These are from age groups Little League through to...

 to the Pine Hills Lightning

Pine Hills Lightning

The Pine Hills Lightning Baseball Club is a baseball club that participates in the Greater Brisbane League competition and Brisbane Metropolitan Region competition...

, where his father currently manages. Nilsson was called up to the Brisbane Bandits

Brisbane Bandits

The Brisbane Bandits were a foundation team in the Australian Baseball League which was bought by a private owner and shut down in 1999. The Bandits have now been resurrected as a team in the new Australian Baseball League which is due to start in November 2010...

 after Xavier Paul

Xavier Paul

Xavier Brooks Paul, Jr. is an American professional baseball outfielder who is a free agent.-Early life:...

 experienced visa

Visa

Visa or VISA may refer to:* Visa , a document issued by a country's government allowing the holder to enter or to leave that country...

 problems and debuted against the Canberra Cavalry

Canberra Cavalry

The Canberra UberGlobal Cavalry is a professional baseball team in the Australian Baseball League. The team is based in the city of Canberra, Australia...

on 4 November 2011. After going 0/14 with 3 errors in the series, Nilsson was dropped from the team.