Brooks Wallace National Player of the Year Semi-Finalists

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Lubbock, Texas – As eight teams load up and head to Omaha to continue the quest for the College Baseball National Championship, eight players are named as semi-finalists for the Brooks Wallace National Player of Year Award. College baseball has produced a fine class of young men to represent the “Wallace Watch” from the pre-season release to where it stands today.

“I am proud of the committee and selections they have made through the season,” said Brooks Wallace Award Chair, Raymond Richardson. “The eight young men in contention for the Wallace Award are exactly what we look for to represent the work ethic and character that Brooks Wallace possessed.”

The Wallace Award will be presented among the legends of college baseball – the 2008 College Baseball Hall of Fame inductees. It is presented annually to the nation’s top collegiate baseball player and will be nationally televised on Fox College Sports.

The 2008 award banquet will be held on Wednesday, July 2, at 6:30 p.m. in the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center. Information regarding the sale of individual tickets, as well as group and corporate tables, is available by calling (806) 777 – 8277 or through the College Baseball Foundation website at www.collegebaseballfoundation.org.

The finalists, their head coaches and parents will be invited to Lubbock from July 2-4 to participate in the College Baseball Foundation’s “Past Meets Present” celebration of college baseball. The 2008 College Baseball Hall of Fame Inductees will also be present for the three days of festivities.

The Wallace Award is a dedication to the memory of the former Texas Tech player and assistant coach Brooks Wallace. Wallace was a slick-fielding shortstop at Texas Tech from 1977 to 1980. A four-year starter, he was named All-Southwest Conference and All-District his senior year. He led the Red Raiders to their first-ever appearance in the Southwest Conference Tournament in 1980. After playing two years in the Texas Rangers organization, he returned to Texas Tech and served as a graduate assistant and later as an assistant coach. In the summer of 1984, he was diagnosed with cancer and fought the disease courageously until his death on March 24, 1985, at age 27. The Plano, TX, native was married to the former Sandy Arnold and they had one daughter, Lindsay Ryan.

Past winners included Kurt Suzuki of Cal State Fullerton (2004), Alex Gordon of Nebraska (2005), and Brad Lincoln of Houston (2006). Last year’s winner was the number one choice in Major League Baseball’s 2007 First-Year Player Draft, David Price of Vanderbilt.

Revised 2008 Wallace Watch List
Yonder Alonso – Miami
Dustin Ackley – North Carolina
Gordon Beckham – Georgia
Sawyer Carroll – Kentucky
Aaron Crow – Missouri
Brian Matusz – San Diego
Buster Posey – Florida State
Brett Wallace – Arizona St.