Steve Susdorf- Fresno State Bulldog
FRESNO, Calif. – The honors continue to roll in for one of Fresno State’s most decorated baseball players as Steve Susdorf was named the 2008 male recipient of the Joe Kearney award giving annually by the Western Athletic Conference.
Susdorf becomes the first Bulldog to win the award since golfer Nick Watney after the 2002-03 season. Named in honor of former WAC commissioner Joe Kearney, the awards are given annually to the top male and female WAC student-athletes.
Susdorf, a senior from Newhall, Calif., was the 2008 WAC Player of the Year in baseball and helped lead the Bulldogs to their first-ever College World Series title. He is a three-time first-team all-WAC selection. Susdorf also was named an ESPN the Magazine second-team Academic All-American.
“It is a great honor that Steve Susdorf has won the Joseph Kearney Award,” said head coach Mike Batesole. “Over the last four years, Steve has represented Fresno State with class and he has been a true student-athlete.
Steve is the major reason we have won three straight WAC Championships and the 2008 National Championship. This is a great honor to cap off the year for both Steve and Fresno State baseball.”
During the 2008 baseball season, Susdorf drove in 87 runs which was the third-best single-season mark in Fresno State history. The outfielder also scored 80 runs in 2008, helping drive the Bulldogs’ cinderella performance in the College World Series. He is the Bulldogs’ all-time leader in RBI (217) and doubles (70).
“Steve Susdorf, a senior student-athlete, returned to Fresno State this year even though he was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in 2007,” said Fresno State Athletics Director Thomas Boeh. “On the field, Steve has been a leader on a baseball team that has won three consecutive WAC Championships and advanced to the NCAA Regionals in those three years. He knew the team had a chance to advance even farther and this year on that third try the team did not stop at the regional level, but advanced through the super regional to the college world series. Steve was the leader and a key contributor in the team’s march to the national title.”
