FROM CBD NEWS SOURCE
LUBBOCK, Texas — As conference play comes to an end and teams prepare for conference tournaments, the College Baseball Hall of Fame released the top 25 players for the Brooks Wallace Shortstop of the Year Award on Tuesday.
The award, sponsored by Mizuno, recognizes the nation’s top shortstop and will be presented June 30 in Lubbock, Texas, as part of the College Baseball Hall of Fame’s Night of Champions.
The SEC and PAC-12 both have five representatives on the list. The ACC, Big 10 and Ohio Valley, each with two, are the only other conferences with multiple representatives.
“Those two conferences are certainly baseball powerhouses, but it’s great to see shortstops from smaller conferences performing just as well,” said Tyler Young, Wallace Award co-chair. “The smaller conference players have outstanding numbers that are just as competitive as the players from larger conferences.”
Richie Rodriguez, a senior at Eastern Kentucky, leads the list with a .388 batting average. He also has 17 doubles, two triples and 13 home runs and 40 RBIs. Zach Vincej, a junior at Pepperdine, continues to lead the list in fielding percentage at .991. He has 14 doubles and 22 RBIs on the season.
“Watching the success these 25 players have had this season has been great,” said Kevin Dunagan, Wallace Award co-chair. “We look forward to seeing how they do as we near the end of the season and head into postseason play.”
BROOKS WALLACE AWARD WATCH LIST
NAME SCHOOL CONFERENCE
Alfredo Rodriguez Maryland ACC
Chris Diaz NC State ACC
Chad Christensen Nebraska Big 10
David Miller Purdue Big 10
Mikey Reynolds Texas A&M Big 12
Mike Miller Cal Poly Big West
Ashley Graeter Southern Miss CUSA
Alex Jones Northern Illinois Mid-American
Eric Stamets Evansville MVC
Richie Rodriguez Eastern Kentucky OVC
Kenton Parmley SE Missouri State OVC
Alex Mejia Arizona Pac-12
J.J. Altobelli Oregon Pac-12
Tyler Smith Oregon State Pac-12
Kenny Diekroeger Stanford Pac-12
Pat Valaika UCLA Pac-12
Jared Reaves Alabama SEC
Tim Carver Arkansas SEC
Nolan Fontana Florida SEC
Austin Nola LSU SEC
Anthony Gomez Vanderbilt SEC
Will Callaway Appalachian State Southern
Cam Schiller Oral Roberts Summit
Zach Voight New Mexico State WAC
Zach Vincej Pepperdine WCC
