LUBBOCK, Texas — Although big-name schools often dominate the college baseball conversation, they don’t rule the initial watch list for the 2015 Brooks Wallace Shortstop of the Year Award.
The award, sponsored by Mizuno, recognizes the nation’s top shortstop and will be presented during the National College Baseball Hall of Fame’s Night of Champions on June 29 in Lubbock.
Small-school representatives on the watch list include Lipscomb’s Grant Massey, who leads the watch list with a .386 batting average and a .994 fielding percentage. Morehead State’s Robby Spencer leads the list with 48 RBIs and is tied for the lead in home runs at eight. Alex Bregman, 2013 Wallace Award winner, also has eight homers on the season.
“Some of the small and mid-major schools don’t get the same publicity as a lot of the larger schools do, but they definitely play some high-caliber baseball,” said Tyler Young, Wallace Award co-chair. “Those guys have quality numbers and they deserve to be on this list.”
Several conferences have multiple players on the list, led by the SEC and Pac-12, each with five. The West Coast Conference has four players on the list. The ACC, Big South and Big West conferences each have three players on the list.
“Those are all definitely well-known conferences within Division I baseball,” said Larry Wallace, co-chair of the Wallace Award committee. “But there are 23 conferences represented on the list. There’s great baseball being played all across the country, and it’s great to be able to recognize that.”
BROOKS WALLACE AWARD WATCH LIST
| Name | School | Conference |
| Eli White | Clemson | ACC |
| Sutton Whiting | Louisville | ACC |
| Daniel Pinero | Virginia | ACC |
| Danny Mendick | UMass Lowell | America East |
| Hunter Allen | East Carolina | American Athletic |
| Dylan Moore | UCF | American Athletic |
| Matt Maul | Saint Joseph’s | Atlantic 10 |
| Cole Peterson | St. Bonaventure | Atlantic 10 |
| Grant Massey | Lipscomb | Atlantic Sun |
| Adam Walton | Illinois | Big Ten |
| Sheldon Neuse | Oklahoma | Big 12 |
| Keaton Jones | TCU | Big 12 |
| Eric Lowe | Villanova | Big East |
| Michael Paez | Coastal Carolina | Big South |
| Ryan Hodge | Gardner-Webb | Big South |
| Tommy Houmard | UNC Asheville | Big South |
| Peter Van Gansen | Cal Poly | Big West |
| Garrett Hampson | Long Beach State | Big West |
| Mikey Duarte | UC Irvine | Big West |
| Mitch Roman | Wright State | Horizon |
| Matt Parisi | Dartmouth | Ivy |
| Bobby Sheppard | Buffalo | MAC |
| Camden Duzenack | Dallas Baptist | Missouri Valley |
| Joey Hawkins | Missouri State | Missouri Valley |
| Danny Sheehan | San Diego State | Mountain West |
| Robby Spencer | Morehead State | Ohio Valley |
| Dylan Bosheers | Tennessee Tech | Ohio Valley |
| Kevin Newman | Arizona | Pac-12 |
| Colby Woodmansee | Arizona State | Pac-12 |
| Trever Morrisson | Oregon State | Pac-12 |
| Tommy Edman | Stanford | Pac-12 |
| Kevin Kramer | UCLA | Pac-12 |
| Mikey White | Alabama | SEC |
| Richie Martin | Florida | SEC |
| Nick King | Georgia | SEC |
| Alex Bregman | LSU | SEC |
| Dansby Swanson | Vanderbilt | SEC |
| Connor Lloyd | McNeese State | Southland |
| P.J. Biocic | Alabama State | Southwestern |
| Robert Garza | Texas Southern | Southwestern |
| Clayton Taylor | Omaha | Summit |
| Blake Trahan | Louisiana Lafayette | Sun Belt |
| Kodie Tidwell | Louisiana Monroe | Sun Belt |
| David Fletcher | Loyola Marymount | West Coast |
| Logan Steinberg | Saint Mary’s | West Coast |
| Kyle Holder | San Diego | West Coast |
| Jose Vizcaino Jr. | Santa Clara | West Coast |
