The quarterfinalists for the Brooks Wallace Shortstop of the Year Award were released today by the College Baseball Hall of Fame. The list features 25 of the nation’s finest Division I shortstops.
The Wallace Award, sponsored by Mizuno, recognizes the nation’s top shortstop and will be presented on July 3 in Lubbock, Texas, as part of the College Baseball Hall of Fame’s Night of Champions.
“These players highlight another outstanding group of shortstops,” said Tyler Young, Wallace Award co-chair. “The players feature very good offensive statistics combined with outstanding defense.”
The watch list features shortstops from 15 conferences, with the ACC and SEC leading the pack with four representatives each.
Four of the nation’s top 10 batting averages are represented on the list, including the nation’s leading hitter, Chad Zurcher of Memphis. Zurcher also has been very good defensively with only six errors.
Regarded by many as two of the top defensive shortstops in the country entering the season, Brandon Loy of the University of Texas and LSU’s Austin Nola appear on the list.
“Shortstop is a premium defensive position and we pay close attention to defensive play,” said Kevin Dunagan, Wallace Award co-chair. “The task of reducing the nation’s shortstops down to 25 is not simple.”
BROOKS WALLACE AWARD WATCH LIST
Name School Conference
Brad Miller Clemson ACC
Jacob Esch Georgia Tech ACC
Chris Diaz NC State ACC
Chris Taylor Virginia ACC
Brandon Loy Texas Big XII
Kelby Tomlinson Texas Tech Big XII
Joe Panik St. John’s Big East
Sam Roberts Virginia Military Big South
DJ Crumlich UC Irvine Big West
David Herbek James Madison Colonial
Chad Zurcher Memphis CUSA
Alex Jones Northern Illinois MAC
Sean Jamieson Canisius Metro-Atlantic
Taylor Featherston TCU Mtn West
Kenny Diekroeger Stanford Pac 10
Devon Marrero Arizona State Pac 10
Clint Moore Army Patriot
Austin Nola LSU SEC
Nolan Fontana Florida SEC
Anthony Gomez Vanderbilt SEC
Peter Mooney South Carolina SEC
Eric Phillips Georgia Southern Southern
Bo Cuthbertson Southern Utah Summit
Nick DelGuidice Florida Atlantic Sunbelt
Adam Bryant Troy Sunbelt
