LINE DRIVES THE NATIONAL COLLEGIATE BASEBALL WRITERS NEWSLETTER (Volume 46, No. 2, Apr. 24, 2007) The President’s Message By NCBWA President Michael “Mex” Carey Membership: It’s hard to believe that the baseball season is nearing conference tournament time. The season has been a great one so far and things are sure to get more exciting as we get closer to conference tournaments, the NCAA Regionals and the College World Series. A young Georgetown team in the Nation’s Capitol has struggled with some injuries, but the battle for supremacy in the BIG EAST, like many other conferences across the country, are still up for debate. At the same time, our heartfelt condolences go out to everyone at Virginia Tech after the senseless tragedy that unfolded on the Blacksburg campus recently. I was not the only one, I’m sure, who was horrified by the images and though immediately of our friends who work on the campus. Pete Hughes, one of the great coaches in college baseball who I got to know when he was at Boston College and I worked at St. John’s, said it right after the Hokies’ 11-9 loss to Miami in the team’s first game after the tragedy. “We won before we got to the field today. The scoreboard was insignificant.” The board members of the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association are in the process of selecting names for yearly awards. Last week, the final list for the Stopper of the Year Award will be announced and right behind that, we will have announcements for All-American nominees. Don’t forget the first ballot for All-America voting deadline is 5 p.m. (EDT) Wednesday, Apr. 25, and the initial 64-person Watch List for the Dick Howser Trophy is set for Thursday, Apr. 26. Thanks for your support, and please remind those interested that they can go to www.NCBWA.com for joining information or can contact Bo Carter ([email protected]), Russ Anderson ([email protected]); or Mike Montoro ([email protected]). Reminder to vote and observe those deadlines, and happy diamond play! Mike “Mex” Carey NCBWA President Sports Information Director, Georgetown University 2007 Midseason Stopper of the Year Watch List Denoted Thirty-five players have been named to the watch list for the third annual National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Award. The award is given to the top relief pitcher in Division I college baseball. Forty players have been named to the midseason watch list for the second annual National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Award, the association announced Thursday. The award will be given to the top relief pitcher in Division I college baseball. Of the 40 pitchers who make up the midseason watch list, nine have already reached double figures in saves, including VMI’s Kevin Crum, who leads the country with 14 saves in 18 appearances this season. Sam Houston State’s Luke Prihoda and USC’s Paul Koss have already collected 12 saves apiece to rank second nationally, while seven other pitchers have at least 10 saves. The 40 pitchers on the mid-season watch list have combined to save over 300 games during the first half of the 2007 season (thru games of April 15) and have converted 89 percent of their save chances as a group. Prihoda, Richmond’s Brian Alas and UC Irvine’s Blair Erickson are all perfect on the 2007 season in save chances while recording at least 10 saves. Erickson already earned a spot in the NCAA record books earlier this month, breaking the previous mark of 49 career saves set by USC’s Jack Krawczyk’s in the late 1990s. The list features players from 20 conferences, including five each from the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Big 12. The Pacific-10 and Conference USA also have four closers on the list, while the Atlantic Sun, Big South, Mid-American, Missouri Valley and Sun Belt Conference all had multiple members of the watch list. “This is a truly outstanding group of pitchers that cover the landscape of college baseball,” said NCBWA 1st Vice-President Shamus McKnight, Assistant Media Relations Director at the University of Nebraska. “The recognition for this award over the last two years has grown immensely as we have seen the increased emphasis on having strong relief pitching in the college game.” Nominations were made by each school's baseball sports information contact and over 80 pitchers were nominated from around the country. A preliminary preseason watch list was released in February. At the end the regular season, the Division I leader in saves and four other relief pitching standouts will be selected as the award's finalists. These finalists will be released on Wednesday, May 30, just prior to the beginning of NCAA regional play. From the list of finalists, the NCBWA's All-America Committee will select a winner. The third annual winner will be announced on Wednesday, June 6, two days prior to the beginning of NCAA super regional action. Last year's winner was Don Czyz from Kansas. J. Brent Cox of Texas won the inaugural award in 2005. The NCBWA, founded in 1962, presents the Dick Howser Trophy to the nation's top player. It also selects a Division I All-America Team, Division I and III Players of the Week, Division I District Players of the Year and Division III Players of the Year. For more information on the NCBWA Stopper of the Year, contact Shamus McKnight at the University of Nebraska at 402-472-7772. NCBWA Stopper of the Year Midseason Watch List Pitcher, School James Hayes, Rider Daniel Schlereth, Arizona Luke Prihoda, Sam Houston State Kyle Heyne, Ball State Shawn Sanford, South Florida Nick Cassavechia, Baylor Patrick Ezell, Southern Miss Matt Gorgen, California Robbie Elsemiller, Stetson David Anderson, Coastal Carolina Sam Demel, TCU Andy Masten, Creighton Randy Boone, Texas Michael Seander, Duke Kyle Nicholson, Texas A&M Shane Mathews, East Carolina Link Saunders, The Citadel Matt Brinkmann, Evansville Josh Dew, Troy Daniel Edwards, Kansas State Daniel Latham, Tulane David Mixon, Louisiana-Monroe Blair Erickson, UC Irvine Cory Gearrin, Mercer Paul Koss, Southern California JD Melton, Navy Casey Weathers, Vanderbilt Eryk McConnell, NC State Casey Lambert, Virginia Andrew Carignan, North Carolina Luke Pisker, Virginia Commonwealth Matt German, Northern Illinois Kevin Crum, VMI Garrett Richards, Oklahoma Josh Ellis, Wake Forest Chance Chapman, Oral Roberts Nick Hagadone, Washington Jason Dominguez, Pepperdine Noah Krol, Wichita State Brian Alas, Richmond 2007 Pro-Line Athletic NCBWA Division I Players of the Week Feb. 13: Pedro Alvarez, Vanderbilt (Hitter); Spencer Steedley, Charlotte (Pitcher) Feb. 20: Jericho Jones, Louisiana Tech (Hitter); James Simmons, UC Riverside (Pitcher) Feb. 27: Mike Bianucci, Auburn (Hitter); Brian Matusz, San Diego (Pitcher) March 6: David Doss, South Alabama (Hitter); Sean Urena, Cal State Fullerton (Pitcher) March 13: Justin Bour, George Mason (Hitter); David Price, Vanderbilt (Pitcher) March 20: Corey Brown, Oklahoma State (Hitter); Lance Lynn, Ole Miss (Pitcher) March 27: Matt LaPorta, Florida (Hitter); Eric Rohr, Saint Louis (Pitcher) April 3: Tony Thomas, Florida State (Hitter); Trey Barham, VMI (Pitcher) Apr. 10: Travis Jones, South Carolina (Hitter); Rick Zagone, Missouri; Ryan Berry, Rice (co- Pitchers) Apr. 17: Kellen Kulbacki, James Madison (Hitter); Brad Brach, Monmouth (Pitcher) 2007 Coleman Johnny Bench Award Watch List Revealed The Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission has announced the official watch list for the 2007 Coleman Company-Johnny Bench Award delivered by AT&T. Twenty-seven catchers from seventeen conferences were nominated for the award by their coaches. Because the award is given annually to the top division one collegiate catcher, the list will be updated to include other candidates until May 7, 2007. The watch list will be narrowed down to 10 semifinalists, who will be announced May 17, 2007. A comprehensive biography will be created on each of the semi-finalists and sent to the national voting panel at the end of May for a vote to determine the three finalists. The finalists will be announced May 30, 2007 prior to the NCAA Regionals and Major League Baseball Draft. A final vote among the national committee will occur during the College World Series. All finalists will be brought to Wichita and the winner will be announced at the 10th Annual Greater Wichita Sports Banquet on June 27, 2007. 2007 Coleman Company-Johnny Bench Award delivered by AT&T Watch List Buck Afenir, So., Kansas; Derrick Alfonso, Jr., Louisville; Billy Alvino, So., High Point; Michael Ambort, Jr., Lamar; JP Arencibia, Jr., Tennessee; Jonathan Batts, Sr., UNC Wilmington; Mitch Canham, Jr., Oregon State; Donald Cheney, Sr., Morehead State; Joel Collins, Jr., South Alabama; Sean Dovel, Jr., Loyola Marymount; Edward Easley, Jr., Mississippi State; Eric Fryer, Jr., Ohio State; Stephen Herzog, Sr., Charleston Southern; Tom Hill, Jr., Albany; Robert Lara, So., LSU; Blake Murphy, Jr., Western Carolina; Dusty Napoleon, Jr., Iowa; Jon Norfolk, Sr., San Francisco; Petey Paramore, So., Arizona State; Buster Posey, So., Florida State; Rich Prall, Sr., LaSalle; Shea Robin, Jr., Vanderbilt; Matt Smith, Jr., Texas Tech; Josh Thompson, Sr., Mercer; Andrew Walker, Jr., TCU; Tyler Weber, Jr., Wichita State; Matt Wieters, Jr., Georgia Tech. Canadian Diamondmen Prominent in 2006 – All-Canada Team; NCBWA Member Bob Elliott Looking for 2007 Student-Athletes Bob Elliott, of the Toronto Sun, is continuing to track Canadians playing south of the border (729 in the spring of 2006). As in other years Elliott is pestering us once again for any Canadiians who are new to your school, either freshmen or transfers or those who do not appear on his In College list.