DALLAS (NCBWA) – The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association released its National Player of the Week awards for the period ending February 19, today. Central Michigan senior catcher William Arnold was named National Hitter of the Week, while Duke sophomore right-hander Robert Huber was named National Pitcher of the Week. The NCBWA Board reviews candidates from each Division I Conference each week and names winners each Tuesday throughout the season. 

Arnold put together a monster opening weekend at Troy, batting .500 (6-for-12) with four home runs, eight RBIs, eight runs scored and a slugging percentage of 1.500. His four home runs were one more than he had all of 2011 and equaled his total from his first three seasons in the Maroon and Gold combined. Arnold's two home runs Sunday were pivotal in the Chippewas' claiming a 14-7 victory over the host Trojans.

Huber held No. 13 Texas to two hits in six shutout innings to lead the Blue Devils to a 5-2 win over the Longhorns on Sunday afternoon at UFCU Disch-Falk Field. Huber matched a career high with six strikeouts in the win. He looked good in the opening frame. After issuing a walk to the first batter he faced, Huber struck out the next three hitters swinging to end the inning. During the second through fifth innings, Huber retired 10 straight batters. During the second through sixth innings, Huber had a stretch where he retired 14 of 17 batters.

Founded in 1962, the NCBWA is dedicated to the advancement of college baseball. Membership is open to writers, broadcasters and publicists of the sport. For more information about the NCBWA, visit the association's official Web site, www.ncbwa.com.

For more information on the NCBWA Division I National Players of the Week, contact NCBWA Assistant Executive Director Mike Montoro at West Virginia University at 304-293-2821.

2012 NCBWA Division I Players of the Week:
• Feb. 21: William Arnold, Central Michigan (Hitter); Robert Huber, Duke (Pitcher)
• Feb. 28: Johnny Coy, Wichita State (Hitter); Ryan Arrowood, Appalachian State (Pitcher)
• March 6: Mason Katz, LSU (Hitter); Brian Holmes, Wake Forest (Pitcher)
• March 13: Daniel Bowman, Coastal Carolina (Hitter); Michael Morin, North Carolina (Pitcher)
• March 20: Travis Jankowski, Stony Brook (Hitter); Chris Stratton, Mississippi State (Pitcher)
• March 27: Max Muncy, Baylor (Hitter); Sean Newcomb, Hartford (Pitcher)
• April 3: Alex Swim, Elon (Hitter); Bobby Wahl, Ole Miss (Pitcher)
• April 10: Richie Shaffer, Clemson (Hitter); Sam Moll, Memphis (Pitcher)
• April 17: Beau Amaral, UCLA (Hitter); Henry Sisson, Davidson (Pitcher)
• April 24: Alex Blandino, Stanford (Hitter); Steven Hill, Penn State and Andrew Thurman, UC Irvine (Pitcher)
• May 1: Derek Gibson, Southeast Missouri (Hitter); Kevin Ferguson, Northeastern (Pitcher)
• May 8: Goose Kallunki, Utah Valley (Hitter); Andrew Heaney, Oklahoma State (Pitcher)
• May 15: Pablo Bermudez, FIU (Hitter); Ross Stripling, Texas A&M (Pitcher)
• May 22: Ryan Padilla, New Mexico (Hitter); Mark Appel, Stanford and Tyler Duffey, Rice (Pitcher)