DALLAS (NCBWA) – Two of the nation's top
pitchers and three All-America position players have been named
as finalists for the 2013 Dick Howser Trophy presented by
Easton Foundations.
Balloting was conducted by the National Collegiate Baseball
Writers Association, in conjunction with the College
Baseball Foundation, the Dick Howser Trophy committee
and the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce.
San Diego outfielder Kris Bryant, Vanderbilt
second baseman Tony Kemp, North Carolina third
baseman Colin Moran, and pitchers Tyler
Beede of Vanderbilt and Mark Appel of
Stanford are the elite fivesome for the 27th annual Howser Trophy
ceremonies.
The winner will be announced Saturday, June 15, at a 10 a.m.
(CDT) national news conference at TD Ameritrade Park – the third-year
home of the 67th annual Division I NCAA World Series.
Each finalist also represents the ideals of character, leadership,
desire, and competitive spirit exhibited by Dick Howser, the All-America
shortstop and later head coach at Florida State, before managing
the Kansas City Royals to the world championship in 1985. He also
is the namesake for Dick Howser Stadium at FSU.
Bryant, a junior from Las Vegas, Nev., led the nation in virtually
every power hitting category in 2013. The two-time All-West Coast
Conference selection and consensus '13 All-America choice has 31
home runs - 10 more than current runner-up Ryan Kinsella of Elon
– in 62 contests to top NCAA individuals. The Toreros' standout
also paces DI in runs with 80 (1.3 per game), bases-on-balls with
66 and slugging percentage at .820 (187 total bases in 228 at-bats).
He helped USD, under coach Rich Hill, to advance the deepest of
any WCC team in '13 NCAA play with a second-place showing in the
Los Angeles Regional hosted by winner UCLA.
Kemp, a junior from Nashville, Tenn., has led the Southeastern
Conference much of the season in batting average and enters the
NCAA Nashville Super Regional with a team-best .398 mark. Compared
with previous Dick Howser Trophy winner second baseman Rickie Weeks
of Southern University, the swift infielder led Vanderbilt to a
school-best 26-3 SEC mark and 54 wins in its first 64 outings. He
enters the week tied for second nationally in hits with 102 and
has helped VU generate runs with 64 runs and a team-high 32 stolen
bases for coach Tim Corbin's crew.
Moran, a junior from Rye, N.Y., stands atop all DI participants
with 85 RBI and aided UNC to the No. 1 seed and Chapel Hill Regional
and Super Regionals. He has batted .351 with 13 home runs and 69
runs for the 2013 Tar Heels, the Atlantic Coast Conference champions
under coach Mike Fox. Moran has added consensus All-America laurels
to his resume' for the second year in succession and is 2013 ACC
Hitter of the Year.
Beede, a sophomore from Auburn, Mass., enters NCAA Super Regional
competition with a nation-topping 14-0 record, 16 games started
as the Commodores' ace, 101 strikeouts, a 2.20 earned run average,
.177 opponents' batting average, Southeastern Conference Pitcher
of the Year, and All-America laurels.
Appel, a senior from Houston, Texas, took the educational route
and returned to Stanford for a successful final campaign. That moved
paid dividends for the big rigthmader as he won almost a third of
the Cardinal’s 32 team victories at 10-4 to complement a 2.12 ERA
and 1300 strikeouts in 106.1 innings of work for coach Mark Marquess’
2013 squad.
Voting for the Dick Howser Trophy has been conducted by the NCBWA
membership since 1999 after the American Baseball Coaches Association
selected the recipient from 1987-1998. The NCBWA also selects the
Stopper of the Year, the Division I National Coach of the Year and
National Freshman Hitter and Pitcher of the Year, along with NCAA
Division II and III All-America teams, Players and Coaches of the
Year.
The Howser Trophy was created in 1987, shortly after Howser's
death. Previous winners of the Howser Trophy are Mike Fiore, Miami,
1987; Robin Ventura, Oklahoma State, 1988; Scott Bryant, Texas,
1989; Alex Fernandez, Miami-Dade Community College South, 1990;
Frank Rodriguez, Howard College (Texas), 1991; Brooks Kieschnick,
Texas, 1992 and 1993; Jason Varitek, Georgia Tech, 1994; Todd Helton,
Tennessee, 1995; Kris Benson, Clemson, 1996; J. D. Drew, Florida
State, 1997; Eddy Furniss, LSU, 1998; Jason Jennings, P, Baylor,
1999; Mark Teixeira, 1B, Georgia Tech, 2000; Mark Prior, P, USC,
2001; Khalil Greene, SS, Clemson, 2002; Rickey Weeks, 2B, Southern
U., 2003; Jered Weaver, P, Long Beach State, 2004; Alex Gordon,
3B, Nebraska, 2005; Brad Lincoln, P, Houston, 2006; David Price,
P, Vanderbilt, 2007; Buster Posey, C, Florida State, 2008; Stephen
Strasburg, P, San Diego State, 2009; Anthony Rendon, 3B, Rice, 2010;
Taylor Jungmann, P, Texas, 2011; and Mike Zunino, C, Florida, 2012.
2013 Dick Howser Trophy:
• Thu., May 16: Dick Howser Trophy semifinalists announced
• Thu., June 6: Dick Howser Trophy finalists announced
• Sat., June 15: Dick Howser Trophy winner announced
Related links:
• More on the Dick Howser Trophy
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