DALLAS (NCBWA) – The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association released its fifth weekly NCAA Division II National Players of the Week awards of the 2015 season for the week ending on March 15. Catawba's junior catcher/outfielder Will Albertson is the National Hitter of the Week while Southern Arkansas junior righty Landon Simpson is the National Pitcher of the Week.

 Albertson (Sophia, N.C.) batted .800 with 12 hits, six RBI, three doubles and three home runs to lead the Catawba Indians to a 4-0 record last week, including a series sweep over League foe Lincoln Memorial. His biggest game of the week came in game one of the series vs. LMU on March 14 as he went 5-for-5 at the plate with three RBI and a school-record three long balls. He also chipped in a pair of three-hit games last week as he posted a hit in all four contests. Albertson slugged 1.600 percent and posted an on-base percentage of .833 in the four-game span. He reached base safely in 14-straight plate appearances to set a Catawba record.

Simpson (Magnolia, Ark.) turned in his most dominant start of the season so far as he tossed a four-hit shutout and struck out a season-high 10 batters in the opening game of Sunday afternoon's doubleheader against Ouachita Baptist, an 8-0 SAU win. The shutout, Simpson's second this season, lowered his ERA to 1.89 and he moved into second in the GAC in strikeouts with 41.

Division II Regional Players of the Week:
• Atlantic: Drew Diehl, West Chester (Hitter); Paul Piromalli, Kutztown (Pitcher)
• Central: Tyler Hatcher, Central Oklahoma (Hitter); Landon Simpson, Southern Arkansas (Pitcher)
• East: John Azcenzia, Bridgeport (Hitter); Ryan Davis, Le Moyne (Pitcher)
• Midwest: Kevin Zak, Grand Valley State (Hitter); Ryan Bidwell (Ohio Dominican)
• South: Nick Flair, University of Tampa (Hitter); Scotty Ward, Florida Tech (Pitcher)
• South Central: Kyle Serrano, Colorado Mesa (Hitter); Dillon Endecott, Oklahoma Christian (Pitcher)
• Southeast: Will Albertson, Catawba (Hitter); Donald Frew, Young Harris (Pitcher)
• West: Kevin Kline, Dixie State (Hitter); Angel Lara, Cal State East Bay (Pitcher)

Founded in 1962, the NCBWA is dedicated to the advancement of college baseball. Membership is open to writers, broadcasters and publicists of the sport. Members receive a membership card, directory, newsletter updates and official votes in the Howser Award Player of the Year, Regional Player of the Year and NCBWA All-America voting. The NCBWA also sponsors preseason All-America awards, publication and writing contests.

2015 NCBWA Division II Players of the Week:
• Feb. 15: Jake Kennedy, Shippensburg (Hitter); Aaron Cox, Gannon (Pitcher)
• Feb. 22: Luke Reinschmidt, Montana State-Billings (Hitter); Steve Naemark, Angelo State (Pitcher)
• March 8: Jordan Brower, Azusa Pacific (Hitter); Mike Lundin, Franklin Pierce (Pitcher)
• March 15: Will Albertson, Catawba (Hitter); Landon Simpson, Southern Arkansas (Pitcher)
• March 22: Chris Miller, Seton Hill (Hitter); Ryan Luna, Sonoma State (Pitcher)
• March 29: Austin Wallingford, Colorado Mesa (Hitter); Sean Goostree, Missouri Southern (Pitcher)
• April 5: Will Albertson, Catawba (Hitter); John Conquy, Dixie State (Pitcher)
• April 12: Ryan Uhl, Indiana, Pa. (Hitter); Jordan Tackett, Indianapolis (Pitcher)
• April 19: Mike Montville, Southern New Hampshire (Hitter); Mitchell Stalsberg, Winona State (Pitcher)
• April 26: Ryan Uhl, Indiana, Pa. (Hitter); Randy Dobnak, Alderson Broaddus (Pitcher)
• May 3: Zak DeCamp, Lake Erie (Hitter); Kyle Wilson, Missouri-St. Louis (Pitcher)