Feb. 15, 2016
For Immediate Release
Contact: John Hines
352-375-4683
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ACC leads list of 70 with ten nominees
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NCBWA ANNOUNCES 2016 STOPPER
OF THE YEAR PRESEASON WATCH LIST

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (NCBWA) – Seventy players have been named to the initial Watch List for the 12th annual National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Award, given to the top relief pitcher in NCAA Division I baseball, the association announced Monday.

Missouri State junior Bryan Young, one of the five finalists for the 2015 Stopper of the Year Award, as well as George Washington junior Eddie Muhl, who tied for the national lead in saves last season, headline this year's list of preseason nominees. Young was a 2015 NCBWA first-team All-American after posting a single-season school-record 16 saves, a perfect 7-0 record and a 1.30 ERA in 41.2 innings as the Bears advanced to Super Regionals, while Muhl set an Atlantic 10 Conference single-season record with 17 saves and had a 2.13 ERA for the Colonials.

Fifteen of the players on the Watch List notched double-digit saves last season, while a total of 10 individuals also earned NCBWA Preseason All-America honors: Nolan Blackwood (Memphis), Zack Burdi (Louisville), Bryan Garcia (Miami), Thomas Hackimer (St. John's), Zach Jackson (Arkansas), Dylan Moore (Louisiana), Stephen Nogosek (Oregon), Conner O'Neil (CSUN), Wyatt Short (Ole Miss) and Young.

The Atlantic Coast Conference led the way with 10 players on this year's Watch List, while the Big Ten and Pacific-12 each had eight honorees and the Southeastern Conferences had seven. The Big South, Colonial and Sun Belt each had four and a total of 18 different conferences were represented.

Jack Anderson Penn State Sr. Big Ten
Adam Atkins Louisiana Tech Sr. Conference USA
Brad Bass Notre Dame So. Atlantic Coast
Nick Blackburn Illinois Sr. Big Ten
Nolan Blackwood Memphis Jr. The American
Tim Borst Fresno State Sr. Mountain West
Ben Bowden Vanderbilt Jr. Southeastern
Daniel Bridgeman Radford Sr. Big South
Chris Brown Georgia Southern Sr. Sun Belt
Zack Burdi Louisville Jr. Atlantic Coast
Thomas Burrows Alabama Jr. Southeastern
Kyano Cummings Siena Sr. Metro Atlantic Athletic
Tommy DeJuneas NC State So. Atlantic Coast
Justin Dunn Boston College Jr. Atlantic Coast
Mark Ecker Texas A&M Jr. Southeastern
Taylor Edens VMI Sr. Southern
David Ellingson Georgetown Jr. Big East
Mike Fitzgerald Northeastern R-Jr. Colonial
Tucker Forbes UCLA R-Jr. Pacific-12
Robert Galligan Maryland Sr. Big Ten
Bryan Garcia Miami (FL) Jr. Atlantic Coast
David Gerber Creighton Jr. Big East
Jared Gesell UNC Wilmington Sr. Colonial
Joe Goodman High Point R-Sr. Big South
Devin Gould Longwood Jr. Big South
Sean Guenther Notre Dame So. Atlantic Coast
Thomas Hackimer St. John's Sr. Big East
Ryan Hendrix Texas A&M Jr. Southeastern
Cole Hallum Campbell Sr. Big South
Ian Hamilton Washington State Jr. Pacific-12
John Hayes Wichita State Sr. Missouri Valley
Mitch Hickey Oregon State So. Pacific-12
Chad Hockin Cal State Fullerton Jr. Big West
Marc Huberman USC Sr. Pacific-12
Joe Ingle East Carolina So. The American
Zach Jackson Arkansas Jr. Southeastern
Jordan Jess Minnesota R-Sr. Big Ten
Spencer Jones Washington Sr. Pacific-12
Jake Kelzer Indiana R-Jr. Big Ten
Matthew Kinney Florida State R-Sr. Atlantic Coast
Collin Kober McNeese State Jr. Southland
Sterling Koerner FGCU Jr. Atlantic Sun
Thomas Lowery UAB Jr. Conference USA
Carter Love College of Charleston So. Colonial
Erik Martinez California So. Pacific-12
Aaron McGarity Virginia Tech Jr. Atlantic Coast
Evan McMahan Nevada Jr. Mountain West
Joe Mockbee Michigan State Jr. Big Ten
Dylan Moore Louisiana So. Sun Belt
Eddie Muhl George Washington Jr. Atlantic 10
Stephen Nogosek Oregon Jr. Pacific-12
Corbin Olmstead UNF Sr. Atlantic Sun
Conner O'Neil CSUN Jr. Big West
Glenn Otto Rice So. Conference USA
Ty Provencher Long Beach State R-Sr. Big West
Troy Rallings Washington Sr. Pacific-12
Patrick Ruotolo UConn Jr. The American
Zac Ryan Georgia Tech Jr. Atlantic Coast
Ryan Selmer Maryland So. Big Ten
Wyatt Short Ole Miss Jr. Southeastern
Jesse Stallings LSU So. Southeastern
Will Stillman Wofford Sr. Southern
Jake Stolley Northwestern Sr. Colonial
Ryan Thomas Marist Jr. Metro Atlantic Athletic
Luke Vandermaten Iowa Sr. Big Ten
Tyler Warmoth Florida State R-Sr. Atlantic Coast
Wayne Wages Georgia State Sr. Sun Belt
Keenan Wingfield Little Rock Jr. Sun Belt
Bryan Young Missouri State Jr. Missouri Valley
Dylan Zarosky Houston Baptist Sr. Southland

Nominations for the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award were made by baseball sports information/media relations contacts. The 2016 Stopper of the Year Watch List will be updated with a midseason release on Wednesday, April 27, including the national saves leaders. At the conclusion of the regular season, the Division I national saves leader and four other relief pitching standouts will be selected as finalists and released Wednesday, June 8, prior to start of NCAA Super Regional competition.

The NCBWA's All-America Committee will select the winner, with this year's recipient to be announced at the 2016 College World Series.

Texas hurler J. Brent Cox won the inaugural Stopper of the Year Award in 2005, with Don Czyz of Kansas claiming the honor in 2006 and Luke Prihoda of Sam Houston State winning it in 2007. Georgia's Joshua Fields topped the field in 2008, San Diego State's Addison Reed grabbed the honor in 2009 and Texas' Chance Ruffin earned the honor in 2010. The Longhorns' Corey Knebel won in 2011, with Southeastern Louisiana's Stefan Lopez picking up the honor in 2012. UCLA's Berg was crowned the winner in 2013, Louisville's Nick Burdi took home the 2014 honor and Berg became the award's first two-time winner in 2015.

The NCBWA, founded in 1962, presents the Dick Howser Trophy to the nation's top player. It also selects All-America Teams for all Divisions, a Division I Freshman All-American team, Division I and III Players of the Week, Division I District Players of the Year and Division III Players of the Year.

2016 NCBWA Stopper of the Year key dates:
Mon., Feb. 15: Preseason Watch List
Thu., April 28: Midseason Watch List
Wed., June 8: Stopper of the Year finalists announced
Sat., June 18: Stopper of the Year winner announced