DALLAS (NCBWA) – After the 2020 season was put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association has released the list of semifinalists for the 2021 Dick Howser Trophy, presented by The Game Headware.

Balloting was done by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association in conjunction with the Dick Howser Trophy Committee and the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce. The award, given to the top player in collegiate baseball, is based on two rounds of national voting.

This is the 34th year of the Dick Howser Trophy. The finalists will be announced on Thursday, June 10. Due to COVID-19 protocols at TD Ameritrade Stadium in downtown Omaha, the home of the College World Series for the ninth year, the announcement of this year's winner will be done via Zoom. The winner will be unveiled on MLB Network and then, a press conference with the winner will be held after the announcement is made. The date and time for the announcement will be announced in the near future.

This year's candidates hail from 13 different conferences and 33 different schools. The Southeastern Conference leads the way with 14 semifinalists, followed by the Big 12 with six, Atlantic Coast with four, American Athletic, Conference USA and Pac-12 with three, Atlantic 10 and Sun Belt with two and Mid-Eastern Athletic, Missouri Valley, Mountain West, Ohio Valley and Southwestern Athletic Conferences each with one representative. Arkansas and Vanderbilt were represented with three semifinalists on the list and East Carolina, Georgia Southern, Mississippi State and Texas each had two. Every position on the diamond but utility is represented, including eight outfielders, seven starting pitchers, six third basemen, four relief pitchers and first basemen, three second basemen and designated hitters, two shortstops and catchers.

The Dick Howser Trophy, given in memory of the former Florida State University All-America shortstop and major league player and manager, who died of brain cancer in 1987, is regarded by many as college baseball's most prestigious award. Criteria for consideration of the trophy include performance on the field, leadership, moral character and courage, qualities that were exemplified by Dick Howser's life.

A Florida native, Howser was twice an All-America shortstop at Florida State (1957-58), then coached the Seminoles in 1979, after a career as a major league player and coach. After one year in the college ranks, Howser returned to the majors to manage the New York Yankees and Kansas City Royals and won the World Series with the Royals in 1985. The baseball stadium on the Florida State campus is named for Howser.

“The Dick Howser Trophy was founded shortly after his death by a few friends of Dick's in the St. Petersburg Area who played, coached and worked with him,” said David Feaster, chairman of the Howser Trophy Committee. “All knew him personally and were aware of him as a tremendous player, coach and friend. The award was initially awarded at the Governors Baseball Dinner held each spring in St. Petersburg to welcome Spring Training to Florida, and as time progressed, we moved the presentation to Omaha, the center of college baseball, during the World Series. I have been involved with the award for more than 30 years and have loved every minute of my involvement. I have had the opportunity to meet some great college players as well as some great young men. I am so proud of the character quality we have in our award, which makes it unique. I am also proud of our selection process by the NCBWA which is the most democratic of any award and provides a true national scope.

“The Dick Howser Trophy is 34 years old and continues to increase in prominence and the scope of its reach increases exponentially each year,” added Feaster. “It is a true testimony to Dick Howser's ability as a player, coach and gentlemen. I am proud to be associated with it.”

The winner's name is inscribed on the permanent trophy, a bronze bust of Howser displayed at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg - home of the Tampa Bay Rays. Both the winner and his school receive a special trophy to keep.

NCBWA membership includes writers, broadcasters and publicists. Designed to promote and publicize college baseball, it is the sport's only college media-related organization, founded in 1962.

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, Baylor, 1999; Mark Teixeira, 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/DH, 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; Mike Zunino, C, Florida, 2012; Kris Bryant, 3B, San Diego, 2013; A.J. Reed, P/1B, Kentucky, 2014; Andrew Benintendi, OF, Arkansas, 2015; Seth Beer, OF, Clemson, 2016, Brendan McKay, P/1B, Louisville, 2017, Brady Singer, SP, Florida, in 2018 and Adley Rutschman, C, Oregon in 2019.

2021 Dick Howser Trophy presented by The Game Headwear:
• Fri., May 21: Dick Howser Trophy semifinalists announced
• Thu., June 10: Dick Howser Trophy finalists announced
• Fri., June 18: Dick Howser Trophy winner announced | Presentation video

Related links:
• More on the Dick Howser Trophy