Hokie ClubThe College Baseball Foundation recently announced its preseason watch list for the Brooks Wallace Award, and a pair of Hokies – relief pitcher Rhett Ballard and first baseman Sean O’Brien –find their names on the initial list.
Ballard is a redshirt junior from High Point, N.C., and went 6-2 last season after pitching 64.1 innings in 34 relief appearances. The 6-foot-5 right-hander struck out 74 batters while ranking first in the ACC in fewest hits allowed (55), third in opposing batting average (.220) and 26th in ERA (4.48).
O’Brien, a redshirt senior from Chappaqua, N.Y., is a three-year starter at first base with a career batting average of .337. Last year, he ranked fourth in the ACC with 20 doubles and 29th with a .327 batting average. He started all 54 games for Virginia Tech, including 49 at first base with a .979 fielding percentage.
The Brooks Wallace Award, which is given annually to the national player of the year, is dedicated to the memory of the former Texas Tech shortstop and assistant coach. Wallace was a slick-fielding shortstop at Texas Tech from 1977 to 1980. A 4-year starter, he was named All-Southwest Conference and All-District Six his senior year when he lead the Red Raiders to their first-ever appearance in the Southwest Conference Tournament.
After playing two years in the Texas Rangers organization, he returned to Texas Tech and served as a graduate assistant and later as an assistant coach. In the summer of 1984 he was diagnosed with cancer and fought the disease courageously until his death on March 24, 1985, at age 27.
The watch list, which can be viewed in entirety here, is narrowed down as the season progresses and is voted on by a national panel of sports information directors, beat writers and college baseball coaches. Past winners include Vanderbilt’s David Price (2007), Houston’s Brad Lincoln (2006), Nebraska’s Alex Gordon (2005) and Cal State Fullerton’s Kurt Suzuki (2004).