Nov. 21, 2006
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LUBBOCK, Texas –Sophomore third baseman Pedro Alvarez and junior pitcher David Price were both named to the initial Brooks Wallace Award Watch List by the College Baseball Foundation.
The Brooks Wallace Award is presented annually to the national college baseball player of the year. The initial list includes 120 student-athletes from across the country.
Alvarez, the National Freshman of the Year by Collegiate Baseball and Baseball America, finished the 2006 season with a .329 batting average to go along with a school record 22 homers and 64 RBI. His homer total was third most nationally and second best in the Southeastern Conference. Alvarez had a torrid summer with the USA Baseball National Team that captured a gold medal at the World University Championships in Cuba. The New York City resident led the collegiate all-star squad with a .379 batting average to go along with five homers, 12 doubles and 43 RBI. Baseball America listed him as the No. 2 prospect off of the USA team that was coached by Vanderbilt head coach Tim Corbin.
Price, the No. 1 prospect on the USA squad, was a three-time National Pitcher of the Week honoree in 2006 and finished the year with a 9-5 record and a school record 155 strikeouts in 110.1 innings. His. 12.6 strikeouts per nine innings was third best nationally and No. 1 in the SEC. He was named BA’s Summer Player of the Year after going 5-1 with a 0.20 ERA with 61 strikeouts and only seven walks in 44.0 innings for Team USA.
The Wallace Watch will be trimmed to 12 semi-finalists by late May. Then the selection committee will narrow the list to three finalists following the NCAA Super Regionals, prior to the College World Series. The finalists, their head coaches, and their parents will be invited to Lubbock for a schedule of special events tied to the award banquet, which will again be nationally televised by Fox Sports Network and Fox College Sports.
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Dedicated to the memory of former Texas Tech shortstop and assistant coach, Wallace was a slick-fielding shortstop at Texas Tech from 1977 to 1980. A four-year starter, he was named All-Southwest Conference and All-District Six his senior year when he led 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 Plano, Texas, native was married to the former Sandy Arnold and they had one daughter, Lindsay Ryan.
The selection committee for the Wallace Award is comprised of a national panel of preeminent coaches, sports information directors, former winners and beat media who most closely follow the sport. Screening Committee members will evaluate the candidates and will continue their review throughout the entire baseball season. The list will expand and contract during the regular season and additional Wallace Watch candidates may be added as the season progresses. Voting for the three finalists and the Wallace Award winner will be conducted by confidential balloting, with totals tabulated by the J.W.Anderson & Associates accounting firm in Lubbock.
