June 7, 2007
HOUSTON – Adam Mills of Charlotte, David Price of Vanderbilt, and Jacob Thompson of Virginia, have dominated opponents all season and for their efforts the three have been named as finalists for the 2007 Roger Clemens Award. The winner of college baseball version of the Cy Young Award will be announced at the conclusion of the Roger Clemens Award Dinner on July 11 in Houston.
“Once again, this past season has seen an exceptional number of quality college pitchers,” said Ray Mitchell, co-chairman of the Roger Clemens Award. “And as in past years, the voting was extremely close in determining our three finalists. We are excited to honor all three of these great talents as they look forward joining Roger at the award’s presentation dinner in Houston on July 11.”
Mills led the nation in wins with a 14-2 record and a 1.01 earned run average. The senior right-hander from Big Pool, Md. (Clear Springs HS) was the Atlantic-10 Conference’s pitcher of the year, leading the 49ers to the A-10 regular-season and tournament championships. Mills has also been named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, Rivals.com and Louisville Slugger/Collegiate Baseball all-America first teams. Charlotte’s season ended Sunday when the 49ers lost in the Columbia, S.C., Regional finals to host South Carolina.
Already selected as the national player of the year by Collegiate Baseball, Price pitched Vanderbilt to the top of the national rankings for nine straight weeks. At 11-1 with a 2.63 ERA, the junior left-hander from Murfeesboro, Tenn. (Blackman HS), was among the national leaders all season with 13.1 strikeouts per nine innings pitched. Price has also been named to all-America teams as selected by the NCBWA and Rivals in addition to Southeastern Conference pitcher of the year honors. The Commodores won the SEC’s regular season and tournament championships but were upset by Michigan in the Nashville Regional finals on June 4.
Thompson went 11-0 with a 1.50 earned run average, leading Virginia to the finals of the Charlottesville Regional. The sophomore right-hander from Danville, Va. (Tunstall HS) has already been named to all-America teams as selected by Collegiate Baseball, the NCBWA and Rivals.com. The Cavaliers’ saw their season end with a 7-3 loss to defending national champion Oregon State in the regional final on Tuesday.
The finalists for the 2007 Roger Clemens Award were selected after a second round of voting by all Division 1 head baseball coaches, a selection of national media who cover collegiate baseball, the 16 winners of the R. E. “Bob” Smith Award, which was presented to the top player in the country in Houston in 1988-2003, and the 10 previous finalists for the Clemens Award. Jered Weaver of Long Beach State (2004), Luke Hochevar of Tennessee (2005), and Andrew Miller of North Carolina (2006) were previous winners of the Clemens Award.
The Roger Clemens Award was named after future Hall of Famer Roger Clemens, who began his march to stardom while leading the University of Texas to the College World Series title in 1983. As a professional, Clemens has won 348 games (eighth best in history), fanned more than 4,600 hitters and won seven Cy Young Awards, emblematic as the top pitcher in his league. The Roger Clemens Award is the only award of its kind, honoring the finest pitchers in college baseball.
The event is administered by the Greater Houston Baseball Association, which has donated more than $300,000 to the charities from the net proceeds from the first three dinners. The GHBA is a non-profit 501.3 (C) organization dedicated to the growth of amateur baseball in the Houston area.
Tickets for the 2007 Roger Clemens Award are now on sale. For more information, please call the Greater Houston Baseball Association at (713) 739-0505 or write to The Roger Clemens Award, 2550 S. Sam Houston Parkway West, Houston, TX 77047.