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Warner Jones on 2005 Wallace Watch 11/24/2004
Warner Jones on 2005 Wallace Watch Vanderbilt junior second baseman Warner Jones is one of 58 baseball student-athletes across the nation and one of nine in the Southeastern Conference to be named to the 2005 Wallace Watch announced Tuesday by the College Baseball Foundation in Lubbock, Texas. The Brooks Wallace Award is presented annually to the National College Baseball Player of the Year. Cal-State Fullerton’s Kurt Suzuki won the 2004 Wallace Award. Jones led the Southeastern Conference with a .414 batting average and 74 RBI in 2004. He also numbered a nation-leading 111 hits helping lead the Commodores to a 45-19 record and first-ever appearance in an NCAA Super Regional. He started all 64 games last season at second base and had 32 multi-hit and 20 multi-RBI games. He reached base in 60 games and hit safely in 54 games. He broke five VU records, including the Vanderbilt and SEC record 32-game hitting streak that spanned over two seasons. He is the first Commodore to be named to the Baseball America All-America First Team (2004). He was also named to the ABCA, Collegiate Baseball and NCBWA All-America teams and was a first team All-SEC selection as well as an SEC All-Tournament selection. Last week, he was selected to the NCBWA Preseason All-America Second Team. The Wallace Watch will be trimmed to 12 semi-finalists by Tuesday, May 24, 2005. The selection committee will then narrow the list to three finalists following the NCAA Super Regionals at a press conference in Omaha on Thursday, June 16, 2005. The finalists, their head coaches, and their parents will be invited to Lubbock, Texas, for a golf tournament, a welcome dinner and the award banquet. 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 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 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 mostly closely follow the sport. Screening Committee members will evaluate the candidates and will continue their review throughout the entire baseball season. Additional Watch List candidates may be added as the season progresses. Voting for the three Wallace Award 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, TX. 2005 Wallace Watch List Byron Barber, OF, College of Charleston |
