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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Pomeranz Named Dick Howser Trophy Finalist
6/23/2010 | Baseball
June 23, 2010
OXFORD, Miss. - Ole Miss left-hander Drew Pomeranz has been named one of three finalists for the Dick Howser Trophy honoring the top collegiate baseball player in the country, the College Baseball Foundation announced on Saturday in conjunction with the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association (NCBWA) and the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce.
In a press conference prior to the opening game of the 2010 College World Series in Omaha, Neb., Pomeranz was named as one of three finalists for the prestigious award along with Miami catcher Yasmani Grandal and Rice third baseman Stephen Rendon.
The winner of the Howser Trophy will be announced in Lubbock, Texas, on July 2, during the College Baseball Awards Show, held at the United Spirit Arena and shown on MLB.com. The nationally broadcasted event will follow the College Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony on July 1 in Lubbock.
All three finalists for the 24th Annual Howser Trophy embody the principles of character, leadership, desire, and competitive spirit exhibited by Dick Howser, the All-America shortstop and later head coach at Florida State, before managing the Kansas City Royals to the world championship in 1985.
"It's an honor and a privilege to be named a finalist for this award," Pomeranz said. "It's humbling to be associated with an award named after someone as prestigious in the game of baseball as Dick Howser, and to be part of this trio of athletes in consideration for the award."
"Certainly, its an honor that we feel Drew is very deserving of when you look at what he has meant to our program this season, and over the course of his career," said Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco. "It's a tremendous honor for our program as well to have Drew named as a finalist for an award like the Howser Trophy."
This season, Pomeranz was named the Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Year by the league's coaches as he led the conference in strikeouts (139), earned run average (2.24) and opposing batting average (.195). He posted a 9-2 record on the year, helping Ole Miss advance to an eighth consecutive NCAA Regional.
His 139 strikeouts put him second on the single-season list for strikeouts - giving him two of the top five spots after posting 124 strikeouts as a sophomore - and pushed him to the top of the career strikeout list with 344. He also is in the top 10 in career wins (21) and career starts (43).
The southpaw was also named a first team All-America selection by both Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and the NCBWA. He was drafted with the fifth overall pick in the 2010 MLB Draft by the Cleveland Indians to become the highest draft pick in Ole Miss baseball history. He is also a semifinalist for the College Baseball Foundation's National Pitcher of the Year award and USA Baseball's Golden Spikes Award.
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 for 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 University (1957-58), and 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.
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 College Baseball Foundation was established in 2004 and has inducted 57 greats into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in Lubbock. The group promotes the highest ideals and recognition of greatness on college baseball diamonds in the 150 years since the first intercollegiate contest in 1859 between Amherst and Williams.
The groups also have come together in 2010 to select the Dick Howser Trophy, Brooks Wallace Award (Division I Shortstop of the Year), NCBWA Stopper of the Year, CBF Pitcher of the Year, John Olerud Award (top two-way player) and NCBWA National Coach of the Year. The Pro-Line Athletic/NCBWA All-America and Freshman All-America teams, the NCBWA Freshman Player and Pitcher of the Year also are being presented by these national entities.
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 and Stephen Strasburg, P, San Diego State, 2009.
