DALLAS (NCBWA) The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) released its National Player of the Week awards for the period ending February 18. Santa Clara·s senior infielder Jake Brodt was named National Hitter of the Week, while Southern Miss junior right-handed pitcher Nick Sandlin was named National Pitcher of the Week.
The NCBWA Board reviews candidates from each Division I Conference each week and names winners each Tuesday throughout the season.
In game two of the season opening series against Boston College, Brodt hit two grand slams in one inning becoming just the seventh Division I player to accomplish the feat since the NCAA started to keep records in 1957. He is the first to record the feat since 2000 when T.J. Soto of Louisiana Tech did it against Western Kentucky.
In the game, the Huntington Beach, Calif., native hit three home runs and drove in 10 runs to help Santa Clara to a 20-9 win for Bronco head coach Rusty Filter's first win. His other home run was a solo shot to cut the deficit to 9-6 in the sixth with his first grand slam putting the Broncos ahead 11-9 in the seventh inning. And his second grand slam made it 20-9. In the series, Brodt hit safely in all three games batting .462 (6-for-13), three home runs and 10 RBI with a slugging percentage of 1.231.
A preseason All-American right-hander, Sandlin made the first start of his career on Friday, blanking nationally ranked Mississippi State for seven innings. The Evans, Ga., native retired the first eight batters he faced before allowing three straight singles. He then got a force out to end the frame and allowed only one more base runner with a single in the sixth. His seven innings of work and his nine strikeouts were both career highs and he did not walk a batter, throwing strikes on 64 of his 93 pitches.
Founded in 1962, the NCBWA is dedicated to the advancement of college baseball. Membership is open to writers, broadcasters and publicists of the sport. For more information about the NCBWA, visit the association's official Web site, www.ncbwa.com.
For more information on the NCBWA Division I National Players of the Week, contact NCBWA Assistant Executive Director Mike Montoro at West Virginia University at 304-293-2821.
2018 NCBWA Division I Players of the Week:
Feb. 20: Jake Brodt, Santa Clara (Hitter); Nick Sandlin, Southern Miss (Pitcher)
· Feb. 27: Brett Kinneman, N.C. State (Hitter); Joe DeMers, Washington (Pitcher)
· March 6: Luke Heyer, Kentucky (Hitter); Payton Kinney, Omaha (Pitcher)
· March 13: Jacob Rhinesmith, Western Kentucky (Hitter); Casey Mize, Auburn (Pitcher)
· March 20: Joe Genord, USF (Hitter); Griffin Roberts, Wake Forest (Pitcher)
· March 27: Bren Spillane, Illinois (Hitter); Jake Lee, Oakland (Pitcher)
· April 3: Jon Littell, Oklahoma State (Hitter); Colton Eastman, Cal State Fullerton (Pitcher)
· April 10: Connor Pauly, Morehead State (Hitter); Scotty Sunitsch, Washington State (Pitcher)
· April 17: Ross Haffey, Miami, Ohio (Hitter); Noah Zavolas, Harvard (Pitcher)
· April 24: Josh Jung, Texas Tech and Steven Wells, Florida State (Hitter); Connor Van Hoose, Bucknell (Pitcher)
· May 1: Alex Holderbach, Eastern Kentucky (Hitter); Barrett Loseke, Arkansas (Pitcher)
· May 8: Adam Sasser, Georgia (Hitter); Haylen Green, TCU (Pitcher)
· May 15: Will Wilson, N.C. State (Hitter); Luke Heimlich, Oregon State (Pitcher)
· May 22: Will Holland, Auburn (Hitter); Sam Shutes, Toledo (Pitcher)
2018 NCBWA Division I Players of the Month:
February: Brett Kinneman, N.C. State (Player); Brady Feigl, Ole Miss (Pitcher)
· March: Seth Beer, Clemson (Player); Casey Mize, Auburn (Pitcher)
· April: Alex Holderbach, Eastern Kentucky (Player); Connor Thomas, Georgia Tech (Pitcher)
· May: Cal Raleigh, Florida State (Player); Logan Gilbert, Stetson (Pitcher)