COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (NCBWA) – Fifty-one players have been named to the midseason watch list for the ninth annual National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Award, given to the top relief pitcher in NCAA Division I baseball, as announced by the association on Tuesday.
National saves leader Tyler Rogers, a senior from Austin Peay, Oregon junior Jimmie Sherfy, a 2012 Stopper of the Year Award finalist, and Cal State Fullerton junior Michael Lorenzen lead the list with six weeks remaining in the regular season. Rogers has 14 saves as of April 22.
Sherfy and Lorenzen, along with Florida Atlantic senior Hugh Adams, Jacksonville State sophomore Travis Stout, Mississippi State sophomore Jonathan Holder and South Carolina senior Tyler Webb, have 12 saves each.
The Southeastern Conference leads the way with eight players each on this year's mid-season list, while the Atlantic Coast, Pacific-12, Ohio Valley and Southern Conferences have four pitchers each on the list.
| 2013 NCBWA STOPPER OF THE YEAR MIDSEASON WATCH LIST | ||
| Hugh Adams | Florida Atlantic | Sr. |
| Kyle Bartsch | South Alabama | Sr. |
| David Berg | UCLA | So. |
| Robby Coles | Florida State | Jr. |
| Ryan Connolly | Coastal Carolina | Sr. |
| Chris Cotton | LSU | Sr. |
| Kyle Crockett | Virginia | Jr. |
| Jordan Dailey | Bethune-Cookman | Sr. |
| Josh Davis | Belmont | Sr. |
| Trace Dempsey | Ohio State | So. |
| Bubba Derby | San Diego State | Fr. |
| Jacob Dorris | Texas A&M-Corpus Christi | So. |
| Jacob Evans | Oklahoma | Fr. |
| Eric Eck | Wofford | Jr. |
| Michael Fain | Nevada | Fr. |
| Trevor Frank | UC Riverside | Sr. |
| Ian Gibaut | Tulane | Fr. |
| Ronnie Glenn | Penn | So. |
| Trevor Gott | Kentucky | Jr. |
| Gavin Guarrera | North Carolina Central | Sr. |
| Preston Hatcher | Western Carolina | Sr. |
| Matt Hicks | Louisiana | Jr. |
| Dylan Hills | Southeastern Louisiana | Jr. |
| Jonathan Holder | Mississippi State | So. |
| Brett Huber | Ole Miss | Sr. |
| Skylar Hunter | The Citadel | Fr. |
| Andrew Istler | Duke | So. |
| Jason Jester | Texas A&M | Jr. |
| Corey Knebel | Texas | Jr. |
| Zech Lemond | Rice | So. |
| Michael Lorenzen | Cal State Fullerton | Jr. |
| Seth Lucio | Tennessee Tech | So. |
| Johnny Magliozzi | Florida | So. |
| Zach Mawson | Rider | So. |
| Sutter McLoughlin | Sacramento State | Fr. |
| Brian Miller | Vanderbilt | So. |
| Eric Nedeljkovic | Miami (Fla.) | Sr. |
| Jordan Piché | Kansas | Jr. |
| Reed Reilly | Cal Poly | So. |
| Tyler Rogers | Austin Peay | Sr. |
| Scott Schultz | Oregon State | Jr. |
| Jimmie Sherfy | Oregon | Jr. |
| Dan Slania | Notre Dame | Jr. |
| Travis Stout | Jacksonville State | So. |
| Michael Swanner | Pepperdine | Jr. |
| Ryan Thompson | Campbell | Jr. |
| Mathew Troupe | Arizona | So. |
| Jonathan Van Eaton | Memphis | Jr. |
| Tyler Webb | South Carolina | Sr. |
| Eric Yardley | Seattle | Sr. |
| Nate Young | Elon | Sr. |
Nominations for the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award were made by baseball sports information/media relations contacts. At the conclusion of the regular season, the Division I national saves leader and four other relief pitching standouts will be selected as finalists and released Wednesday, June 5, prior to start of NCAA Super Regional tournament competition.
The NCBWA's All-America Committee will select the winner, with this year's recipient to be announced during the 2013 College World Series.
Texas hurler J. Brent Cox won the inaugural Stopper of the Year Award in 2005, with Don Czyz of Kansas claiming the honor in 2006 and Luke Prihoda of Sam Houston State winning it in 2007. Georgia’s Joshua Fields topped the field in 2008, San Diego State’s Addison Reed grabbed the honor in 2009 and Texas’ Chance Ruffin earned the honor in 2010. Texas' Corey Knebel won in 2011 with Southeastern Louisiana's Stefan Lopez picking up the honor in 2012. Knebel is on the 2013 watch list.
The NCBWA, founded in 1962, presents the Dick Howser Trophy to the nation's top player. It also selects All-America Teams for all Divisions, a Division I Freshman All-American team, Division I and III Players of the Week, Division I District Players of the Year and Division III Players of the Year.
For more information on the NCBWA Stopper of the Year, contact Judy Willson at the Mountain West Conference at 719-488-4052 or Russ Anderson at Conference USA at 214-774-1300.