DALLAS (NCBWA) The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association released its National Player of the Week awards for the period ending Feb. 22. Oregon State freshman catcher KJ Harrison was named National Hitter of the Week, while TCU senior right-handed pitcher Preston Morrison 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.
Harrison was the catalyst for an Oregon State offense that batted .333 as a team en route to a 3-2 record last week, including four games against Big 12 opponents. The Kailua, Hawai'i, native went 10-for-22 (.455) over the five games, collecting two doubles, one triple, two home runs and 10 runs batted in. He hit safely in all five outings to extend his hitting streak to eight games. Harrison totaled four multi-hit efforts over the week, including Sundays two-hit day that saw him hit a grand slam in the 15-5 win over Kansas. He also hit a home run against Kansas State two days earlier. Additionally, Harrison has been stellar on the field defensively. In five games at both first base and catcher, he tallied 43 fielding chances with no errors.
Morrison was brilliant in tossing his fifth career complete-game shutout at No. 9 Arizona State last Friday night. After a rocky first inning in which he faced five batters, the Waxhaw, N.C., native allowed just two hits over the final eight innings. The Sun Devils had just four base runners in the contest and only one in scoring position. Morrison retired 23 of the final 25 batters he faced. The victory is Morrisons 27th career win, moving him into a tie for third all-time with Kyle Winkler and Scott Atchison. It was the senior·s seventh career complete game while competing in the Big 12 and fourth career shutout.
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.
2015 NCBWA Division I Players of the Week:
Feb. 15: Eric Gutierrez, Texas Tech (Hitter); Luke Gillingham, Navy (Pitcher)
· Feb. 22: KJ Harrison, Oregon State (Hitter); Preston Morrison, TCU (Pitcher)
· March 1: Braden Bishop, Washington (Hitter); Alex Robinett, Army (Pitcher)
· March 8: Dante Flores, USC (Hitter); Carson Cross, Connecticut (Pitcher)
· March 15: David Thompson, Miami (Hitter); Chris Chism, Tennessee Tech (Pitcher)
· March 22: DJ Stewart, Florida State (Hitter); Drew Rasmussen, Oregon State (Pitcher)
· March 29: Chris Shaw, Boston College (Hitter); James McMahon, Southern Miss (Pitcher)
· April 5: Christin Stewart, Tennessee (Hitter); James Reeves, The Citadel (Pitcher)
· April 12: JJ Schwarz, Florida (Hitter); Anthony Kay, Connecticut (Pitcher)
· April 26: Kevin Kaczmarski, Evansville (Hitter); Kevin Hill, South Alabama (Pitcher)
· May 5: Clayton Meyer, Morehead State and Bryce Greager, Nevada (Hitter); Matt Hall, Missouri State (Pitcher)
· May 12: Jeff Boehm, UIC (Hitter); Thomas Eshelman, Cal State Fullerton (Pitcher)
· May 19: Tyler Lawrence, Murray State (Hitter); James Kaprielian, UCLA (Pitcher)