DALLAS (NCBWA) The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association has tabbed Sam Houston outfielder Jack Rogers its National Player of the Month and Arkansas right-handed reliever Kevin Kopps its National Pitcher of the Month for May, it was announced on Monday.
Rogers, a native of Spring, Texas, cranked eight homers over 19 games during May, batting .466 (34-for-73) with six doubles, one triple, eight homers and 22 RBI. The junior outfielder had six doubles, one triple, owning 11 walks, with a .904 slugging and a .552 on-base percentage, stealing five bags. Rogers finished the 2021 season hitting .367 (76-for-207) with 49 runs, 18 doubles, one triple, 16 homers and 55 RBI, stealing 12 bases.
Kopps becomes the first player in the six-year history of the NCBWA monthly awards to win in back-to-back months. The fifth-year senior out of Sugar Land, Texas, had a 4-0 record and a 0.67 ERA over nine relief outings in May. He saved four games, worked 27 innings, allowing just two runs and four walks, striking out 34. The NCAA leader in ERA with a 0.81 mark, Kopps has gone 10-0 over 28 outings, saving 10 games. He has worked 66.1 innings and allowed only 37 hits a .161 opponent average · walking 15 and striking out 105. Kopps led the Razorbacks to the No. 1 national seed and the Southeastern Conference Tournament Championship, earning SEC Pitcher of the Year honors from the league coaches.
This marks the sixth consecutive year that the NCBWA has honored a player and pitcher of the month. 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 ncbwa.com.
2021 NCBWA Division I Players of the Week:
Week ending Feb. 22: Blayne Jones, Dallas Baptist (Hitter); Jordan Wicks, Kansas State (Pitcher)
· Week ending Feb. 28: Dominic Keegan, Vanderbilt (Hitter); Will Dion, McNeese State (Pitcher)
· Week ending March 7: Kenyon Yovan, Oregon (Hitter); Ty Madden, Texas (Pitcher)
· Week ending March 14: Cade Doughty, LSU (Hitter); Jarrett Whorff, Louisiana Tech (Pitcher)
· Week ending March 21: Robby Martin, Florida State (Hitter); Jack Leiter, Vanderbilt (Pitcher)
· Week ending March 28: Caden Grice, Clemson (Hitter); Chayce McDermott, Ball State (Pitcher)
· Week ending April 4: Adrian Del Castillo, Miami (Hitter); Seth Lonsway, Ohio State (Pitcher)
· Week ending April 11: Ivan Melendez, Texas (Hitter); Jonathan Cannon, Georgia (Pitcher)
· Week ending April 18: Aaron Beck, Indiana State (Hitter); Alek Jacob, Gonzaga (Pitcher)
· Week ending April 25: T.J. Collett, Kentucky (Hitter); Landen Bourassa, San Francisco (Pitcher)
· Week ending May 2: Dustin Demeter, Hawaii (Hitter); Tyler Burnham, Seton Hall (Pitcher)
· Week ending May 9: Will Frizzell, Texas A&M (Hitter); Justin Campbell, Oklahoma State (Pitcher)
· Week ending May 16: Ethan Long, Arizona State (Hitter); Andrew Abbott, Virginia (Pitcher)
· Week ending May 23: Cody Littlejohn, Tennessee Tech (Hitter); Cooper Hjerpe, Oregon State (Pitcher)
2021 NCBWA Division I Players of the Month:
February: Wes Clarke, South Carolina (Player); Carson Whisenhunt, East Carolina (Pitcher)
· March: Tim Elko, Ole Miss (Player); Jack Leiter, Vanderbilt (Pitcher)
· April: Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Oklahoma State (Player); Kevin Kopps, Arkansas (Pitcher)
· May: Jack Rogers, Sam Houston (Player); Kevin Kopps, Arkansas (Pitcher)