Fielding prowess, plate awareness highlight Brooks Wallace Award semifinalists

LUBBOCK, Texas – The 2022 crop of college baseball shortstops have produced some eye-popping numbers, from high batting averages to double-digit home run totals. Some of it is expected, coming from players earning a multitude of preseason honors, while others have surged to the front of the pack as the season has unfolded.

One other thing they are doing in abundance is making plays in the field. Those abilities combined have landed the top 30 shortstops in the nation on the 2022 Brooks Wallace Award semifinalists list that were announced here.

“What a group of semifinalists,” said Tom Quigley, co-chair of the Brooks Wallace Award. “Thirty shortstops from 19 different conferences are representing their universities well. Narrowing down this list for our finalists will be a tough task.”

The award, sponsored by Mizuno, honors the nation's top shortstop and will be presented this summer by the College Baseball Foundation. It is named for former Texas Tech shortstop Brooks Wallace, a slick-fielding shortstop who played for the Red Raiders to from 1977 to 1980. Wallace died of leukemia at the age of 27.

Slick fielding is exactly what each of the 30 semifinalists is doing.

Topping the list of semifinalists defensively is Oregon Sophomore John Kasevich, who has committed just three errors all season and compiled a .974 fielding percentage while hitting .317 in 45 games, recording five home runs and 31 RBI.

Close on his heels defensively are Eastern Kentucky junior Logan Thomason and UCLA freshman Cody Schrier, each with four errors. Thomason is hitting .309 with five home runs and 36 RBIs to go with his .969 fielding percentage, while Schrier is fielding the ball at a .965 clip while hitting .312 with nine home runs and 38 RBI.

Offense also has been prominent among the semifinalists.

In addition to Ferreras, four other players on the list have totaled 14 home runs – sophomores Pascanel Ferreras from Western Carolina (.354 average, 52 RBI), Tanner Schobel from Virginia Tech (.382 average, 60 RBI), Trey Faltine from Texas (.273 average, 45 RBI), Ole Miss’ Jacob Gonzalez (.288 average, 39 RBI) and Tim Borden from Georgia Tech (.314 average, 41 RBI). Schobel’s 60 RBI lead all players on the list, just one ahead of Texas Tech senior Kurt Wilson (.335 average, 11 home runs).

“There are so many of the shortstops hitting for high averages, it’s tough to differentiate between them all,” said Larry Wallace, co-chair of the Brooks Wallace Award. “But what defines the Brooks Wallace shortstop of the year award is how well they also field their position and lead their respective teams.”

For more information on the Wallace Award or the Night of Champions event, visit www.collegebaseballhall.org.