Chapman Named To Midseason Stopper of the Year Watch List
Thursday, April 15, 2010 | Baseball
Florida junior left-hander Kevin Chapman (Coral Springs, Fla.) is among the 45 players who have been named to the Midseason Watch List for the sixth 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 Thursday.
Chapman is off a to a tremendous start for the seventh-ranked Gators (23-9/8-4 SEC), posting a 1-0 record with a 1.16 earned run average and six saves in a team-high 16 appearances. He has limited opponents to a .198 batting average, totaled 22 strikeouts in 23.1 innings and has registered three saves and a win in league action. Chapman pitched a total of 11.1 innings last year and did not have any career saves entering the campaign.
Leading the elite field with a nation-best 11 saves is Virginia's Kevin Arico. The junior right-hander owns a 2.37 ERA and had registered 27 strikeouts in 19.0 innings pitched.
Also included on this year's Midseason Watch List is 2009 finalist Matty Ott of LSU (0-0, 2.70), who ranks second in the nation with 10 saves. Last year, Ott, the 2009 SEC Co-Freshman of the Year with Gator sophomore Preston Tucker (Tampa, Fla.), set a new high for the most single-season saves in LSU history with 16 and carried his team to a national championship. Oklahoma's Ryan Duke (0-1, 1.59) and Appalachian State's Chris Patterson (2-1, 0.77) each hold 10 saves apiece, tying them for second in the country with Ott.
The Big 12 Conference leads the way with six players named to the Midseason Watch List. The ACC, Pac-10, SEC and Southland Conference have four pitchers each on this year's Watch List, while the Big East Conference is represented by three players. In all, 20 conferences are showcased in this year's Midseason Watch List.
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 2, prior to start of NCAA Regional tournament competition. The NCBWA's All-America Committee then will select the winner, with this year's recipient to be announced on the opening day of the College World Series on June 19.
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, Luke Prihoda of Sam Houston State winning it in 2007, Georgia's Joshua Fields topping the field in 2008 and San Diego State's Addison Reed grabbing the honor last season.
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.
2010 NCBWA Stopper of the Year Midseason Watch List
Pitcher | School | Year |
| James Allen | Kansas State | So. |
| Kevin Arico | Virginia | Jr. |
| Billy Barber | Richmond | Jr. |
| DJ Baxendale | Arkansas | Fr. |
| Lance Baxter | South Alabama | Sr. |
| Brett Bochy | Kansas | Jr. |
| Russell Brewer | Vanderbilt | Jr. |
| Andrew Burkett | Cincinnati | Sr. |
| Garret Carruth | Texas State | Sr. |
| Kevin Chapman | FLORIDA | Jr. |
| Adam Cimber | Washington | Fr. |
| Adam Conley | Washington State | So. |
| Rye Davis | Western Kentucky | So. |
| Ryan Duke | Oklahoma | Jr. |
| Austin Fleet | Coastal Carolina | Fr. |
| Chris Franklin | Southeastern Louisiana | Sr. |
| Tyler Gebler | Rutgers | Fr. |
| Dan Gentzler | Maryland | Jr. |
| David Gutierrez | Miami (Fla.) | Sr. |
| Matt Hauser | San Diego | Sr. |
| Tom Heithoff | Evansville | Sr. |
| Neil Holland | Louisville | Jr. |
| Jon Ivie | Belmont | Jr. |
| Josh Janway | Southeastern Louisiana | So. |
| Chris Kaminski | Jacksonville | Jr. |
| Dan Klein | UCLA | So. |
| Ben Rowen | Virginia Tech | Sr. |
| Patrick Lawson | Charlotte | Sr. |
| Drew Mahaffey | Citadel | Jr. |
| Kevin McKague | Army | Jr. |
| David McKnight | BYU | Jr. |
| Kevin Munson | James Madison | Jr. |
| Kyle Necke | UC Irvine | Sr. |
| Matty Ott | LSU | So. |
| Chris Patterson | Appalachian State | Sr. |
| Brooks Pinckard | Baylor | So. |
| Nick Pepitone | Tulane | Jr. |
| Ryne Purcell | Eastern Kentucky | Jr. |
| Chance Ruffin | Texas | Jr. |
| Gera Sanchez | New Mexico | So. |
| Chad Sheppard | Northwestern State | So. |
| Seth Simmons | East Carolina | Jr. |
| John Soldinger | Manhattan | Fr. |
| John Stilson | Texas A&M | So. |
| Jordan Swagerty | Arizona State | So. |
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