UF's Nolan Fontana Named Quarterfinalist For Brooks Wallace Award
Friday, May 6, 2011 | Baseball
Florida sophomore Nolan Fontana (Winter Garden, Fla.) was named as a quarterfinalist for the Brooks Wallace Shortstop of the Year Award on Thursday by the College Baseball Hall of Fame. The list features 25 of the nation's finest Division I shortstops.
Fontana has started 45 games this season for the fourth-ranked Gators (35-11/17-5 SEC), is hitting .300 and boasts team highs in walks (32), triples (five) and sacrifice flies (five). He has scored 37 runs, totaled 30 RBI, poked nine doubles and stolen four bases. Fontana has a .295 clip in SEC play with 19 RBI, 12 walks and 11 runs.
The Wallace Award, sponsored by Mizuno, recognizes the nation's top shortstop and will be presented on July 3 in Lubbock, Texas, as part of the College Baseball Hall of Fame's Night of Champions.
“These players highlight another outstanding group of shortstops,” said Tyler Young, Wallace Award co-chair. “The players feature very good offensive statistics combined with outstanding defense.”
The Watch List features shortstops from 15 conferences, with the ACC and SEC leading the pack with four representatives each.
“Shortstop is a premium defensive position and we pay close attention to defensive play,” said Kevin Dunagan, Wallace Award co-chair. “The task of reducing the nation's shortstops down to 25 is not simple.”
Brooks Wallace Award Watch List
Brad Miller Clemson ACC
Jacob Esch Georgia Tech ACC
Chris Diaz NC State ACC
Chris Taylor Virginia ACC
Brandon Loy Texas Big XII
Kelby Tomlinson Texas Tech Big XII
Joe Panik St. John's Big East
Sam Roberts VMI Big South
DJ Crumlich UC Irvine Big West
David Herbek James Madison Colonial
Chad Zurcher Memphis C-USA
Alex Jones Northern Illinois MAC
Sean Jamieson Canisius Metro-Atlantic
Taylor Featherston TCU Mtn. West
Kenny Diekroeger Stanford Pac-10
Devon Marrero Arizona State Pac-10
Clint Moore Army Patriot
Austin Nola LSU SEC
Nolan Fontana FLORIDA SEC
Anthony Gomez Vanderbilt SEC
Peter Mooney South Carolina SEC
Eric Phillips Ga. Southern Southern
Bo Cuthbertson Southern Utah Summit
Nick DelGuidice Florida Atlantic Sun Belt
Adam Bryant Troy Sun Belt
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