UF's Brian Johnson & Austin Maddox Chosen To John Olerud Watch List
Friday, May 6, 2011 | Baseball
Gator sophomore baseball players Brian Johnson (Cocoa Beach, Fla.) and Austin Maddox (Jacksonville, Fla.) were named to the Watch List for the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award announced by The College Baseball Hall of Fame on Thursday. Florida is the lone school with more than one player on the 25-member list.
The Olerud Award, which recognizes a player who makes an impact both on the mound and at the plate, will be presented in Lubbock, Texas, on July 3 as part of the College Baseball Hall of Fame's Night of Champions.
Johnson has compiled a 7-1 record with a 2.26 earned run average in 11 starts on the mound spanning 63.2 innings. The left-hander leads the Orange and Blue with 57 strikeouts and has limited opponents to a .219 batting average. Johnson is hitting .324 with 23 runs, 19 RBI and 14 extra-base hits (nine doubles, three homers and two triples).
Maddox has started all 46 games for the Gators, 30 at first base, 12 at third base, three at designated hitter and one at catcher, and is batting .285 with 24 RBI and 23 runs. The righty has made 12 appearances on the hill and is 1-0 with a 1.15 ERA. He has 15 strikeouts in 15.2 innings and has recorded a save at Mississippi State.
“We're very excited about the 2011 Olerud Award candidates,” said Cory Flores, Olerud Award committee co-chair. “Mike McGee set the bar very high last year.”
“It's amazing that the Gators have two players of this caliber,” said Randy Norman, Olerud Committee co-chair. “Maddox and Johnson are important reasons why they have been ranked all year.
| John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award Watch List | ||
| Danny Hultzen | Virginia | ACC |
| Mike McGee | Florida State | ACC |
| Will Lamb | Clemson | ACC |
| Marcus Stroman | Duke | ACC |
| Travis Parker | Saint Louis | Atlantic 10 |
| Bo Reeder | East Tennessee State | Atlantic Sun |
| DJ Johnson | Mercer | Atlantic Sun |
| Paul Snieder | Northwestern | Big 10 |
| Josh Dezse | Ohio State | Big 10 |
| Brooks Pinckard | Baylor | Big XII |
| David Paiz | Texas Tech | Big XII |
| Mike Genovese | Seton Hall | Big East |
| Sam Roberts | VMI | Big South |
| Nick Ramirez | Cal State Fullerton | Big West |
| Brian Hernandez | UC Irvine | Big West |
| Jason Ganek | UIC | Horizon |
| Martin Medina | Cal State Bakersfield | Independent |
| Chris Briere | Longwood | Independent |
| Cody Fick | Evansville | MVC |
| Ben Koenigsfeld | Army | Patriot |
| Brian Johnson | FLORIDA | SEC |
| Austin Maddox | FLORIDA | SEC |
| Jeff McVaney | Texas State | Southland |
| Casey Selsor | UTSA | Southland |
| Zack Jones | San Jose State | WAC |
For all of the latest information on Florida baseball, log on to http://www.gatorzone.com/baseball/ or, for up-to-the-minute updates, follow the team's Twitter account @GatorZoneBB at www.twitter.com/GatorZoneBB.
