Former Gator Brad Wilkerson Named To 2012 National College Baseball Hall Of Fame Class
Friday, March 2, 2012 | Baseball
Brad Wilkerson became the first player from the University of Florida to be chosen to the National College Baseball Hall of Fame, it was announced on Friday. Plenty of impressive college statistics and a good deal of Major League Baseball experience are represented in the 2012 Class of inductees.
The only three-time All-American in Gator baseball history, Wilkerson was named as the 1998 Collegiate Player of the Year by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and won the Smith Award given to the National Collegiate Baseball Player of the Year as selected by CoSIDA. A finalist for the 1998 Golden Spikes Award, he was a first-team All-American selection by Baseball America, Baseball Weekly, Collegiate Baseball and Sporting News that year. Wilkerson re-set UF career batting average, HR, RBI, runs, walks and slugging percentage standards, broke seven individual season batting records and tied/re-set seven individual performance marks during his spectacular career.
With 55 career home runs, he became the eighth player in SEC history to hit 50 or more home runs. In addition, he reached base safely in 141-consecutive games at one point of career and reached base in 190 of 195 career games. Wilkerson was the first player in NCAA history to hit 20 home runs, win 10 games and steal 20 bases in a season (23 homers-10 wins-21 stolen bases in 1998).
An ABCA All-South Region and All-SEC recipient all three years of his career, the Owensboro, Ky., native was the Most Outstanding Player of the 1996 NCAA East Regional held in Gainesville and earned a spot on the 1996 NCAA College World Series All-Tournament Team. His efforts helped the Orange and Blue to a combined record of 136-60 (.694), a pair of CWS appearances (1996 & 1998), two SEC titles (1996 & 1998) and three-straight SEC Eastern Division crowns (1996-98). A first-round pick of the Montreal Expos with the 33rd overall selection in the 1998 Draft, Wilkerson played for the Expos (2001-04), Washington Nationals (2005), Texas Rangers (2006-07), Seattle Mariners (2008) and Toronto Blue Jays (2008) in his eight-year MLB career.
Wilkerson on Florida's Career Charts
| Batting Average | .381 | First |
| Slugging Percentage | .714 | First |
| Walks | 224 | First |
| On-Base Percentage | .531 | First |
| Runs Batted In | 214 | Second |
| Home Runs | 55 | Second |
| Total Bases | 499 | Second |
| Runs Scored | 239 | Second |
| Pitching Wins | 26 | Third |
| Strikeouts (Pitching) | 292 | Fifth |
| Hits | 266 | Sixth |
| Triples | 9 | Tied for Seventh |
| Innings Pitched | 265.2 | Eighth |
| Doubles | 50 | Eighth |
| Saves | 10 | Tied for Ninth |
“This class has plenty of star power,” said Mike Gustafson, executive director of the College Baseball Hall of Fame. “We have players who excelled both in college and the pros and a longtime coach who has been successful at both the junior college and Division I level. It is a truly impressive group.”
This year's class, which will be inducted as a part of the annual celebration of college baseball in Lubbock, Texas, is headlined by former Major Leaguers Nomar Garciaparra, a standout shortstop at Georgia Tech from 1992-94; Lou Brock, who shot to stardom patrolling the outfield at Southern University from 1958-60; and Wilkerson, a multi-talented player at Florida from 1996-98.
Brock was selected by the Black Legends and Pioneers Committee, which is designed to honor players and coaches at Historically Black Colleges and Universities whose careers began prior to 1975. Brock joins last year's selections, Danny Goodwin and Ralph Waldo Emerson Jones.
“Selecting Lou Brock to represent the committee's pick for induction into this year's Hall of Fame class was an easy one,” said Jay Sokol of blackcollegenines.com. “Though most know him as a Major League Hall of Famer, his baseball credentials at Southern University stand on their own and make him a worthy candidate and deserving to be included amongst the greats of college baseball.”
As a sophomore, Brock played on the Southern team that won the 1959 NAIA College World Series — the first and only HBCU team to win an NAIA title. During his junior season in 1960, he hit .351 and stole 18 bases before signing a contract with the Chicago Cubs.
Garciaparra was the 1992 ACC Freshman of the Year and was a three-time All-American for the Yellow Jackets. His career average was .372 with 23 home runs and 66 stolen bases.
Also included in the 2012 HOF class are Ed Cheff, who coached Lewis Clark State from 1977-2010 and won 16 NAIA national championships; Tim Jorgensen, star shortstop at Wisconsin-Oshkosh from 1992-95; the late Frank Sancet, who coached the Arizona Wildcats from 1950-72; and Wayne Graham, who was named Collegiate Baseball Magazine's Junior College Coach of the Century for his time at San Jacinto College and led Rice to a national championship in 2003.
In addition to his 16 NAIA championships, Cheff compiled a 1,705-430-2 record in 34 seasons. He was named Coach of the Year eight times and was inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame in 1994.
Jorgensen slugged an impressive 70 home runs during his 162-game career at UW-Oshkosh. He finished his career with a .416 batting average with 237 RBIs, 33 doubles and nine triples. He also was a two-time Division III Player of the year and a two-time Division III All-American.
Sancet took over the Arizona team in 1950 and spent 23 seasons leading the Wildcats to four conference championships and 10 trips to the College World Series. He retired as the second-winningest coach in the history of college baseball with a record of 832-238-8.
Graham continues to lead the Rice Owls to successful seasons. He began his head-coaching career at San Jacinto College, where he won five NJCAA National Championships. At Rice, he has won 912 games in 20 seasons.
“This is an outstanding class and we are excited to welcome them to Lubbock and the College Baseball Hall of Fame festivities this summer,” Gustafson said. “They join the ranks of some exceptional college baseball players and we are thrilled to call them Hall of Famers.”
The 2012 Class will be inducted into the Hall of Fame as part of the College Baseball Night of Champions celebration June 29-30 in Lubbock, Texas.
