Dec. 7, 2007

Complete CBF Wallace Watch Release in PDF Format

Complete 2008 Wallace Award Pre-Season Watch List in PDF Format

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - (Friday, December 07, 2007) Southeast Missouri State senior right-handed pitcher Dustin Renfrow was named to the 2008 Brooks Wallace Player of the Year Award Pre-Season Watch List Friday by the College Baseball Foundation.

Renfrow earned second-team All-OVC honors as a starting pitcher last season, finishing the year ranked third in the conference and 40th in the nation with a 2.46 earned run average. The right-handed transfer from Jefferson College in Hillsboro, Mo., earned OVC Pitcher of the Week honors three times and was one of only three pitchers in the OVC to tally two or more shutouts.

The West Plains, Mo., native compiled a 5-1 record in 14 starts and 15 appearances, while leading the Redhawks pitching staff with 95 innings on the mound. Renfrow led Southeast with 10 quality starts, allowing three or more earned runs in just one of his starts. He also led the team in opponents' batting average (.238) and walks per nine innings (2.08), ranking in the top five of the conference in both categories.

The Brooks Wallace Award is given annually to the nation's top collegiate baseball player.

Renfrow was one of just three players in the Ohio valley Conference named to the pre-season list, joining Christian Friedrich of Eastern Kentucky and the reigning OVC Player of the Year, Clay Whittemore of Jacksonville State.

The Wallace Award is presented to the nation's top collegiate baseball player in conjunction with the College Baseball Hall of Fame's annual induction festivities. Last year's Brooks Wallace award went to Vanderbilt pitcher, David Price. Price was the first overall pick in the 2007 First-Year Player Draft and is currently pitching in the Tampa Bay Rays organization. The 2006 winner was standout pitcher/designated hitter Brad Lincoln of Houston. Nebraska's Alex Gordon, now with the Kansas City Royals, took home the 2005 trophy. The inaugural award was given in 2004 to Kurt Suzuki of Cal State Fullerton, who is now catching for the Oakland A's.

The selection committee for the Wallace Award is comprised of a national panel of preeminent coaches, sports information directors, former winners and beat media who most closely follow the sport. Screening Committee members will evaluate the candidates and will continue their review throughout the entire baseball season.

The list will expand and contract during the regular season and additional Wallace Watch candidates may be added as the season progresses. Voting for the three finalists and the Wallace Award winner will be conducted by confidential balloting, with totals tabulated by the J.W. Anderson & Associates accounting firm in Lubbock, Texas.

The Wallace Award is a dedication to the memory of the former Texas Tech player and assistant coach Brooks Wallace. Wallace was a slick-fielding shortstop at Texas Tech from 1977 to 1980. A four-year starter, he was named All-Southwest Conference and All-District his senior year. He led the Red Raiders to their first-ever appearance in the Southwest Conference Tournament in 1980. After playing two years in the Texas Rangers organization, he returned to Texas Tech and served as a graduate assistant and later as an assistant coach. In the summer of 1984, he was diagnosed with cancer and fought the disease courageously until his death on March 24, 1985, at age 27. The Plano, TX, native was married to the former Sandy Arnold and they had one daughter, Lindsay Ryan.