April 20, 2018
LUBBOCK, Texas - Sophomore shortstop Will Holland and junior right-hander Casey Mize earned national attention from the College Baseball Foundation this week. Holland was named to the Brooks Wallace Award Watch List while Mize made his way onto the National Pitcher of the Year Award Watch List.
Holland is one of 53 shortstops across the country, including eight from the Southeastern Conference, to be up for the Brooks Wallace Award. The award honors the nation's top shortstop and will be presented this summer by the College Baseball Foundation. It is named for former Texas Tech shortstop Brooks Wallace, who played for the Red Raiders from 1977 to 1980 and died of leukemia at the age of 27.
Holland, who had played in all 38 games for the Tigers and has made 37 starts at shortstop, leads the team with a .305 batting average. The Lawrenceville, Ga., native has made a jump from his freshman season as he has already surpassed his offensive output in runs (30), hits (40), doubles (20), home runs (six) and RBI (30). He ranks in the top three on the team in each category.
Mize, who has already been named the Midseason Pitcher of the Year by both D1 Baseball and Perfect Game/Rawlings, headlines the list of some of the best arms in the country. Like the Brooks Wallace Award, the winner of the National Pitcher of the Year Award will be announced by the College Baseball Foundation this summer.
In nine starts this season, Mize is 7-1 with a 2.00 ERA. He has struck out a SEC-best 86 batters in 63.0 innings pitched and is holding opponents to a .164 batting average against. His 86 strikeouts are 13 more than any other pitcher in the SEC, and he also ranks in the top three in the conference in wins, innings pitched and batting average against. A year after leading the nation in strikeout-to-walk ratio, Mize again tops the list after issuing only four walks this season. The Springville, Ala., native also leads the country in WHIP (0.65).
Holland, Mize and the rest of the Tigers continue SEC play with a three-game series against rival Alabama this weekend. The series begins at 6 p.m. CT at Sewell-Thomas Stadium and will be broadcast on SEC Network+.