May 18, 2018
DALLAS - Entering his final start of the regular season, junior right-hander Casey Mize has been named a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy, the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) announced.
Mize is one of 35 semifinalists for the award presented to the top player in college baseball, including nine from the Southeastern Conference.
This is the 32nd year of the Dick Howser Trophy. The finalists will be announced on Friday, June 8, and the award will be presented at TD Ameritrade Stadium in Omaha, Neb., on Friday, June 15. The presentation will air on MLB Network.
In 13 starts this season, Mize is 9-3 with a 2.73 ERA. He has struck out a SEC-best 124 batters in 89.0 innings pitched and is holding opponents to a .180 batting average against. His 124 strikeouts are the fourth most in the country and 26 more than any other pitcher in the SEC.
Mize has turned in three complete-game efforts this season, including the program's first no-hitter since 2002 versus Northeastern and a program-record-matching 15 strikeouts versus Vanderbilt. His 15 strikeouts against the Commodores were the most by an Auburn pitcher since 1999 and the most by a SEC pitcher in a conference game since 2012.
A year after leading the nation in strikeout-to-walk ratio, the Springville, Ala., native again tops the list after issuing only eight walks this season (15.50 K-BB). He also leads the league in WHIP (0.74), strikeouts per 9.0 innings (12.54), walks per 9.0 innings (0.81) and complete games.
Mize will toe the rubber in game two of Auburn's (36-18, 14-14 SEC) series vs. LSU (32-22, 14-14 SEC). First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT, and the game will be broadcast on SEC Network.