LUBBOCK, Texas – The University of Evansville’s Eric Stamets has been selected as one of 50 Division I shortstops named to the 2012 Brooks Wallace Shortstop of the Year Award watch list, as announced by the College Baseball Hall of Fame.
 
The Wallace Award, sponsored by Mizuno, recognizes the nation’s top shortstop and will be presented on June 30 in Lubbock, Texas, as part of the College Baseball Hall of Fame’s Night of Champions.
 
Stamets is one of two Missouri Valley Conference players in the running, joined by Dayne Parker of Wichita State. The Pac-12 and SEC lead the set with seven players each.

“Of course, we look at all the statistics -- batting average, double, triples, home run, etc. -- when developing our watch lists, but for a shortstop award, fielding percentage has to be of huge importance,” said Kevin Dunagan, Wallace Award co-chair. “Each of these young men has compiled statistics that justify their place on this list.”

Stamets, a native of Dublin, Ohio, has started 157 consecutive games, including all 45 this season, batting .312 with 31 runs, 18 RBI, and a team-high 15 doubles. The junior also leads the conference and ranks 20th in Division I with 25 steals (25-31). With incredible range in the field, Stamets owns a .962 fielding percentage with 76 putouts and league-high 153 assists.
 
In his three-year career, Stamets has accumulated 95 steals (95-119), ranking second all-time at Evansville, while also setting the single-season record with 43 as a freshman.
 
Stamets was a consensus Freshman All-American and the MVC Freshman of the Year in 2010. He was also named to the MVC preseason all-conference team the past two seasons, and turned heads last summer, as a Cape Cod League All-Star.
 
For a complete listing of the 2012 Brooks Wallace Shortstop of the Year Award watch list, see the release at the following link: http://web.collegebaseballhall.org/news/article.jsp?content_id=30311648.