BATON ROUGE — LSU sophomore infielder J.T. Wise was named Tuesday to the 2007 Brooks Wallace Award watch list by the College Baseball Foundation. The Brooks Wallace Award is presented annually to the national college baseball player of the year.
Wise earned 2006 Freshman all-SEC recognition as he batted .299 (66-for-221) with 13 doubles, 11 homers and 40 RBI. Wise started 58 games for the Tigers last season, including 27 at second base, 15 at designated hitter, 13 at first base and three at third base.
He was named SEC Freshman of the Week on March 13 as he hit .563 (9-for-16) in four games versus Tulane and Stetson
Wise, a product of Apopka (Fla.) High School, is projected to be the Tigers’ starting third baseman when LSU opens the 2007 season on February 9 versus Saint Mary’s (Calif.) in Alex Box Stadium.
Other prominent Southeastern Conference players on the Wallace Watch include pitcher Nick Schmidt of Arkansas, outfielder Emeel Salem of Alabama, third baseman Pedro Alvarez of Vanderbilt, shortstop Zack Cozart of Ole Miss, catcher J. P. Arencibia of Tennessee and pitcher David Price of Vanderbilt.
The Wallace Watch will be trimmed to 12 semifinalists by late May. The selection committee will then narrow the list to three finalists following the NCAA Super Regionals. The finalists, their head coaches, and their parents will be invited to Lubbock, Texas, for a schedule of special events tied to the award banquet, which will be nationally televised by Fox Sports Network and Fox College Sports.
Wallace was a slick-fielding shortstop at Texas Tech from 1977 to 1980. A four-year starter, he was named All-Southwest Conference his senior year when he led the Red Raiders to their first-ever appearance in the Southwest Conference Tournament.
After playing two years in the Texas Rangers organization, Wallace 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, Texas, native was married to the former Sandy Arnold and they had one daughter, Lindsay Ryan.