BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU sophomore right-hander Jesse Stallings is among 70 players that have been named to the initial Watch List for the 12th annual National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Award, given to the top relief pitcher in NCAA Division I baseball.
Stallings, a product of Colfax, La., was No. 2 in the Southeastern Conference last season with 12 saves. He made 31 appearances, posting a 1-2 mark and a 2.73 ERA in 33 innings with 26 strikeouts.
The Atlantic Coast Conference led the way with 10 players on this year’s Watch List, while the Big Ten and Pacific-12 each had eight honorees and the SEC had seven. The Big South, Colonial and Sun Belt each had four and a total of 18 different conferences were represented.
The 2016 Stopper of the Year Watch List will be updated with a midseason release on Wednesday, April 27, including the national saves leaders. At the conclusion of the regular season, the Division I national saves leader and four other relief pitching standouts will be selected as finalists and released Wednesday, June 8, prior to start of NCAA Super Regional competition.
The NCBWA’s All-America Committee will select the winner, with this year’s recipient to be announced at the 2016 College World Series.
Visit http://www.sportswriters.net/ncbwa/news/2016/stopper160215.html to see the entire Stopper of the Year Watch List.