HOUSTON — Catcher Brad Cresse of LSU, righthand pitcher Kip Bouknight of South Carolina and first baseman Todd Faulkner of Auburn gave the Southeastern Conference the first sweep in the 13-year history of the Rotary Smith Award, as each was named a finalist in voting among the nation’s sports information directors. The award, which honors the nation’s top Division I player, will be presented at a dinner in Houston on June 19.
Bouknight (16-1, 2.85 ERA) led the nation in wins while leading the Gamecocks to the top of the national polls in the second half of the season. The junior from Gaston S.C. was tabbed as the SEC Player of the Year over fellow Smith finalist Cresse and will be on the hill this weekend against Louisiana-Lafayette.
Cresse (.400, 30 HR, 104 RBI) took over the NCAA lead in home runs with 30 after a four homer performance at the Regional and one in the Super Regional. He now leads the nation in RBI after taking the lead away from fellow Smith finalist Faulkner this past weekend. Cresse, who will lead LSU to the College World Series for the 11th time, is the first catcher to be named a finalist since Jason Varitek in 1994.
Faulkner (.423, 22 HR, 103 RBI) saw his season end as Auburn was eliminated in regional play. He was second in the nation to Cresse in RBI and set five Auburn single-season records including RBI, homers, doubles (27) extra base hits (49) and total bases (198).
Now in its 13th year, the Rotary Smith Award is awarded each summer to the nation’s top college baseball player. The Award, a national project of the Rotary Club of Houston, raises money for Rotary national charities, Texas Children’s Hospital and the Karl Young League. Seven previous winners of the award are currently playing major league baseball – 1988 winner Andy Benes of Evansville (St. Louis Cardinals), 1991 winner Bobby Jones of Fresno State (New York Mets), 1993 winner Darren Dreifort of Wichita State (Los Angeles Dodgers), 1994 winner Jason Varitek of Georgia Tech (Boston Red Sox), 1995 winner Mark Kotsay of Cal.-State Fullerton (Florida Marlins), 1996 winner Kris Benson of Clemson (Pittsburgh) and 1997 winner Tim Hudson of Auburn (Oakland Athletics).
Sports Information Directors will now select the winner from the three finalists in the final stage of balloting, concluding on June 16. The winner will be named at a dinner at the Doubletree-Post Oak Hotel in Houston the evening of Monday, June 19.
Hall of Fame announcer Milo Hamilton will once again serve as emcee of the night’s festivities, which also include a silent auction prior to the dinner. Houston Astros Manager Larry Dierker is this year’s featured speaker. For more information on this year’s award, call Twin Spin Design at (713) 659-5251 or check out the award’s website at http://www.smithaward.com. For ticketing information, please call the Rotary Club of Houston at (713) 973-9936.