By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
LUBBOCK, Texas – Tennessee Tech senior shortstop David Garza has been named a semifinalist for the 2018 Brooks Wallace Award as announced by the College Baseball Hall of Fame Thursday.
The award, sponsored by Mizuno, honors the nation's top shortstop and will be presented this summer by the College Baseball Foundation. It is named for former Texas Tech shortstop Brooks Wallace, who played for the Red Raiders from 1977 to 1980. Wallace died of leukemia at the age of 27.
Garza joins Dylan Bosheers (2014) as one of just two Golden Eagles ever named semifinalists for the Brooks Wallace Award. The veteran shortstop has helped lead Tech to a consensus Top-25 national ranking, – currently as high as No. 16 by the NCBWA – a program-record 44 victories, an Ohio Valley Conference-record 25 league wins and the OVC regular season title. Winners of 35 of their past 36 games, the Golden Eagles also set the OVC record with a 28-game winning streak from Mar. 13 to Apr. 28
The three-year Golden Eagle starter has turned in a career season at the plate, batting .329 with a whopping 14 home runs and 60 RBI in 50 games. He owns 69 hits with 58 runs, 15 doubles and a .600 slugging percentage. He has also posted a .955 fielding percentage.
This represents the second straight year Garza has earned a place on the Brooks Wallace Award Watch List. A total of 16 collegiate shortstops were named semifinalists for this year's honor.
For more information on the Brooks Wallace Award and a complete list of semifinalists, visit www.collegebaseballhall.org.
