Dec. 6, 2008 - updated 12/10/08

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Twenty-one Atlantic Coast Conference student-athletes are among those listed on the 2009 Brooks Wallace Award Preseason Watch List.

The Wallace Award is presented annually to the nation’s top collegiate baseball player in conjunction with the College Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremonies. The 2009 award banquet will be at 7 p.m., Thursday, July 2, in the United Spirit Arena on the campus of Texas Tech University. Last year’s award went to Florida State junior catcher Buster Posey, the consensus national player of the year and a No. 5 overall draft pick by the San Francisco Giants.

Players from ACC schools on the 2009 Wallace Award Preseason Watch List are as follows:

Boston College – catcher Tony Sanchez
Clemson – first baseman Ben Paulsen and infielder/outfielder Kyle Parker
Duke – pitcher Christopher Manno, outfielder/pitcher Alex Hassan, outfielder Jeremy Gould and first baseman/catcher Nate Freiman
Florida State – second baseman Jason Stidham, third baseman Stuart Tapley and outfielder Tyler Holt
Georgia Tech – pitcher Deck McGuire and shortstop/pitcher Derek Dietrich.
Miami – pitcher Chris Hernandez and shortstop Ryan Jackson
North Carolina – pitcher Alex White, first baseman Dustin Ackley, second baseman Kyle Seager and pitcher Matt Harvey
Virginia – pitcher Matt Packer
Virginia Tech – catcher Anthony Sonoskie and infielder/outfielder Austin Wates.

“We look forward to another great year of college baseball. The College Baseball Foundation continues to expand in many areas and we are excited to acknowledge and award achievements and outstanding character on and off the diamond,” said Raymond Richardson, chairman of Brooks Wallace National Player of the Year Award.

The Wallace Award is dedicated to the memory of former Texas Tech player and assistant coach Brooks Wallace. Wallace was a slick-fielding shortstop at Texas Tech from 1977 to 1980. A four-year starter, he was named All-Southwest Conference and All-District his senior year. He led the Red Raiders to their first-ever appearance in the Southwest Conference Tournament in 1980.

After playing two years in the Texas Rangers organization, he 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.