DALLAS, TEXAS – ECU outfielder Bryant Packard and Wichita State third baseman have been named NCBCWA Dicker Howser Trophy Semifinalists, as announced by the organization on Thursday. The award, given to the top player in collegiate baseball, is based on two rounds of national voting.
The finalists will be announced on Friday, June 8. The 2018 award will be presented at TD Ameritrade Stadium in downtown Omaha, the home of the College World Series for the seventh year. The winner will be unveiled on MLB Network on Friday, June 15 and then a press conference with the winner will be held on Saturday, June 16 at 10 a.m. CT, the opening day of the 2018 College World Series.
Bohm is hitting .333 with 53 runs, 66 hits, 11 doubles, one triple, a league-high 14 home runs, 51 RBIs and eight stolen bases this season for the Shockers.
Packard owns a 30-game hit streak, which is the second-longest active streak in the nation. He leads the league with a .409 batting average and .682 slugging percentage and has 72 hits, 45 RBIs, a team-best 12 home runs and 18 doubles.
The Dick Howser Trophy, given in memory of the former Florida State University All-America shortstop and major league player and manager, who died of brain cancer in 1987, is regarded by many as college baseball's most prestigious award. Criteria for consideration of the trophy include performance on the field, leadership, moral character and courage, qualities that were exemplified by Dick Howser's life.
The winner's name is inscribed on the permanent trophy, a bronze bust of Howser displayed at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg - home of the Tampa Bay Rays. Both the winner and his school receive a special trophy to keep.
A Florida native, Howser was twice an All-America shortstop at Florida State (1957-58), then coached the Seminoles in 1979, after a career as a major league player and coach. After one year in the college ranks,
Howser returned to the majors to manage the New York Yankees and Kansas City Royals and won the World Series with the Royals in 1985. The baseball stadium on the Florida State campus is named for Howser.
The American’s baseball teams continue their regular season series finales this weekend.