Schmidt Named Clemens Award Semifinalist
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas junior left-hander Nick Schmidt was selected as one of 10 semifinalists for the Roger Clemens Award on Thursday.
The St. Louis, Mo., native is 9-2 on the season with a 2.95 ERA and 97 strikeouts in 100.2 innings of work. He also leads the SEC in opponent batting average at .208. Schmidt boasts a career record of 26-7 during his three-year career with a school-record 331 strikeouts.
The Roger Clemens Award will be presented July 11 at the Inter-Continental Hotel in Houston, Texas.
Joining Schmidt as semifinalist are Adrian Alaniz of Texas, Barry Enright of Pepperdine, Preston Guilmet of Arizona, Bryan Henry of Florida State, Brian Matusz of San Diego, Adam Mills of Charlotte, Kyle Nicholson of Texas A&M, David Price of Vanderbilt and Jacob Thompson of Virginia. This group includes three seniors, four juniors and three sophomores.
The 10 were selected during the first round of voting, which ended on May 14. Voters include all Division 1 head baseball coaches, a selection of national media who cover collegiate baseball, the 16 winners of the R. E. "Bob" Smith Award, which was presented to the top player in the country here in Houston in 1988-2003, and the 10 previous finalists for the Clemens Award. The second round of voting will begin on May 28, with the announcement of the three finalists set for June 7. Jered Weaver of Long Beach State (2004), Luke Hochevar of Tennessee (2005) and Andrew Miller (North Carolina) were the first three winners of the Clemens Award.
Six of the nation’s top baseball conferences are represented in the group. There are two players each from the Atlantic Coast, Big 12, Big West and Southeastern conferences, and one each from the Atlantic-10 and Pac-10 conferences.
The Roger Clemens Award was named after future Hall of Famer Roger Clemens, who began his march to stardom while leading the University of Texas to the College World Series title in 1983. As a professional, Clemens has won 348 games (eighth best in history), fanned more than 4,600 batters and won and seven Cy Young Awards, emblematic as the top pitcher in his league. The Roger Clemens Award is the only award of its kind, honoring the finest pitchers in college baseball.
The event is administered by the Greater Houston Baseball Association, who has donated more than $300,000 to the charities from the net proceeds from the first three dinners. The GHBA is a non-profit 501.3 (C) organization dedicated to the growth of amateur baseball in the Houston area.
