Storm Named To Stopper Watch List

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ? Troy University senior Josh Storm was one of 40 players named to the initial watch list for the fifth annual National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Award on Tuesday.

The award is given annually to the top relief pitcher in NCAA Division I baseball.

Storm was the top closer in the Sun Belt Conference in 2008 and is the preseason All-Conference pick again this season. The Cottondale, Fla., native set a school record in 2008 with 12 saves while posting a 2.09 ERA.

Two of the finalists for the 2008 Stopper of the Year honor are back for another season ? Scott Bittle of Ole Miss and Eric Pettis of UC Irvine. The 2009 preseason list also includes an impressive list of All-Americans, and promises another exciting race for this year's Stopper of the Year Award. Georgia relief ace Joshua Fields, a first-round draft pick of the Seattle Mariners and the Southeastern Conference's all-time saves leader, claimed last year's award. Nine of this year's nominees were included in the 2009 NCBWA Preseason All-America Team announced by the organization in December.

The Atlantic Coast Conference led the way with nine players named to the preseason watch list. The Big 12 and the West Coast Conference added four pitchers each on this year's watch list, while the SEC and Pacific-10 Conference are represented by three players each.

Nominations for the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award were made by baseball sports information/media relations contacts. The initial list will be updated with a mid-season release the week of April 16, including the national saves leaders. At the conclusion of the regular season, the Division I national saves leader and four other relief pitching standouts will be selected as finalists and released Wednesday, May 27, prior to start of NCAA regional tournament competition.

The NCBWA's All-America Committee will then select the winner, with this year's recipient to be announced in early June.

Texas hurler J. Brent Cox won the inaugural Stopper of the Year Award in 2005, with Don Czyz of Kansas claiming the honor in 2006, Luke Prihoda of Sam Houston State winning it in 2007 and Fields topping the field in 2008.

The NCBWA, founded in 1962, presents the Dick Howser Trophy to the nation's top player. It also selects a Division I All-America Team, Division I Freshman All-Americans, Division I and III Players of the Week, Division I District Players of the Year and Division II and III Players of the Year.

The Trojans will open the 2009 season on Friday afternoon in the Caravelle Resort Invitational at BB&T Coastal Field in Myrtle Beach, SC. Troy will take on Kentucky Friday at noon (CT) and will face Southern Illinois and James Madison on Saturday.

2009 NCBWA Stopper of the Year Watch List

PITCHER	SCHOOL	Year
Colin Bates	North Carolina	Soph.
Michael Belfiore	Boston College	Jr.
Kyle Bellamy	Miami (Fla.)	Jr.
Scott Bittle	Ole Miss	Sr.
Louis Coleman	LSU	Sr.
Zach Calhoon	UT-San Antonio	Jr.
Jordan Conley	Xavier	Sr.
Joey Cutler	N.C. State	Sr.
Chase Dempsay	Houston	Soph.
Matt Evers	Rice	Soph.
Nick Gaudi	Pepperdine	Sr.
Jake Geglein	Cincinnati	Sr.
Jimmy Gillheeney	N.C. State	Jr.
A.J. Griffin	San Diego	Jr.
Jake Hale	Ohio State	Sr.
Stephen Harrold	UNC Wilmington	Soph.
Alex Hassan	Duke	Jr.
James Hayes	Rider	Sr.
Brendan Lafferty	UCLA	Sr.
Greg Lane	Binghamton	Sr.
Cody Martin	Gonzaga	Soph.
Alex McRee	Georgia	Jr.
J.D. Melton	Navy	Jr.
Brian Moran	North Carolina	Jr.
Matt Packer	Virginia	Jr.
Eric Pettis	UC Irvine	Jr.
Kevin Rhoderick	Oregon State	Soph.
Thomas Rooke	Kansas State	Soph.
Thain Simon	Santa Clara	Soph.
Paul Smyth	Kansas	Sr.
Travis Smink	VMI	Jr.
Jimmy Stanley	Belmont	Sr.
Travis Starling	Texas A&M	Jr.
Jason Stoffel	Arizona	Jr.
Drew Storen	Stanford	Soph.
Josh Storm	Troy	Sr.
Daniel Tenholder	Austin Peay	Jr.
Kyle Thebeau	Texas A&M	Sr.
Matt Vaughn	Clemson	Sr.
Derek Ward	UL Monroe	Sr.

Troy University Athletics

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