Nick Hill

Jan. 4, 2006

LUBBOCK, Texas -- For the second straight season, Army will feature a candidate for college baseball's national player of the year award with Nick Hill's inclusion on the 2006 Wallace Watch List as recently released by the College Baseball Foundation. The Brooks Wallace Award is presented annually to the national college baseball player of the year.

A junior left-hander, Hill ranks as one of the nation's top returning starting pitchers. He is among 120 players named to the list and one of only eight players representing a Northeast institution. The others are first baseman Matt Rizzotti of Manhattan, second baseman Jim Negrych of Pittsburgh, shortstop Mike Folli of Buffalo, outfielder Matt Lewis of Penn State, pitcher Corey Riordan of Fordham, third baseman Jared McGuire of Boston College, and outfielder Kraig Binick of New York Tech.

Repeating as Patriot League Pitcher of the Year, Hill posted a 10-2 record last spring with a 1.21 earned run average last spring. The latter figure ranked second nationally. He struck out 90 batters and walked 19, while allowing just 60 base hits over 89.0 innings of work. In addition to listing second nationally in ERA, he also ranked tied for 28th among national leaders in victories and 94th in strikeouts per nine innings (9.1).

Hill, the first player in West Point history to garner All-America honors two years in a row after he was named to second team All-American squads by both the American Baseball Coaches' Association and Collegiate Baseball last spring, limited opponents to a meager .198 batting average. The native of Bluff City, Tenn. (Sullivan East H.S.), set or tied nine school and Patriot League records, equaling both the school and conference single-season standard for victories he had established the previous spring. He was also one of five starting pitchers to be named to the 2006 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Preseason All-America First Team last month.

The Wallace Watch will be trimmed to 12 semi-finalists by late-May. At that time, the selection committee will narrow the list to three finalists following the NCAA Super Regionals at a press conference in Omaha. The finalists, their head coaches, and their parents will be invited to Lubbock, Texas, for a schedule of special events tied to the award banquet, which will again be nationally televised by Fox Sports Network.

Dedicated to the memory of former Texas Tech shortstop and assistant coach, Wallace was a slick-fielding shortstop at Texas Tech from 1977 to 1980. A four-year starter, he was named to the All-Southwest Conference and All-District Six squads during his senior year when he led the Red Raiders to their first appearance in the Southwest Conference Tournament. 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 the age of 27. The Plano, Texas, native was married to the former Sandy Arnold and the couple had one daughter, Lindsay Ryan.

The selection committee for the Wallace Award is comprised of a national panel of preeminent coaches, sports information directors, former winners and beat media who most closely follow the sport. Screening Committee members will evaluate the candidates and will continue their review throughout the entire baseball season. The list will expand and contract during the regular season and additional Wallace Watch candidates may be added as the season progresses. Voting for the three finalists and the Wallace Award winner will be conducted by confidential balloting, with totals tabulated by the J.W.Anderson & Associates accounting firm in Lubbock, Texas.

Two-time defending Patriot League champion Army closed the most successful season in school history last spring, finishing with a 39-14 overall record. The Black Knights captured their fourth Patriot League championship, earned the third (and second straight) NCAA Regional berth in school history and registered their first NCAA Regional victory. Army defeated South Alabama 8-5 following a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to host and top-seeded Florida State in the opening round of the Tallahassee Regional.

The Black Knights return 13 letterwinners from that squad, including four positional starters. Joining Hill on that list is junior shortstop Kyle Scogin. A native of Salt Lake City, Utah (Brighton H.S.), Scogin enjoyed a "breakout" showing for Army last season and was named Patriot League "Player of the Year," along with being chosen to the ABCA All-America Third Team.

Army will open its 2006 campaign with a four-game set against Kentucky (two games) and Texas-San Antonio (two games) Feb. 17-19 in San Antonio, Texas.

2006 WALLACE WATCH LIST

Luis Alamia, OF, Texas-Pan American
Adrian Alaniz, P, Texas
Michael Ambort, C, Lamar
Hector Ambriz, P-ATH, UCLA
Matt Antonelli, 3B, Wake Forest
J. P. Arencibia, C, Tennessee
Jake Ball, SS, Jacksonville State
Tim Bascom, P, Central Florida
Aaron Bates, 1B-C, North Carolina
Justin Baum, 3B-C, Pacific
James Bennett, OF, UL-Monroe
Quinton Berry, OF, San Diego State
Kraig Binick, OF New York Tech
Ryan Bird, OF, UNLV
Brian Blomquist, P, Illinois
Brennan Boesch, OF, California
Brooks Brown, P, Georgia
Dallas Buck, P, Oregon State
Shane Buschini, OF, San Diego
Joseph Callendar, 2B, Texas Tech
Michael Campbell, OF, South Carolina
Chris Campbell, 2B, College of Charleston
Adam Carr, 1B, Oklahoma State
Joba Chamberlain, P, Nebraska
Tyler Chambliss, P, Florida State
Chris Coghlan, 3B, Ole Miss
Paul Coleman, P, Pepperdine
Scott Cousins, P-ATH, San Francisco
Colin Curtis, OF, Arizona State
Anton Daley, DH-ATH, Prairie View
Blake Davis, SS, Cal State Fullerton
Daniel Delcalso, 2B, UC-Davis
Brandon Dewing, P, San Jose State
Clay Dirks, P, LSU
Sean Doolittle, P-ATH, Virginia
Johnny Dorn, P, Nebraska
Greg Dowling, 1B, Georgia Southern
Ty Dunham, P, Central Michigan
Brad Emaus, 3B, Tulane
Matt Farrington, P, Houston
Mike Folli, SS, Buffalo
Shelby Ford, SS, Oklahoma State
Taylor Fowler, P, Arkansas State
Brennan Garr, P-ATH, Northern Colorado
John Gaub, P, Minnesota
Steven Guerra, P, Oklahoma
Kevin Gunderson, P, Oregon State
Taylor Harbin, 2B, Clemson
Rowdy Hardy, P, Austin Peay
Jay Heafner, 3B, Davidson
Nick Hill, P, ARMY
Mitch Hilligoss, SS, Purdue
Gib Hobson, P, NC State
Wes Hodges, 3B, Georgia Tech
Luke Hopkins, 1B, New Mexico State
Chad Huffman, OF, TCU
Jared Hughes, P. Long Beach State
Joseph Hunter, OF, Mississippi State
Brandon Hynick, P, Birmingham-Southern
John Jay, OF, Miami
Chris Johnson, 2B, Stetson
Kyle Jones, DH-ATH, Texas State
Jeremy Jones, OF, N. Carolina A&T
Ian Kennedy, P, USC
Kevin Koski, OF, Southern Illinois
Troy Krider, DH-ATH, Michigan State
Jeff Kunkel, C, Michigan
Josh Landry, OF, Louisiana
Matt LaPorta, 1B, Florida
Wade LeBlanc, P, Alabama
Matt Lewis, OF, Penn State
Tim Lincecum, P, Washington
Evan Longoria, 3B, Long Beach State
Cory Luebke, P, Ohio State
Derrick Lutz, P, George Washington
Marc Maddox, 1B, Southern Miss
Jared McGuire, 3B, Boston College
Matt McHargue, 1B, South Florida
Michael McKenry, C, Middle Tennessee St.
Pat McMahon, C, Northwestern
Matt Melancon, P , Arizona
Hunter Mense, OF, Missouri
Jason Meyer, P, Texas A&M
Andrew Miller, P, North Carolina
Jay Miller, OF, Washington State
Beau Mills, 3B, Fresno State
Chris Minaker, SS, Stanford
Jim Negrych, 2B, Pittsburgh
Jordan Pacheco, 2B, New Mexico
Chris Perez, P, Miami
Chris Pettit, OF, Loyola Marymount
Brett Pill, 1B, Cal State Fullerton
Matt Poulk, 3B, UNC-Wilmington
David Price, P, Vanderbilt
Kodiak Quick, P, Kansas
Scott Reese, P, Creighton
Corey Riordan, P, Fordham
Matt Rizzotti, 1B, Manhattan
Bernard Robert, P, Alabama
Shane Robinson, OF, Florida State
Wes Roemer, P, Cal State Fullerton
Heath Rollins, P-ATH, Winthrop
Joe Savery, P-ATH, Rice
Ben Saylor, 1B, BYU
Derek Schermerhorn, 3B, Wichita State
Max Scherzer, P, Missouri
Nick Schmidt, P, Arkansas
John Shelby, DH-ATH, Kentucky
Scott Simon, 1B, Northern Illinois
Brett Sinkbeil, P, Missouri State
Scott Sizemore, 2B, VCU
Joe Spiers, SS, Hawai'i
Mickey Storey, P, Florida Atlantic
Drew Stubbs, OF, Texas
Michael Taylor, OF, Stanford
Chad Tracy, C, Pepperdine
Luke Trubee, P, Dayton
Chris Valaika, SS, UC-Santa Barbara
Corey VanAllen, P, Baylor
Elih Villanueva, P, Florida International
Jim Viscomi, OF, Evansville
P. J. Walters, P, South Alabama
Keith Weiser, P, Miami (OH)
Matt Wieters, C-ATH, Georgia Tech
Steven Wright, P, Hawai'i
Charlie Yarbrough, OF, Longwood