University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Place Four On Wallace Watch List
December 5, 2008 | Baseball
Dec. 5, 2008
LUBBOCK, Texas - The University of North Carolina has placed four players - first baseman/outfielder Dustin Ackley, infielder Kyle Seager and right-handers Alex White and Matt Harvey - on the preseason 2009 Brooks Wallace Player of the Year Watch List, which was announced Thursday by the College Baseball Foundation. 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.
There are a dozen players returning to the "Wallace Watch List" who were a part of the 2008 Brooks Wallace Watch List of 64, including three Tar Heels - White, Seager and Ackley, who was a 2008 Brooks Wallace Award semifinalist. Carolina is one of five schools with four honorees, joining Arizona, LSU, Rice and Texas A&M.
Ackley, Seager and White each earned All-America honors a year ago, while Harvey was a freshman All-America selection.
"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.
