2008 Woodie Awards
'Vital' shortstop finalist for two awards
SPORTS NOTEBOOK
Issue date: 6/19/08 Section: Sports
OMAHA, Neb. - University All-America shortstop Gordon Beckham is one of three finalists for the Brooks Wallace National Player of the Year Award, the College Baseball Foundation announced here Wednesday.
Along with Beckham, the finalists are pitcher Brian Matusz of San Diego, and catcher Buster Posey of Florida State. The winner will be announced Wednesday, July 2, at the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center with a national tape-delayed telecast on Fox College Sports. Past winners included Kurt Suzuki of Cal State Fullerton (2004), Alex Gordon of Nebraska (2005), Brad Lincoln of Houston (2006) and last year's winner was the number one overall draft pick of 2007 in David Price of Vanderbilt.
Beckham, a junior from Atlanta, is a vital part of Georgia's College World Series (CWS) squad that is 43-23-1 overall including 2-0 at the CWS. He was the eighth player chosen overall in the first round of June's Major League Baseball draft by the Chicago White Sox. Also, Beckham is a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award which will be selected in mid-July during the MLB All-Star weekend in New York.
Beckham, who has started all 193 games in his collegiate career, was a unanimous choice by league coaches for Southeastern Conference Player of the Year, first team All-SEC and SEC Baseball Scholar-Athlete of the Year. For the season, he is batting .402 with 72 RBI and a school record 26 home runs. He has 104 hits, a .792 slugging percentage and a .958 fielding percentage.
The Wallace Award is a dedication to the memory of the former Texas Tech player and assistant coach Brooks Wallace. He was diagnosed with cancer and fought the disease courageously until his death on March 24, 1985, at age 27.
Tasha Humphrey, a rookie who became Georgia's eighth first-round draft pick since 2001, started the sixth game of her professional career with the Deroit Shock. Kiesha Brown, a seven-year veteran who has played with a league-record five teams, moved into the lineup for the Los Angeles Sparks in her 129th WNBA outing.
Ironically, Humphrey and Brown made those starts last Wednesday against each other in a game that featured five of eight Lady Bulldogs currently playing in the WNBA. Brown scored 13 points, grabbed four rebounds, dished out four assists and garnered a pair of steals to help Los Angeles defeat Detroit, 80-73. Humphrey scored eight points - on 4-of-5 shooting from the floor - for the Shock.
In addition, Georgia's Christi Thomas scored three points for L.A., while Deanna Nolan poured in 14 points. Also, Kara Braxton chipped in five points and five boards for the Detroit Shock.
Brown and Humprhey made even more dramatic impacts in their subsequent starters later in the week.
Brown scored 10 points, handed out 11 assists and hauled down seven boards in a career-high 38 minutes of action in a 98-93 overtime victory over Connecticut on Friday night. She hit four key free throws in OT, including a pair following her steal to ice the victory.
On Saturday, Humphrey poured in 28 points to lead Detroit to an 89-79 win over Phoenix in a rematch of last year's WNBA Finals. And she did so in an extremely efficient fashion.
The Gainesville native connected on 10-of-15 shots from the floor, including 4-of-5 from three-point range, and all four free throw attempts.
- Georgia Sports Communications
Along with Beckham, the finalists are pitcher Brian Matusz of San Diego, and catcher Buster Posey of Florida State. The winner will be announced Wednesday, July 2, at the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center with a national tape-delayed telecast on Fox College Sports. Past winners included Kurt Suzuki of Cal State Fullerton (2004), Alex Gordon of Nebraska (2005), Brad Lincoln of Houston (2006) and last year's winner was the number one overall draft pick of 2007 in David Price of Vanderbilt.
Beckham, a junior from Atlanta, is a vital part of Georgia's College World Series (CWS) squad that is 43-23-1 overall including 2-0 at the CWS. He was the eighth player chosen overall in the first round of June's Major League Baseball draft by the Chicago White Sox. Also, Beckham is a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award which will be selected in mid-July during the MLB All-Star weekend in New York.
Beckham, who has started all 193 games in his collegiate career, was a unanimous choice by league coaches for Southeastern Conference Player of the Year, first team All-SEC and SEC Baseball Scholar-Athlete of the Year. For the season, he is batting .402 with 72 RBI and a school record 26 home runs. He has 104 hits, a .792 slugging percentage and a .958 fielding percentage.
The Wallace Award is a dedication to the memory of the former Texas Tech player and assistant coach Brooks Wallace. He was diagnosed with cancer and fought the disease courageously until his death on March 24, 1985, at age 27.
Former Lady Dogs shine in WNBA
Two former Georgia Lady Bulldogs - the youngest and the oldest in the WNBA - took very different paths to their first career starts last week but provided similarly successful performances.Tasha Humphrey, a rookie who became Georgia's eighth first-round draft pick since 2001, started the sixth game of her professional career with the Deroit Shock. Kiesha Brown, a seven-year veteran who has played with a league-record five teams, moved into the lineup for the Los Angeles Sparks in her 129th WNBA outing.
Ironically, Humphrey and Brown made those starts last Wednesday against each other in a game that featured five of eight Lady Bulldogs currently playing in the WNBA. Brown scored 13 points, grabbed four rebounds, dished out four assists and garnered a pair of steals to help Los Angeles defeat Detroit, 80-73. Humphrey scored eight points - on 4-of-5 shooting from the floor - for the Shock.
In addition, Georgia's Christi Thomas scored three points for L.A., while Deanna Nolan poured in 14 points. Also, Kara Braxton chipped in five points and five boards for the Detroit Shock.
Brown and Humprhey made even more dramatic impacts in their subsequent starters later in the week.
Brown scored 10 points, handed out 11 assists and hauled down seven boards in a career-high 38 minutes of action in a 98-93 overtime victory over Connecticut on Friday night. She hit four key free throws in OT, including a pair following her steal to ice the victory.
On Saturday, Humphrey poured in 28 points to lead Detroit to an 89-79 win over Phoenix in a rematch of last year's WNBA Finals. And she did so in an extremely efficient fashion.
The Gainesville native connected on 10-of-15 shots from the floor, including 4-of-5 from three-point range, and all four free throw attempts.
- Georgia Sports Communications
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