A LITTLE COLLEGE BASEBALL TALK

Being from southern Mississippi and having attended the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, it was great to hear that one of our Golden Eagles was being touted among 64 candidates to receive the Xanthus Dick Howser Trophy, which is awarded by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association in conjunction with the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce to the nation's top college baseball player.

USM senior catcher Brad Wilcutt is having a stellar year, with a batting average of .340 with 12 home runs and 58 RBIs. He has 55 hits with 13 doubles, 41 runs scored, a slugging percentage of .642 and an on base percentage of .429. Not only that, but for players who have been in all 41 games, he has the lowest number of strikeouts with 19.

The Golden Eagles are 30-12 overall with an 11-7 Conference USA record as of this afternoon (they are playing Louisville as I type this), and are ranked 34th nationally.

The winner will be announced in Omaha on June 17th during the College World Series.

It would be nice to see a fellow Eagle's name on the permanant trophy, a bronze bust of former FSU and major league coach/manager Howser, which is displayed at Tropicana Field.