2016 GREGG OLSON AWARD FINALISTS NAMED

OMAHA, NE - The finalists for the 2016 Gregg Olson Award presented by Toolshed Sports, have been determined. The award honors college baseball’s breakout player of the year. The annual award is given to a top amateur baseball player who elevates his game to an elite level throughout the season.

After a freshman season at Auburn filled with only mixed success, Gregg Olson became one of the top collegiate players in the nation during an outstanding, unprecedented sophomore season. Despite being omitted from any preseason All American lists, Olson went on to lead the entire nation in ERA with a 1.26 mark and compiled an incredible 11-1 record with 10 saves for the Tigers.

UNC Wilmington's Nick Feight played in only 11 games last season in which he had six hits, a single home run an three RBI. This year he was named an All American after he tied UNCW school records with 21 home runs and 24 doubles.

Following a summer pitching for the USA National Team where he lead the club in strikeouts, Olson returned to Auburn for another spectacular season. He led the SEC with a 2.00 ERA and amassed a triple-digit strikeout total, issuing 113 K’s in only 72 innings with only 27 walks. He finished his collegiate career with back-to-back First Team All American honors, a 25-7 record, 3.03 ERA, 20 saves, 271 strikeouts and redefined the way college coaches used their top pitcher.

The Olson Award has been developed to honor college baseball’s success stories and showcase players like Olson who have raised the level of their game through hard work, strength of mind and determination. Eligible players will be those who are omitted from major publication’s preseason All American prognostications; however by the end of the season their on the field performance will demonstrate that they are among the top amateur baseball players in the nation.

The winner of the 2016 Gregg Olson Award will be named in Omaha, Nebraska during the College World Series which will be held this season at TD Ameritrade Park from June 18-28/29.

2016 Gregg Olson Award Finalists

Cassidy Brown, Jr. Loyola Marymount, C
Brown played in 47 games last season where he only managed a .138 batting average in 130 at bats. He only scored nine runs and didn’t manage any extra-base hits. This year he found himself on the Johnny Bench Award Watch List as he hit a team-best .325 with 29 runs, 17 doubles and 41 RBI to earn second team All-West Coast Conference honors. Brown started all 52 games for the Lions behind the plate and threw out 32% of potential base stealers.

Gene Cone, Jr. South Carolina, OF
After batting .221 as a freshman and .257 as a sophomore, Cone erupted to become one of the premier players in the SEC. He eared first team All-SEC honors and was on the Regional All-Tournament team to propel the Gamecocks to the Super Regionals. He topped the team with a .363 batting average, thanks in large to a set a school record 31-game hit streak. During the season he drew 45 walks which helped him earn a conference best .474 on base percentage.

Nick Feight, So., UNCW, C
As a freshman Feight played in only 11 games in which he had six hits, a single home run an three RBI. This year he was named an All American after he tied UNCW school records with 21 home runs and 24 doubles while setting new Seahawk standards with 175 total bases, a .726 slugging percentage and a nation-leading 91 runs batted in. Thanks in part to Feight’s breakout season UNCW ended a game away from reaching the Super Regionals.

Tanner Gardner, So. Texas Tech, OF
As a freshman Gardner performed with little pomp and circumstance, hitting just .238 with an OPS of .693 and only 11 RBIs. To-date Gardner is leading the Big 12 in batting at .385 and is second in the conference in on base percentage at .489 and fifth in slugging at .561. He is a major reason the Red Raiders won their first conference regular season title since 1997 and are returning to Omaha for the second time in three seasons.

Thomas Hatch, Oklahoma St., RHP
Hatch made 13 appearances in 2014, compiling a 5.28 ERA in 46 innings. After a strained UCL caused him to miss all over last year, his results were an optimistic mystery. This season Hatch is 8-2 with a 2.04 ERA which has earned him All American honors and designation as the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year. He was recently selected the Cubs’ first pick in the MLB draft as he’s returned to dominantly toss 119 1/3 inning so far this season with 105 strikeouts with only 30 walks to lead the Cowboys back to the College World Series.

Pat Krall, Jr., Clemson, LHP
After Temple dropped its baseball program after the 2014 season, Krall was a man without a country. He transferred to Clemson where he had a ho-hum 2-4 record with a 4.03 ERA last season, this year however he had emerged to become one of NCAA’s elite and versatile performers. He became the first Tiger in history to lead the team outright in wins with 10 and saves with five in 29 appearances. He was named an All-American and All-ACC reliever with his 1.67 ERA, and a .203 opponents’ batting average along with 65 strikeouts against 17 walks in 80.2 innings pitched

Evan Mendoza, So., North Carolina State, 3B
Mendoza spent his freshman season as a sparingly, and somewhat begrudgingly, used pitcher as he had a 6.75 ERA in 18 2/3 innings He made the switch to position player in 2016, where he as an immediate impact in the infield and he led the Pack with a .362 batting average. During the season he had a 23-game hitting streak, the third-longest in NC State history, and was named to the ACC all-conference team.

Connor Owings, Sr., Coastal Carolina, OF
Owings is a rare a two-time two time Olson Award semifinalists after he raised his average from .200 in 27 games as a freshman to a team high .326 as a sophomore. His numbers then took a dip and after a good, but not great junior year, Ownings has exploded offensively. To cap his college career Ownings has lead the Chants to their first College World Series appearance. He is batting .376 with 16 home runs and has already been named an All American and the 2016 Big South Player of the Year.

Cody Ramer, Sr., Arizona, 2B
Ramer spent most of last season as a spot starter and pinch hitter and only hit .178 in his 45 at bats with four RBI. Moreover, in his first three years he batted .218 with just eight extra-base hits. This season Ramer is batting .357 for the Omaha-bound Wildcats with 15 doubles and eight triples and leading the Pac 12 in runs. Ramer has also supplied supple defense as he’s posting a .964 fielding percentage while playing both second base and shortstop.

Ryan Scott, Arkansas Little Rock
Scott hit .328 last season with 20 doubles, but even those impressive numbers were just a glimpse of what he would post in 2016. Scott finished the season hitting a national leading.435 with 94 hits, 66 RBIs, 56 runs, 20 doubles, two triples, 12 home runs, a .516 on-base percentage and a .713 slugging percentage. He was named the Sun Belt’s Student-Athlete of the Year along and took home a slew of other awards as well including All American honors.

Zach Reks, Jr., Kentucky, OF
Reks played at the Air Force Academy in 2013, then transferred to the University of Kentucky and didn’t play for two years. In the fall of 2015, he decided to try out and he made the team. Reks gradually earned a place in the starting lineup and finished the year with a second best UK .331 batting average and a team high .425 on-base percentage. He had a late season power surge in which he hit six home runs in the final 15 games to up his total to seven and season slugging percentage to .500.

Colin Thacker, Jr., Gardner-Webb, 2B
In 50 games at catcher and outfield last season, Thacker batted a respectful .285 with two home runs and six doubles. This year, Thacker moved to second base where he became Gardner-Webb’s first All-American since 2000 and led the Runnin’ Bulldog team to one of its best seasons ever. Thacker raised his average to a Big South best .394, led DI with 28 doubles and was runner up for the Big South Player of the Year. He surpassed his previous combined career totals in hits, doubles, home runs, RBI, runs and walks.