Dec. 9, 2006
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State infielder Joe Spiers has been named to the 2007 Wallace Watch, a list of 148 baseball student-athletes from around the country who are the top contenders for the Brooks Wallace Award, presented annually to the national collegiate baseball player of the year. Spiers is one of just six Mountain West Conference players named to this season's watch list.
A transfer from the University of Hawai'i where he spent the past two seasons, Spiers was a starter at shortstop for the Rainbows as a freshman and also played second and third base during his time at UH. He is expected to play first base for the Aztecs in 2007.
In his first season at Hawai'i in 2005, Spiers was named a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American after hitting .307 and leading the team in runs (45), triples (3) and steals (31). He also recorded 11 doubles and 21 RBI. Last season he hit .250 with 15 stolen bases, six doubles and 14 RBI.
Spiers played his prep baseball at Canyon Springs High in Moreno Valley, Calif., where he won all-state and all-CIF honors. He set a California high school record by hitting in 44 straight games, breaking the mark held by current Oakland A's catcher Jason Kendall. Spiers was recruited by Texas, Miami, Arizona State and Washington State after his senior year.
The Wallace Watch List will be trimmed to 12 semi-finalists by late May. The selection committee will then narrow the list to three finalists following the NCAA Super Regionals, prior to the College World Series. The finalists, their head coaches, and their parents will be invited to Lubbock, TX, for a schedule of special events tied to the award banquet, which will again be nationally televised by Fox Sports Network and Fox College Sports.
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 All-Southwest Conference and All-District Six his senior year when he led the Red Raiders to their first-ever 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 age 27.
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. The list of players will expand and contract during the regular season and additional Wallace Watch candidates may be added as the season progresses.