May 29, 2008
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State sophomore pitcher Stephen Strasburg has added another honor to his impressive resumé as he has been named a Louisville Slugger First-Team All-American by Collegiate Baseball magazine. He is the first to receive All-America honors since Royce Ring was a third-team selection in 2002 and is SDSU's first first-team honoree since Travis Lee in 1996.
Strasburg, a right-hander from San Diego (West Hills HS) was a Freshman All-American in 2007 and completed the 2008 season with a record of 8-3, a 1.57 earned run average and a .181 opponent batting average. His 133 strikeouts (in 97.1 innings) lead the nation this week and he also ranks fourth in the country in earned run average and strikeouts per nine innings (12.30). In league play, he compiled a mark of 6-0 with 92 strikeouts (57.0 innings) while opponents hit just .136 against him.
He set Mountain West Conference records for strikeouts, ERA and opponent batting average both overall and in league contests. He was named the MWC Pitcher of the Week a record seven times including a stretch of five consecutive weeks when he picked up the award. His 133 K's also broke the SDSU record of 122 set by Rob Brown during the 1989 campaign.
Strasburg earned the attention of the nation on April 11 when he struck out 23 batters in the Aztecs' contest against Utah in San Diego. It was the third-most strikeouts ever in a college game and the most since 1981. That contest came during a run of six straight games in which he reached double figures in strikeouts.
He is still in the running for several national awards including the Golden Spikes Award and the Roger Clemens Award. USA Baseball will announce the five finalists for the Golden Spikes Award on Tuesday (June 3) while the Greater Houston Baseball Association will reveal its three finalists for the Clemens Award on Thursday (June 5).
Fan voting is still being conducted for the Golden Spikes Award with college baseball aficionados able to vote for their favorite player to win the honor. To vote, click here to go the USA Baseball's voting page for the award and click on Meet The Candidates.