GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Two Southern Conference pitchers were among the 70 players named to the initial watch list for the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Award, given annually to the top reliever in NCAA Division I baseball, the organization announced Monday. VMI’s Taylor Edens and Wofford’s Will Stillman appear on the list.

VMI’s Edens is on the watch list for the third straight season. He is one of 15 players on the watch list to post double-digit saves last season.

Edens made this preseason list in both 2014 and, now, 2016, and was named to the midseason version in 2015. He enters 2016 two saves shy of setting a new Keydet record in that statistic, and also comes off a summer in which he was named a First Team Summer Collegiate All-American by Perfect Game. He and the Keydets begin their 2016 season this coming Friday, Feb. 19, against UMBC with a doubleheader that begins at 10 a.m.

Wofford’s Stillman, a senior from Matthews, North Carolina, led the Southern Conference and was sixth in the nation with 15 saves in 2015. The 15 saves were a school record and his 19 career saves are tied for second in school history. He posted a 4.60 ERA last season, along with 50 strikeouts in 29 1/3 innings on the mound in 28 appearances. He was named second-team All-Southern Conference and was selected in the 29th round of the 2015 MLB Draft by the Boston Red Sox. Stillman was named first-team preseason All-Southern Conference last week at relief pitcher.

Nominations for the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award were made by baseball sports information/media relations contacts. The 2016 Stopper of the Year Watch List will be updated with a midseason release on Wednesday, April 27, including the national saves leaders. At the conclusion of the regular season, the Division I national saves leader and four other relief pitching standouts will be selected as finalists and released Wednesday, June 8, prior to start of NCAA Super Regional competition.

The NCBWA’s All-America Committee will select the winner, with this year’s recipient to be announced at the 2016 College World Series.

The NCBWA, founded in 1962, presents the Dick Howser Trophy to the nation’s top player. It also selects All-America Teams for all Divisions, a Division I Freshman All-American team, Division I and III Players of the Week, Division I District Players of the Year and Division III Players of the Year.