SPARTANBURG, S.C. – UNCG designated hitter Caleb Cozart, along with Samford second baseman John Anderson and pitcher Michael Ross are among more than five dozen national semifinalists for the 2024 Dick Howser Trophy Presented by The Game Headwear, as announced on Thursday by The Dick Howser Trophy Committee, in conjunction with the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
The prestigious award in college baseball is given to the top player based on two rounds of national voting by NCBWA members.
Cozart, a two-time SoCon Player of the Week honoree this season, paces the Spartan offense and ranks 18th in the league with a .339 batting average. He has drawn a starting nod in 49 contests this season and owns the UNCG single-season record with 22 home runs on the year. A native of High Point, North Carolina, Cozart needs just one home run to move into a tie for ninth place for home runs in a single season in the SoCon. He leads the conference with a .787 slugging percentage and ranks second with 72 RBIs. Cozart posted a 15-game hitting streak and reached base safely over a 36-game span earlier this season.
Anderson, who has started 51 games at second base this season, leads the Bulldogs and ranks fifth in the conference with a .383 batting average. The Oakwood, Georgia, native posted an 11-game hitting streak earlier this season and has reached base safely in 14 straight games. He has notched 24 multiple-hit games, including six contests with at least three hits and has recorded 17 multi-RBI games. Anderson is second on the squad with 13 home runs and 62 RBIs, while leading the team with a .689 slugging percentage.
Ross, a right-handed senior, recently tied Samford’s school record for wins in a single season and became just the 13th player in league history to earn 12 wins in a single season. The Lakeland, Florida, native has been honored as SoCon Pitcher of the week three times this season. He owns a league-best 2.62 ERA and is second in the SoCon with 89.1 innings worked over 14 appearances on the mound. Ross has fanned 83 batters, while walking just 18 and has limited opposing hitters to a .235 batting average.
This is the 37th year of the Dick Howser Trophy (first presented in 1987 to Mike Fiore of Miami and not awarded in 2020 due to COVID-19 suspension of the season). Finalists will be announced on Thursday, June 6.
The ‘24 award will be presented at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, the home of the College World Series, for the 12th year. The winner also will be unveiled on MLB Network on Thursday, June 13, in the 9 a.m. (CDT) highlight show hour. A Friday, June 14, news conference with the winner will be held at 10 a.m., the opening day just prior to the first game of the 77th NCAA College World Series, in the Schwab Stadium Media Room.
This year’s 68 candidates come from 18 different conferences and 48 different schools. The Southeastern Conferences leads with 16 semifinalists with the Atlantic Coast having 13, Conference USA with six, Pac-12 with five, Big 12 and West Coast Conference with four apiece, Big West, Conference USA, Southern and Sun Belt with three, the American Athletic, Western Athletic and Ohio Valley with two and the Atlantic-10, CAA, Southland and SWAC with one.
Texas A&M and Wake Forest each had four semifinalists, while Tennessee and Florida State had three standouts listed. All nine positions on the field are included with 13 outfielders, eight third basemen, six first basemen, five catchers, five second basemen, five shortstops, three utility players, two designated hitters, 13 starting pitchers and eight relief pitchers. The NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award for top relief pitcher also will be presented on June 14 as well as the NCBWA Division I Coach of the Year.
The Dick Howser Trophy, presented by The Game Headwear, is given in memory of the former Florida State University All-America shortstop and major league player and manager who died of brain cancer in 1987. The trophy is regarded as baseball's most prestigious award. Criteria for consideration of the trophy include performance on the field, leadership, moral character and courage – all qualities that were exemplified by Dick Howser's life.
A Florida native, Howser was twice an All-America shortstop at FSU (1957-58), then coached the Seminoles in 1979, after a career as a major league player and coach. After one year coaching in the college ranks, Howser returned to the majors to manage the New York Yankees and Kansas City Royals and won the World Series with the Royals in 1985. The baseball stadium on the Florida State campus is named for Howser.
“The Dick Howser Trophy was founded shortly after his death by a few friends of Dick’s in the St. Petersburg Area who played, coached and worked with him,” David Feaster, chairman of the Howser Trophy Committee said. “All knew him and were aware of him as a tremendous player, coach and friend. The award was initially awarded at the Governor’s Baseball Dinner held each spring in St. Petersburg to welcome spring training to Florida, and as time progressed, we moved the presentation to Omaha (in 1992), the center of college baseball, during the World Series. I have been involved with the award for more than 30 years and have loved every minute of my involvement. I have had the opportunity to meet some great college players as well as some great young men. I am so proud of the character quality we have in our award, which makes it unique. I am also proud of our selection process by the NCBWA which is the most democratic of any award and provides a true national scope.
“The Dick Howser Trophy is 37 years old and continues to increase in prominence and the scope of its reach increases exponentially each year,” Feaster added. “It is a true testimony to Dick Howser’s ability as a player, coach and gentlemen. I am proud to be associated with it.”
The winner's name is inscribed on the permanent trophy - a bronze bust of Howser displayed often at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg - home of the Tampa Bay Rays – an in various national locales. The winner and his school receive a special trophy to keep.
NCBWA voting membership includes writers, broadcasters and publicists. Designed to promote and publicize college baseball, it is the sport's only college media-related organization, founded in 1962.
The Howser Trophy was created in 1987, shortly after Howser's death. Previous winners of the Howser Trophy are Mike Fiore, Miami, 1987; Robin Ventura, Oklahoma State, 1988; Scott Bryant, Texas, 1989; Alex Fernandez, Miami-Dade Community College South, 1990; Frank Rodriguez, Howard College (Texas), 1991; Brooks Kieschnick, Texas, 1992 and 1993; Jason Varitek, Georgia Tech, 1994; Todd Helton, Tennessee, 1995; Kris Benson, Clemson, 1996; J. D. Drew, Florida State, 1997; Eddy Furniss, LSU, 1998; Jason Jennings, Baylor, 1999; Mark Teixeira, Georgia Tech, 2000; Mark Prior, P, USC, 2001, Khalil Greene, SS, Clemson, 2002; Rickie Weeks, 2B, Southern U., 2003; Jered Weaver, P, Long Beach State, 2004; Alex Gordon, 3B, Nebraska, 2005; Brad Lincoln, P/DH, Houston, 2006; David Price, P, Vanderbilt, 2007; Buster Posey, C, Florida State, 2008; Stephen Strasburg, P, San Diego State, 2009; Anthony Rendon, 3B, Rice, 2010; Taylor Jungmann, P, Texas, 2011; Mike Zunino, C, Florida, 2012; Kris Bryant, 3B, San Diego, 2013; A.J. Reed, P/1B, Kentucky, 2014; Andrew Benintendi, OF, Arkansas, 2015; Seth Beer, OF, Clemson, 2016, Brendan McKay, P/1B, Louisville, 2017, Brady Singer, SP, Florida, 2018, Adley Rutschman, C, Oregon State, 2019; Kevin Kopps, RP, Arkansas, 2021; Ivan Melendez, 1B, Texas, 2022 and Paul Skenes, P, LSU, 2023.
2024 DICK HOWSER TROPHY SEMIFINALISTS
Name Pos. School
Christian Almanza 1B Saint Mary’s
Edgar Alvarez 1B Nicholls
Billy Amick 3B Tennessee
John Anderson 2B Samford
Jamie Arnold SP Florida State
Evan Aschenbek RP Texas A&M
Ethan Bates RP Louisiana Tech
Travis Bazzana 2B Oregon State
Chris Beilenson RP Duke
Carson Benge UTIL Oklahoma State
Brooks Bryan C Troy
Chase Burns SP Wake Forest
Mason Burns RP, Western Kentucky
Drew Burress OF Georgia Tech
Blake Burke 1B Tennessee
Ryan Campos C Arizona State
Jac Caglianone UTIL, Florida
Jakob Christian OF San Diego
Charlie Condon 3B Georgia
Caleb Cozart DH UNCG
Carter Cunningham 1B East Carolina
Kyle DeBarge SS Louisiana
Edwin DeLaCruz C Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Daniel Dickinson 2B, Utah Valley
Jalin Flores SS Texas
Carter Gaston SP Portland
Lawson Harrill OF Campbell
Luke Holman SP LSU
Bridger Holmes RP Oregon State
Vance Honeycutt OF North Carolina
Walter Janek C Sam Houston
Ryan Johnson SP DBU
Dakota Jordan OF Mississippi State
Keith Jones OF New Mexico State
Caden Kendle OF UC Irvine
Seaver King 2B Wake Forest
Josh Kuroda-Grauer SS Rutgers
Nick Kurtz 1B Wake Forest
Alec Makarewicz 3B NC State
T.J. McCants OF Alabama
Cole McConell OF Louisiana Tech
Liam McFadden-Ackman 1B Northern Kentucky
LP Langevin RP Louisiana
Jace LaViolette OF Texas A&M
Caleb Lomavita C California
Izaak Martinez RP UC San Diego
Matthew Matthjis SP North Carolina
Lyle Miller-Green OF Austin Peay
Ben Miller 3B Duke
Gage Miller 3B Alabama
Braden Montgomery OF Texas A&M
Christian Moore 2B Tennessee
Ryan Prager SP Texas A&M
Jake Reinisch DH Wake Forest
Michael Ross SP Samford
Brett Sears SP Nebraska
Austin Smith UTIL San Diego
Cam Smith 3B Florida State
Hagen Smith SP Arkansas
James Tibbs III OF Florida State
Payton Tolle SP TCU
JJ Wetherholt SS West Virginia
Mason White SS Arizona
Tommy White 3B LSU
Nick Wissman RP Dayton
Jakob Wright SP Cal Poly
Blake Wright 3B Clemson
Trey Yesavage SP East Carolina