GREENVILLE, N.C. – Junior Cal State Fullerton closer Brett Conine is one of just 52 players named to the initial Watch List for the 14th annual National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Award, given to the top relief pitcher in NCAA Division I Baseball, the organization announced on Monday.
In 2017, Conine established himself as one of the best Titan closers of all-time. He picked up 15 saves on the season, with was sixth best nationally, best in the Big West and was the fourth-most saves any Titan has ever picked up in a single season.
He's one of just four Big West relievers named to the list.
Overall, the Orange, California native compiled a 1.39 ERA in 45.1 innings pitched while collecting 43 strikeouts while only walking six. Conine earned All Big-West First Team honors, Collegiate Baseball All-American Second Third Team honors and was a finalist for the Gregg Olson award, which goes to the nation's best closer. Conine also picked up a six-out save in game three of the Long Beach Super Regional to send the
Conine was also named to NCBWA's Preseason All-American Second Team, Collegiate Baseball's Preseason All-American Second Team, Perfect Game's Preseason All-American Third Team and D1 Baseball's Preseason All-American Second Team.
Fullerton will open up the new campaign on the road at Stanford on Friday, Feb. 16th at 6 pm PT. The Titans will hold their home opener on Tuesday, Feb. 20th vs. Nevada at Goodwin Field at 6 pm PT. Tickets can be purchased at FullertonTitans.com.
2018 NCBWA STOPPER OF THE YEAR PRESEASON WATCH LIST
Louis Alvarado Nebraska Sr. Big Ten
T.J. Baker Ball State Jr. Mid-American
Sam Bordner Louisville Jr. ACC
Robert Broom Mercer Jr. Southern
Wyatt Burns Samford Sr. Southern
Michael Byrne Florida Jr. SEC
Andrew Cabezas Miami Jr. Atlantic Coast
Michael Clark Cal Poly Jr. Big West
Calvin Coker Auburn Sr. SEC
Brett Conine Cal State Fullerton Jr. Big West
Clark Cota UNC Wilmington Jr. Colonial Athletic
Jared Datoc Georgia Tech Sr. ACC
Naithen Dewsnap CSU Bakersfield Sr. Western Athletic
Tanner Driskill Lamar Sr. Southland
Durbin Feltman TCU Jr. Big 12
Aaron Fletcher Houston Jr. American Athletic
Jake Fromson Missouri State Sr. Missouri Valley
Ryley Gilliam Clemson Jr. ACC
Josh Hiatt North Carolina So. ACC
Connor Higgins Arizona State Jr. Pac-12
Daniel James UT Arlington Sr. Sun Belt
Kevin Kelly James Madison So. Colonial Athletic
Zach King Vanderbilt So. SEC
Ross Learnard Purdue Sr. Big Ten
Chris Machamer Kentucky So. SEC
Erik Martinez California Sr. Pac-12
Mason McReaken SIUE Sr. Ohio Valley
Morgan McSweeney Wake Forest So. ACC
Nick Mikolajchak Sam Houston State So. Southland
Troy Montemayor Baylor Sr. Big 12
Jake Mulholland Oregon State So. Pac-12
Ryan Netemeyer Southern Illinois Sr. Missouri Valley
J.T. Newton Houston Baptist Jr. Southland
Joe O'Donnell N.C. State Sr. ACC
Alex Padilla UIC Jr. Horizon
Andrew Perez USF Jr. American Athletic
P.J. Poulin UConn Jr. American Athletic
Beau Ridgeway Texas Jr. Big 12
Chris Rivera Long Beach State Jr. Big West
Brian Rodriguez Northeastern So. Colonial Athletic
Jake Roehn Ohio Sr. Mid-American
Nick Sandlin Southern Miss Jr. Conference USA
Riley Self Mississippi State So. SEC
T.J. Sikkema Missouri So. SEC
Cason Sherrod Texas A&M Sr. SEC
Cody Smith Charleston Southern Sr. Big South
Nick Spear Mercer Jr. Southern
Tyler Sparks Stephen F. Austin Jr. Southland
Dylan Thomas Hawaii So. Big West
Bryce Tucker UCF Jr. American Athletic
Dallas Woolfork Ole Miss Jr. SEC
Kenyon Yovan Oregon So. Pac-12
Texas hurler J. Brent Cox won the inaugural Stopper of the Year Award in 2005, with Don Czyz of Kansas claiming the honor in 2006 and Luke Prihoda of Sam Houston State winning it in 2007. Georgia's Joshua Fields topped the field in 2008, San Diego State's Addison Reed grabbed the honor in 2009 and Texas' Chance Ruffin earned the honor in 2010. The Longhorns' Corey Knebel won in 2011, with Southeastern Louisiana's Stefan Lopez picking up the honor in 2012. UCLA's David Berg was crowned the winner in 2013, Louisville's Nick Burdi took home the 2014 honor and Berg became the award's first two-time winner in 2015. Miami (Fla.)'s Bryan Garcia was honored as the 2016 recipient followed by the Cardinals' Henzman in 2017.
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, II and III Players of the Week and Division I, II and III Players of the Year.
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Fans can purchase tickets for various Cal State Fullerton athletic events by visiting FullertonTitans.com/Tickets. The Athletic Ticket Office can also be contacted by phone at 657-278-2783 or by email at athletictixs@fullerton.edu. The Ticket Office is located at the Titan House off of Gymnasium Drive at the eastern end of the Intramural Fields and is open from 10 am – 4 pm PT, Monday – Friday.
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