Official College Baseball Lineup Release

OMAHA, Neb. – Southern Arkansas freshman outfielder Trevor Rucker has been named as a semi-finalist for the 2014 Josh Willingham Award as it was announced by College Baseball Lineup on Friday.The Willingham Award honors DII college baseball's most valuable player – an individual who not only excels on the field, but in the dugout, clubhouse and practice field as well, and leads his team to national championship caliber status. The award is sponsored by Sales Consultants of St Louis.
 
Rucker, a native of Prescott, Ark., was made a semi-finalist for the award thanks to his stellar play to close out the season for the Southern Arkansas baseball team. Over the final 26 games of the season which included a conference tournament championship and a trip to the NCAA Central Region Tournament, Rucker hit .414 (41-for-99) with 11 doubles, one triple, five homeruns, and 18 RBIs. Additionally, he was 23-for-24 in stolen bases over that time.
 
The annual honor is named after the former North Alabama All American and current Major League Baseball star, Josh Willingham.  While playing baseball at UNA, Willingham was a two-time All American and tied or broke fourteen school single-game, season, and career records. After his junior season, Willingham was selected by the Florida Marlins in the 17th round of the Major League Baseball Draft. He is currently in the midst of his 11th season in the Major Leagues and is an outfielder for the Minnesota Twins.
 
The finalists for the award will be named next week during the DII finals. The winner of the 2014 Josh Willingham Award will be named Monday, June 2nd following the Division II Championships which will held May 24th-31st in Cary, NC.