Jan. 20, 2006
ORLANDO - Conference USA Preseason Pitcher of the Year Tim Bascom is among the 40 hurlers listed on the preseason watch list for the third annual Roger Clemens Award, it was announced today. The honor is added to a long list for Bascom this preseason.
The Dunedin native has been named a preseason All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and Collegiate Baseball News along with being named to the watch list for the Brooks Wallace Award, given annually to the top player in college baseball.
In 2005, Bascom led UCF with a 10-2 record and a 3.10 ERA in 16 games. He led UCF in innings pitched (113.2) and strikeouts (113). The 113 strikeouts ranked sixth in UCF single-season history while his 10 victories tied for sixth in the UCF single-season annals.
Five pitchers from C-USA have been named to the Clemens Award watch list. The five C-USA pitchers on the watch list are the fourth-most of any conference. Only the Pac-10 (8), Big 12 (7) and ACC (7) had more hurlers on the list than C-USA.
The third Clemens Award will be presented to the nation's top college pitcher at the conclusion of a gala dinner in Houston in July. All Division I head baseball coaches will take part in the voting for the honor, in addition to a selected panel of national media and all past winners of the Rotary Smith Award, which was retired after the 2003 dinner by the committee that is sponsoring the Clemens Award.
The Roger Clemens Award was named after future Hall of Famer Roger Clemens, who began his march to stardom while leading the University of Texas to the College World Series title in 1983. As a professional, Clemens has won 341 games (9th best in history), fanned 4,502 hitters and won seven Cy Young Awards, emblematic as the top pitcher in his league. The Roger Clemens Award is the only award of its kind, honoring the finest pitchers in college baseball.
The event is administered by the Greater Houston Baseball Association, who has donated $200,000 to the designated beneficiaries (The Roger Clemens Foundation, The Karl Young Summer College Baseball League and Baseball USA) from the net proceeds from the first two dinners. The GHBA is a non-profit 501.3 (C) organization dedicated to the growth of amateur baseball in the Houston area.
For media information on The Roger Clemens Award, please contact Chuck Pool (832) 244-6476 or by email ( info@clemensaward.com ).