University of Houston Athletics
Crain, Snyder, Sullivan Named to Smith Award Watch List
4/24/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 24, 2002
HOUSTON, Texas - University of Houston baseball stars Jesse Crain, Chris Snyder and Brad Sullivan were among the candidates released Wednesday for the Rotary Smith Award, given annually to the nation's top collegiate player.
The UH trio has helped lead the Cougars to a No. 10 national ranking and a place atop the standings in Conference USA. In addition, the team has already equaled its win total from all of last season.
Crain has emerged as one of the schools' finest two-way players. Offensively, the Boulder, Colo., native has batted to a .331 average with 11 doubles, four home runs and 29 RBIs while playing stellar defense on the left side of the infield.
However, the San Jacinto Junior College product has also made his mark felt on the mound, where he has assembled a perfect 4-0 record with five saves and 29 strikeouts in 25.2 innings. He has not allowed a run to score in his last 24.2 innings, the third longest scoreless streak in school history.
Snyder, a junior catcher, has emerged as the team's offensive leader after posting a team-best .350 average with 42 RBIs. In addition, the Houston native has blasted nine home runs and ranks fourth in school career history with 23 homers.
Sullivan, who was invited to the 2002 USA Baseball National Team Trials on Wednesday, is the final candidate. The sophomore righthander has assembled a 7-0 record with 103 strikeouts and a 1.62 ERA in only 72.1 innings. He recently set a new school single-game record with 16 strikeouts against Conference USA rival Memphis in only seven innings.
The three Cougars were on a preliminary watch list of more than 150 Division I college baseball players. The watch list was compiled after submissions by the sports information personnel at all Division I baseball schools. Additional nominations will be added to the list until the first round of voting begins in May.
Voting to determine the 12 semifinalists begins in mid-May and the list will be announced at the end of the regular season. Three finalists will be announced before the start of the NCAA Super Regionals during the week of June 7-9.
