Two Huskers Named to Wallace Watch List

Lincoln ? A pair of Nebraska baseball players were honored Tuesday, as they were chosen for the 2006 Brooks Wallace Award Watch List. Pitchers Joba Chamberlain (Lincoln, Neb.) and Johnny Dorn (Grand Island, Neb.) will look to become Nebraska’s second straight Wallace Award winner, following in the footsteps of Alex Gordon, who won the award in 2005.

Chamberlain earned All-America honors as a sophomore, compiling a 10-2 record with a 2.18 ERA in 118.2 innings of work. The 6-foot-3, 225-pound righthander was second in the Big 12 in strikeouts with 130 and ranked among the league leaders in wins and innings pitched. Chamberlain, who is projected by Baseball America as the No. 21 prospect heading into the 2006 MLB Draft, was also on the Roger Clemens Award Watch List and was the Big 12’s Newcomer Pitcher of the Year in 2005.

Dorn put together the best freshman year in school history in 2005, helping the Huskers win a school-record 57 games and reach the College World Series. Dorn led the Big 12 in wins, as he posted a 12-2 record with a 2.16 ERA. The Big 12 Freshman of the Year and a first-team Freshman All-American, Dorn led all college rookies in wins and ranked among the leaders in innings and opponent batting average.

The Wallace Watch will be trimmed to 12 semi-finalists by late May. Following the NCAA Super Regionals, the selection committee will narrow the list to three finalists at a press conference in Omaha. The finalists, their head coaches, and their parents will be invited to Lubbock, Texas, for a schedule of special events tied to the award banquet, which will again be nationally televised by Fox Sports Network.

Dedicated to the memory of former Texas Tech shortstop and assistant coach, Wallace was a slick-fielding shortstop at Texas Tech from 1977 to 1980. A four-year starter, he was named All-Southwest Conference and All-District Six his senior year when he led the Red Raiders to their first-ever appearance in the Southwest Conference Tournament. After playing two years in the Texas Rangers organization, he returned to Texas Tech and served as a graduate assistant and later as an assistant coach. In the summer of 1984 he was diagnosed with cancer and fought the disease courageously until his death on March 24, 1985, at age 27. The Plano, Texas, native was married to the former Sandy Arnold and they had one daughter, Lindsay Ryan.

The selection committee for the Wallace Award is comprised of a national panel of coaches, sports information directors, former winners and beat media who most closely follow the sport. Screening committee members will evaluate the candidates and will continue their review throughout the entire baseball season. The list will expand and contract during the regular season and additional Wallace Watch candidates may be added as the season progresses. Voting for the three finalists and the Wallace Award winner will be conducted by confidential balloting, with totals tabulated by the J.W. Anderson & Associates accounting firm in Lubbock, Texas.