Stopper of the Year Watch List
NEW ORLEANS - A trio of Sun Belt baseball pitchers have been named to the preseason Stopper of the Year watch list, the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association announced Monday. The award, which is given annually to the best relief pitcher in NCAA Division I, includes 70 pitchers from around the country.
Appalachian State senior Andrew Papp, Georgia Southern junior Hayden Harris and Troy senior Lance Johnson were all named to the list of 70.
Papp made 28 appearances last season and went 1-1 with a 3.38 ERA in 42.2 innings pitched, earning six saves. He fanned 45 on the year, allowing 36 hits, 16 runs and issuing 14 walks. Earlier this year, Papp, a Raleigh, N.C. native, was named to the 2020 Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference team.
Harris posted a 3-1 record in 2019 with a 3.24 ERA, the third best on the Eagles squad. He made 25 appearances, all in relief, with eight saves. He struck out 51 in 50 innings.
Johnson made 36 appearances in 2019, all out of the bullpen, which tied for the fifth-most nationally and was the second-most in a single season in Troy history. The right-hander posted a team-best 2.80 ERA en route to a 4-2 record on the season.
The Alabaster, Ala., native fanned 39 batters in 54 innings in 2019 and was named to the Sun Belt All-Tournament team after allowing just one earned run and three hits over his six innings at the tournament.
The 2020 baseball season begins on Friday, February 14. The 2020 Guardian Credit Union Sun Belt Baseball Championship presented by Alabama Power and Troy University is set for May 19-24 at Riverwalk Stadium in downtown Montgomery, Ala., the double-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. This will be the first Sun Belt Baseball Championship hosted in a minor league park since 2012 (Bowling Green Hot Rods).
2020 NCBWA Stopper of the Year Key Dates
• Mon., Feb. 10: Preseason Watch List
• Wed., April 22: Midseason Watch List
• Wed., June 3: Stopper of the Year finalists announced
• Sat., June 13: Stopper of the Year winner announced