LEXINGTON, Va.- Junior right-handed pitcher Michael Bowman has been named to the 2008 Brooks Wallace Player of the Year Award Pre-Season Watch List, becoming the first VMI player named to the prestigious list of the top collegiate baseball players from around the country.

A season ago, Bowman (Richmond, Va./ Deep Run) established new VMI school records with 110 strikeouts and 99.0 innings pitched, all while leading the Keydets with a 2.73 ERA, a .235 opposing batting average and three combined shutouts. Bowman, who was named Second Team All-Conference as a sophomore, was included on the Roger Clemens Award Watch List a season ago.

The Brooks Wallace Award is presented to the nation's top collegiate baseball player in conjunction with the College Baseball Hall of Fame's annual induction festivities. The 2008 award banquet will be held Thursday, July 3, in the United Spirit Arena on the campus of Texas Tech University.

Last year's Brooks Wallace award went to Vanderbilt pitcher, David Price. Price was the first overall pick in the 2007 First-Year Player Draft and is currently pitching in the Tampa Bay Rays organization. The 2006 winner was standout pitcher/designated hitter Brad Lincoln of Houston. Nebraska's Alex Gordon, now with the Kansas City Royals, took home the 2005 trophy. The inaugural award was given in 2004 to Kurt Suzuki of Cal State Fullerton, who is now catching for the Oakland A's.

The Wallace Award is a dedication to the memory of the former Texas Tech player and assistant coach Brooks Wallace. 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 his senior year. He led the Red Raiders to their first-ever appearance in the Southwest Conference Tournament in 1980. 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.