Orloff Named 2009 Brooks Wallace Award Winner

UC Irvine's Ben Orloff (photo by Matt Brown)

Big West Player of the Year Ben Orloff was named the recipient of the 2009 Brooks Wallace Award, given to the nation's best shortstop, as announced today by the College Baseball Foundation at a reception in Omaha, Neb. Orloff becomes the second Big West player to earn this distinguished award with Cal Sate Fullerton's Kurt Suzuki receiving the inaugural award in 2004.

Orloff, a senior from Simi Valley High School, hit .358 with a team-high 91 hits and 62 runs scored this season. He started all 60 games while leading the Anteaters to a 45-15 overall mark and an impressive 22-2 Big West record to claim their first-ever conference title. The Irvine Regional All-Tournament team member accumulated 18 stolen bases, 176 assists against just seven errors and a .976 fielding percentage over the course of the year.

The College Baseball Foundation will present Orloff with the Wallace award during the inaugural College Baseball Awards show on July 2 at 7:00 p.m. at the United Spirit arena in Lubbock, Texas.

The Brooks Wallace Award is a dedication to the memory of former Texas Tech player and assistant coach. This year is the first season in which the Brooks Wallace Award is presented to the nation's top collegiate shortstop. Previous winners were: Kurt Suzuki, Cal State Fullerton (2004); Alex Gordon, Nebraska (2005); Brad Lincoln, Houston (2006); David Price, Vanderbilt (2007) and Buster Posey, Florida State (2008).