Nine Named To Wallace Award Watch List

Nine former New York Collegiate Baseball League players have been named to the Watch List for the 2009 Brooks Wallace Award. The award is given to the National Player of the Year by the College Baseball Foundation. The 2009 Wallace Award will be presented on July 2, 2009 at Texas Tech University. Florida State's Buster Posey was the 2008 Wallace Award recipient. The following players were named to the Watch List:

Greg Lane (Elmira '06), Binghamton
Shane Davis (Glens Falls '08), Canisius
Mike Spina (Amsterdam '08), Cincinnati
Jose Sanchez (AC '07/Hornell '08), Delaware State
Daniel Cooke (Glens Falls '07), Gardner Webb
Kevin Nieto (Amsterdam '07), Manhattan
Nate Lape (Amsterdam '07), Marshall
Keli'i Zablan (Watertown '08), Southern Utah
Joe Serafin (Allegany County '05), Vermont

Greg Lane (Elmira '06) is a senior pitcher at Binghamton University. Last spring, Lane set a single-season school record with a conference-leading 11 saves. The Binghamton closer was named first-team All-America East after going 3-2 with a team-low 1.97 earned run average in 24 appearances. The Binghamton, N.Y., native yielded just seven earned runs in 32 innings pitched and did not allow a home run or hit a batter.

Lane pitched for the 2006 Elmira Pioneers. He made seven appearances and posted a 2.45 earned run average in 14.2 innings pitched. Lane held opposing hitters to a .241 batting average and was fourth on the team in ERA.

Shane Davis (Glens Falls '08) is a redshirt sophomore at Canisius College. Davis recorded an impressive 2008 season with the Golden Griffs. He was named a third-team All-American by three different organizations and a Freshman All-American by five different organizations. In addition, Davis was selected as the MAAC Pitcher of the Year and Rookie of the Year. At Canisius, Davis set a single-season record with 12 victories and 10 complete games. He finished among the national freshman leaders in ERA (2.42) and he tied for first in victories.

The Belmont, Ont., native was named the 2008 NYCBL Pitcher of the Year. He helped the Glens Falls Golden Eagles to the Eastern Division title and an appearance in the finals of the league playoffs. Davis went 5-0 with a 0.33 ERA during the regular season. He yielded just two earned runs in 54 innings pitched and struck out 31. The southpaw posted a 34-inning scoreless string during the regular season and tossed a nine-inning no-hitter against the Bennington Bombers on June 11 at East Field. He was the starting pitcher for the Eastern Division in the NYCBL All-Star Game.

Mike Spina (Amsterdam '08) is a senior at the University of Cincinnati. Spina was one of three Bearcats named to the Wallace Watch List. As a junior, Spina clouted 21 home runs and led the BIG EAST with 79 runs batted in. The All-BIG EAST second-team selection batted .377 during the regular season and set a single-season school record for home runs. Spina recorded a blistering .438 batting average during the BIG EAST tournament with four home runs and 11 RBI. The Newberry, Fla., native was chosen by the Minnesota Twins in the 45th round (1,355th overall) of the 2008 Major League Baseball amateur draft.

Spina played for the Amsterdam Mohawks this past summer. Spina led the Tribe with a .330 batting average, eight home runs, 12 doubles and a .670 slugging percentage. Spina's eight clouts led the league and paced a team that combined to hit a league-high 31 home runs. The first team NYCBL all-star helped the Mohawks to the Eastern Division finals for the first time since 2005. He was a starter in the NYCBL All-Star Game.

Jose Sanchez (AC '07/Hornell '08) is a senior at Delaware State University. Sanchez earned All-MEAC accolades in his first season with the Hornets in 2008. He was named second-team all-conference after leading the Hornets with a .347 batting average, six home runs, 30 runs batted in and 16 doubles. The transfer from Alfred State was the only player to compete in all 49 of Delaware State's games in 2008.

The Tachira, Venezuela, native spent two seasons in the NYCBL. He played for the Allegany County Nitros in 2007 and the Hornell Dodgers in 2008. This past summer, Sanchez was the Most Valuable Player of the NYCBL All-Star Game and he was tabbed second-team all-league. The shortstop led the Western Division champion Dodgers with 35 runs scored and 11 doubles. He batted .314 with one home run, 24 RBI, 53 hits and 15 stolen bases. Through two NYCBL seasons, Sanchez competed in the playoffs for two different teams and started two NYCBL All-Star Games.

Daniel Cooke (Glens Falls '07) is a senior at Gardner-Webb University. Cooke is a two-sport star for the Bulldogs in football and baseball. Last spring, Cooke batted .331 with 43 runs batted in, 53 runs scored and 31 stolen bases for the Bulldogs. He topped the team with seven sacrifice flies and eight outfield assists. Cooke is the school's leader in all-time stolen bases (68). On the gridiron, Cooke was a four-time all-conference choice in the Big South and he was thrice tabbed to the first team. He finished his football career with 282 career tackles.

The Charlotte, N.C., native was a member of the 2007 Glens Falls Golden Eagles. He was part of an Eastern Division championship team that finished the regular season with a league and NACSB-best 34-6 mark. Cooke stole a team-high 17 bases on 19 attempts in 38 games and he had a club-high four sacrifice hits. The speedy outfielder also collected 31 hits and scored 23 runs.

Kevin Nieto (Amsterdam '07) is a junior at Manhattan College. Nieto is a two-time all-conference honoree for the Jaspers. He was named first-team All-MAAC in 2008 after leading the circuit in batting average (.386) and triples (six). The Miami, Fla., native finished among the conference and team leaders with 59 hits, 50 runs scored, 14 doubles, 47 runs batted in, 21 stolen bases and a .591 slugging percentage.

Nieto was an NYCBL all-star with the Amsterdam Mohawks in 2007. He drove in a team-high 34 runs for the Tribe in 39 games. Nieto also led the team with three triples and tied for the club lead with 11 doubles. He finished second on the team in home runs (four), runs scored (26) and total bases (77) and was third in hits (48). The Manhattan product was selected second-team All-NYCBL.

Nate Lape (Amsterdam '07) is a senior at Marshall University. Lape was chosen to the 2008 Conference-USA all-league team after a stellar junior campaign. He paced the Thundering Herd in batting average (.388), hits (83), doubles (17), home runs (17) and runs batted in (63). Lape was the Conference-USA Hitter of the Week and a Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week for the week ending March 16, 2008 after hitting .542 with five home runs and 11 RBI in six games for the Herd. The Huntington, N.Y., native was chosen in the 20th round (617th overall) of the 2008 Major League Baseball draft by the Colorado Rockies.

Lape played for the 2007 Amsterdam Mohawks. He batted .257, drove in 23 runs and tied for the team lead with 11 doubles. Lape led the squad with four sacrifice flies and added 37 hits and 18 runs scored.

Keli'i Zablan (Watertown '08) is a senior at Southern Utah University. Zablan is a two-time all-conference selection in the Summit League for the Thunderbirds. He was named second-team All-Summit League in 2008. Zablan led the T-Birds with a .382 batting average, 84 hits, five triples, 25 walks and 153 assists. He added 34 RBI, 46 runs scored, 12 doubles, three home runs and 19 stolen bases.

The Ewa Beach, Hawaii, native doned the colors of the Watertown Wizards in 2008. He was only one of two Wizards to play in 37 of the team's 40 games. Zablan batted .256 with two home runs, 11 RBI, 33 hits, 14 runs scored, five doubles and six stolen bases. The native Hawaiian also struck out five batters in three relief pitching outings and held opponents to a .211 batting average.

Joe Serafin (Allegany County '05) is a redshirt senior at the University of Vermont. Serafin was the 2008 America East Pitcher of the Year. He led the conference with a 2.51 earned run average, seven complete games and a .221 opponents' batting average. Overall, the left-handed pitcher went 6-5 in 12 appearances with one save and 58 strikeouts in 79 innings pitched. Serafin is a two-time all-conference honoree and he was named to the 2005 America East All-Rookie team.

Serafin pitched for the Allegany County Nitros in 2005. He was 5-1 with a 2.00 earned run average in 10 appearances. Serafin struck out a team-high 54 batters in 54 innings pitched and allowed just 12 earned runs.

Thanks to The College Baseball Blog for the complete list of all 204 players.