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Rendon Wins 2010 Howser Trophy As College Baseball's Player of the Year

Anthony Rendon, Rice's slugging third baseman and already the 2010 National Player of Year according to both Baseball America and the American Baseball Coaches Association, was named the winner of the prestigious Dick Howser Trophy at the College Baseball Foundation's National Awards Show Friday evening in Lubbock, Texas.

As the baseball equivalent of the Heisman Trophy, The Dick Howser Trophy is the annual award presented to the nation's outstanding collegiate baseball player. The nominees for the award are selected from the country's 288 Division I colleges and voted on by more than 300 members of the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) and the Dick Howser Trophy Committee. Rendon is the 24th recipient of the honor which dates back to 1987. The Howser Trophy is officially presented by The St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce® through the College Baseball Foundation's home in Lubbock, site of the College Baseball Hall of Fame.

"This is overwhelming," Rendon said shortly after Friday's presentation ceremony. "It was honor just being one of the finalists, and being named the actual winner is amazing. There were a lot of guys with great years so it feels tremendous.

"When the season started back in February, and even in the practices before that (January), I worked pretty hard because I wanted to have a good year," Rendon said. "I got off to a slow start, but I thought I had a better second half of the season. I was happy how I finished the season, but the main thing was winning the conference championship and going to a (NCAA) Regional.

"I met (College Baseball Foundation Executive Vice President) Jana Howser before the ceremony and she told me about the past winners, about what kind of players they are - of how so many made it to the major leagues - and also what kind of people they are. It really hit home that this is a special award to be a part of.

"I want to thank my parents who took me to hundreds of little league games, provided transportation, equipment and opportunities," he added. "I want to thank (head) coach (Wayne) Graham, who has been in coaching 30 years and seen it all. He is easy to talk to and a very-great and supportive coach. I want to thank the assistant coaches, the other Rice support staff and our fans. I've seen different awards shows on TV, but this was exciting actually being in one."

In his standout season of 2010, Rendon helped lead the Rice baseball program to its 16th-straight NCAA Tournament appearance, 16th-consecutive season with 40-or-more wins, and 15th-straight conference championship. He batted .394 while leading Conference USA with 26 home runs, and he was among the nation's leaders in runs scored (83), walks (65), and RBI (85). The former Lamar High School star also maintained an .801 slugging percentage, a .530 on-base percentage, and finished with more home runs (26) than strikeouts (22). Defensively he had a .973 fielding percentage at third base (only four 3B errors all season) and started a total of 16 double-plays for the Blue & Gray.

The son of Rene and Bridget Rendon of Houston, his other accolades from 2010 include first team All-America from a host of media organizations, C-USA Male Athlete of the Year, the conference Baseball Player of the Year (for the second-straight year and just the second player in league history to earn that honor in back-to-back seasons), first team all-conference, selection to the C-USA All-Tournament team and being named the Most Outstanding Player at the NCAA Austin Regional.

"Anthony is, as my dad use say, `poetry in motion'," said coach Graham, who in 2010 completed his 19th season at the helm of the Owl program and 30th season as a collegiate head coach. "I've seen him hit line drives in batting practice that were moving like golf balls. He was a leader from day-one when he came to campus. I do not have to push him. I just make sure to spell his name right in the lineup card every game," coach quipped.

The Dick Howser Trophy, given in memory of the former Florida State University All-America shortstop and major league player and manager who died of brain cancer in 1987, is regarded by many as college baseball's most prestigious award. Criteria for consideration for the trophy include performance on the field, leadership, moral character and courage, qualities that were exemplified by Dick Howser's life. It was founded by the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce®.

A Florida native, Howser was twice an All-America shortstop at Florida State University (1957-58), then coached the Seminoles in 1979 after a career as a major league player and coach. After one year in the college ranks, Howser returned to the majors to manage the New York Yankees and Kansas City Royals and won the World Series with the Royals in 1985. The baseball stadium on the Florida State campus is named for Howser.

"We are deeply honored by this tremendous recognition of Anthony Rendon as the recipient of the 2010 Dick Howser Award," said Rice Director of Athletics Rick Greenspan. "There is no higher award given to a college baseball player, and Anthony's love of the game, humility, academic achievements and talent are the aspirations of all Rice student-athletes. Anthony's skills, along with Wayne Graham's unparalleled coaching, have crafted not only one of the best baseball players in America but one of the best teammates. The faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends of Rice University congratulate Anthony Rendon."

Previous winners of the Howser Trophy are Mike Fiore, Miami, 1987; Robin Ventura, Oklahoma State, 1988; Scott Bryant, Texas, 1989; Alex Fernandez, Miami-Dade Community College South, 1990; Frank Rodriguez, Howard College (Texas), 1991; Brooks Kieschnick, Texas, 1992 and 1993; Jason Varitek, Georgia Tech, 1994; Todd Helton, Tennessee, 1995; Kris Benson, Clemson, 1996; J. D. Drew, Florida State, 1997; Eddy Furniss, LSU, 1998; Jason Jennings, Baylor, 1999; Mark Teixeira, Georgia Tech, 2000; Mark Prior, P, USC, 2001, Khalil Greene, SS, Clemson, 2002; Rickey Weeks, 2B, Southern U., 2003; Jered Weaver, P, Long Beach State, 2004; Alex Gordon, 3B, Nebraska, 2005; Brad Lincoln, P/DH, Houston, 2006; David Price, P, Vanderbilt, 2007; Buster Posey, C, Florida State, 2008 and Stephen Strasburg, P, San Diego State, 2009.

Voting for the Dick Howser Trophy has been conducted by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association membership since 1999. NCBWA membership includes writers, broadcasters and publicists. Designed to promote and publicize college baseball, it is the sport's only college media-related organization. The NCBWA was founded in 1962.

The College Baseball Foundation was established in 2004 and has inducted 57 greats into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in Lubbock. The group promotes the highest ideals and recognition of greatness on college baseball diamonds in the 150 years since the first intercollegiate contest in 1859 between Amherst and Williams.

Rendon led a list several college players presented with awards in Friday's ceremony. The honorees included Alex Wimmers (Ohio State), Pitcher of the Year; Bryan Holaday (TCU), Johnny Bench Award (top catcher); Chance Ruffin (Texas), Stopper of the Year; Mike McGee (Florida State), John Olerud Award (best two-way player); Jedd Gyorko (West Virginia) Brooks Wallace Award (shortstop of the year). Fans will have a chance to see Rendon and all the winners receive their respective honors as the awards ceremony will be webcast on a tape-delayed basis on MLB.com early next week.