University of Houston Athletics
Lincoln Named Finalist for Roger Clemens Award
6/8/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
June 8, 2006
HOUSTON - University of Houston junior righthander Brad Lincoln was named one of four finalists for the 2006 Roger Clemens Award on Thursday.
Lincoln joined Washington's Tim Lincecum, North Carolina's Andrew Miller and Eddie Degerman of Rice in the group of finalists. The winner of college baseball's version of the Cy Young Award will be announced at the end of the Roger Clemens Award Dinner on July 12 at the Marriott Westchase Hotel in Houston.
Lincoln, who has been named a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy and the Brooks Wallace Award, became the first player in both school and Conference USA history to be taken among the Top 10 picks of Major League Baseball's amateur draft Tuesday when he was selected at No. 4 by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Lincoln, who recently was named to the Collegiate Baseball Louisville Slugger All-America First Team as a utility player, emerged as one of the nation's finest all-around players in 2006. He compiled a sparkling 12-2 record with a 1.69 ERA and 152 strikeouts in 127.2 innings of work. Those numbers were even better in C-USA games only where he assembled a 7-0 record with a 1.28 ERA.
Lincoln's strikeout total ranked as the third-best mark in UH single-season history and moved him into third in UH career history with 293 punchouts.
He was named a C-USA Pitcher of the Week four times during the regular season and was honored as the Pro-Line Cap National Pitcher of the Week after tossing a five-hit shutout with nine strikeouts in the series opener at No. 1 Rice on May 12.
However, Lincoln was one of the Cougars' leading hitters all season. In 2006, he compiled a .295 batting average with 14 home runs and a team-leading 53 RBIs. He blasted a three-run walk-off homer in the bottom of the 10th inning to lead the Cougars to an 11-10 win over Texas-San Antonio in the season on opener on Feb. 7.
With his pitching and offensive numbers, Lincoln ranked among the Top 10 C-USA individual leaders in five of the six Triple Crown categories for the majority of the 2006 season.
He was honored as the C-USA Pitcher of the Year while also being named to the league's First Team but was recognized at DH on the C-USA All-Tournament Team for his performance at the plate.
Lincoln blasted a home run and earned a pitching win in games at UC Irvine and against C-USA rival Tulane earlier this season. With that, he joined current San Diego Padre pitcher Woody Williams as the only players to hit a home run and collect a win from the mound in the same game twice during their careers.
Normally, there are only three finalists announced for the Clemens Award each year, but this year's voting resulted in a tie between candidates.
"2006 has been a very deep year for college pitching as evidenced in the most recent MLB draft as well as the very tight voting for our award," Ray Mitchell, Co-Chairman of the Roger Clemens Award said. "The voting was so balanced resulting in a dead heat at the end between two candidates. A tie breaker system is in place but it was our decision not to deny anyone the honor of being a finalist for the most prestigious Roger Clemens Award. Therefore, we are excited to honor all four of these great talents as they look forward joining Roger at the award's presentation dinner in Houston on July 12th."
The finalists for the 2006 Roger Clemens Award were selected after a second round of voting by all Division 1 head baseball coaches, a selection of national media who cover collegiate baseball, the 16 winners of the R. E. "Bob" Smith Award, which was presented to the top player in the country here in Houston from 1988-2003, and the six previous finalists for the Clemens Award. Jered Weaver of Long Beach State (2004) and Luke Hochevar of Tennessee (2005) were the first two winners of the Clemens Award.
The Roger Clemens Award was named after future Hall of Famer Roger Clemens, who began his march to stardom while leading the University of Texas to the College World Series title in 1983. As a professional, Clemens has won 341 games (9th best in history), fanned 4,502 hitters and won and seven Cy Young Awards, emblematic as the top pitcher in his league. The Roger Clemens Award is the only award of its kind, honoring the finest pitchers in college baseball.
The event is administered by the Greater Houston Baseball Association, who has donated over $200,000 to the charities from the net proceeds from the first two dinners. The GHBA is a non-profit 501.3 (C) organization dedicated to the growth of amateur baseball in the Houston area.
For additional information on tables and tickets, please call the Greater Houston Baseball Association at (713) 739-0505 or write to The Roger Clemens Award, 2550 S. Sam Houston Parkway West, Houston, TX 77047.
