Dec. 17, 2007
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Santa Clara baseball catcher Tommy Medica was one of six West Coast Conference athletes to be named to the watch list for the Brooks Wallace Award, it was announced by the College Baseball Foundation.
Medica compiled one of the best rookie campaigns in Santa Clara history. He led the Broncos and the WCC with a .373 batting average and was named to both the All-WCC First Team and All-Freshman team. The San Jose, Calif., native hammered out 60 hits on the year, including nine doubles, fourth triples and a home-run. He also drove in 23 runs, while scoring 32. Medica posted a 13-game hitting streak from March 30-April 21, and also recorded 17 multi-hit games on the year. He was named to Baseball America's Freshman All-America team as well as Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America team by Collegiate Baseball.
Medica also spent the entire summer with USA Baseball. Team USA went 11-5 in pre-PanAm action, including a five-game series against Chinese Taipei and Japan. In Brazil, the Americans defeated the Dominican Republic (5-1), Nicaragua (8-4) and Brazil (7-5) to advance to the semifinals where they then defeated Mexico, 2-1, to reach the Gold Medal Game. Team USA compiled a 25-12 overall record this summer, with Medica recording 16 runs, 12 RBI, one homerun and a .385 slugging percentage, placing him sixth on the team.
The 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.
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. The Plano, Texas, native was married to the former Sandy Arnold and they had one daughter, Lindsay Ryan.
