The finalists for the 2017 Brett Tomko Award have been determined. The Brett Tomko Award is an honor presented to DII baseball’s pitcher of the year. The annual award is given to a college baseball pitcher whose on the field performance is deemed the most outstanding at the Division II level.
In 1995, Brett Tomko had a spectacular season pitching for the Florida Southern College Moccasins which was full of both incredible individual and team success. Tomko compiled an incredible 15-2 record with a 1.35 ERA and amassed 154 strikeouts in just 126.3 innings. He also threw seven complete games, three of which were shutouts, and also added a pair of saves.
Tomko led the Mocs to the Division II Championship and threw a complete-game shutout to give FSC its eighth national title. He was named the outstanding player of the Division II Championship and was the Sunshine State Conference Pitcher of the Year and Male Athlete of the Year. Tomko earned the distinct recognition of being the first athlete ever to be awarded both the NCAA Division II Player and Pitcher of the Year by the American Baseball Coaches Association.
Following Tomko’s historic season in Lakeland, the Cincinnati Reds drafted him in the second round of the Major League Amateur Draft. He made his big league debut with the Reds two years later and went on to win one hundred MLB games in 14 seasons. Five times Tomko reached the double-digit win plateau while pitching in the big leagues and he was also able to accrue over 190 innings on the mound five times as well.
The 12 finalists for the 2017 Brett Tomko Award are:
Player / Team
Joseph Benitez, USC Aiken
Jacob Blank, Augustana
Gibson Russ, Central Oklahoma
Bryant Haralson, Henderson St
Austin Hutchison, Mount Olive
Tyler Jandron, Northwood
Marshall Kasowski, West Texas A&M
Caleb Kutsche, Columbus State
Kyle Leahy, Colorado Mesa
Frankie Moscatiello, St. Thomas Aquinas
Dalton Roach, Minnesota State
Jake Walsh, Florida Southern
Honorable Mention: Casey Costello, Chico State; Ricky Contreras, Lubbock Christian; Tyler Joyner, North Alabama; Ryan Pansch, Shepherd; Thomas St. Clair, Lenoir-Rhyne; Brendan Feldmann, Lindenwood; Seth Reeves, Winston Salem St; TJ Santiago, Adelphi; John Holland, Felician; David Lebron, Tampa; Tim Kennedy, New Haven; Garett King, Cal Baptist; Matthew Gunter, Hawaii Pacific
Past Brett Tomko Award Winners:
2016 – Placido Torres, Tusculum
2015 – Craig Brooks, Catawba
2014 – Dan Altavilla, Mercyhurst
For more information on the Brett Tomko Award go to: bretttomkoaward.com