BASEBALL: Lamar places two on Bragan watch list as season begins Friday
Published 8:16 pm Thursday, February 15, 2018
Lamar sports information
BEAUMONT – The preseason honors continue to roll in for Lamar’s baseball team after the Bobby Bragan Collegiate Slugger Award announced its watch list on Feb. 12.
Two Cardinals made the initial watch list, making Big Red one of just seven programs in the state of Texas with multiple batters up for the coveted honor.
Grant DeVore, already named to the Preseason All-Southland Conference Second Team as a utility player, was tabbed for the Bragan watch list after he hit .333 for the year, the third-best batting average on the team. The senior had 54 hits in 2017, including a career-best 10-game hit streak from May 5 through May 19. He had 18 multi-hit games, including a career-best four-hit game at McNeese on May 19.
He saw action in 53 games, including 51 starts, as a utility player. He appeared at center field, right field, and at second base. The Dallas native was named to the 2017 All-Southland Third Team as a utility player.
Cole Secrest, joining the Cardinal club after several tremendous seasons at The Woodlands High School, is the lone freshman on the Bragan watch list. He led The Woodlands to a 41-27 record as a varsity player, and was named First Team All-District after his junior season.
The award, created by the Bobby Bragan Youth Foundation, was open to nominations from all Division I baseball programs in Texas. There are 25 players on the “Watch List” this season. The BBCSA is based on performance at the plate, academics and personal integrity.
The BBCSA will announce semifinalists for the award in May. The winner of the second annual Bobby Bragan Collegiate Slugger Award will be announced in June and honored at a gala in the fall.
Texas Tech’s Hunter Hargrove was the winner of the inaugural BBCSA last season. Hargrove was the Co-Player of the Year in the Big 12 Conference in 2017. He was selected in the 25th round of the 2017 Major League Baseball Draft by the Oakland Athletics organization.
Fans can follow news about the BBCSA and its Player of the Week honorees during the season at www.bobbybraganslugger.org, and can stay tuned to LamarCardinals.com updates on where DeVore and Secrest rank on the watch list.