Thibault Earns Several Preseason Honors
11/23/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Nov. 23, 2004
2005 Wallace Watch List
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2005 Preseason NCBWA All-America Team
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SPOKANE, Wash. - Gonzaga University junior catcher Kiel Thibault has been earned two preseason baseball honors as he was recently named to the 2005 Wallace Watch List for College Baseball Player of the Year and a first-team preseason All-American selection by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. Thibault is the reigning West Coast Conference Player of the Year after hitting .424 with 11 doubles and 35 RBI during the 2004 season. Last season Thibault was a semifinalist for the Johnny Bench Award for the nation's top collegiate catcher and an honorable mention All-American selection by CollegeBaseballInsider.com.
The Wallace Watch list contains 58 players and named in memory of former Texas Tech University shortstop Brooks Wallace. The list will be trimmed to 12 semi-finalists by May 24, 2005 with the three finalists announced in Omaha at the College World Series. Catcher Kurt Suzuki was the 2004 winner of the Brooks Wallace Award after leading the Titans to the College World Series title.
The 2005 preseason NCBWA All-America team is comprised from nominations submitted to NCBWA members. Thibault is the top returning hitter on the first-team and is one of 11 juniors listed on the first-team. Other position players on the All-American first-team include John Mayberry of Stanford University, Jed Lowrie of Stanford, Alex Gordon of the University of Nebraska, Tony Tulowitzki of Long Beach State University, Brad Corley of Mississippi State University, Steve Carvati of Ohio State University, Chris Rahl of the College of William & Mary and Stephen Head of the University of Mississippi. Pitchers listed as first-team All-Americans include Ricky Romero of Cal State Fullerton, Cesar Ramos of Long Beach State, Aaron Rawl of the University of South Carolina, Jeff Lincecum of the University of Washington, Will Startup of the University of Georgia, Ryan Doherty of the University of Notre Dame and Blair Erickson of UC Irvine.
