Auburn graduate senior shortstop [autotag]Cooper Weiss[/autotag] was named a semifinalist for the Brooks Wallace Award on Thursday. The award, which honors the nation’s top shortstop, has now been cut to just 29 players including Weiss.
The Fort Myers, Florida native is one of 4 SEC infield captains to be named on the list. He is also the third Tiger to reach the semifinal round in the last four years, joining [autotag]Ryan Bliss[/autotag] (2021) and [autotag]Cole Foster[/autotag] (2023) on a decorated list of recent Auburn short stops.
Despite playing in his first season on the Plains, Weiss quickly became a team leader on and off the field. The 24-year-old has started all but one of Auburn’s 51 games this season, collecting 50 hits in 50 games and 180 total at-bats. He is also near the top of almost every major offensive team category with 41 runs scored, 10 doubles. 8 home runs, and 35 runs batted in.
While the senior has been above average with his bat, the real difference-making comes from his legs. Weiss has stolen an SEC-high 27 bags this season. Auburn’s shortstop has stolen as many as 4 bases in a game twice, and stolen at least 2 bags on 8 occasions. Weiss has been caught 7 times, for a solid-but-not-great 79% success rate.
Weiss will look to cap off a great 2024 season by helping his Tigers win 2 more games to complete an end-of-season sweep over rival Alabama on Saturday and Sunday from Plainsman Park.
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