The Brooks Wallace Award announced their five finalists for this season, with Rutgers baseball Josh Kuroda-Grauer being among the final five.
The award honors the nation’s top shortstop and will be presented by the College Baseball Foundation on June 19. The announcement marks the second time in the last three years that a Rutgers player has been named a finalist for the award.
The five finalists for the 2024 Brooks Wallace Award are Austin Peay junior Jon Jon Gazdar, Ball State senior Michael Hallquist, Rutgers junior Josh Kuroda-Grauer, Mississippi State sophomore David Mershon, and Virginia junior Griff O’Ferrall.
In May, the Rutgers shortstop received a major award when he was named the 2024 Big Ten Player of the Year, and is the first player in program history to receive Big Ten Player of the Year honors.
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1⃣ of just 5⃣.
Josh Kuroda-Grauer is officially a finalist for the Brooks Wallace Award!
➡️ https://t.co/UJJMOFJVtV#TCD pic.twitter.com/6I1P2WDvW5
— Rutgers Baseball (@RutgersBaseball) June 4, 2024
Kuroda-Grauer put together an outstanding season for the Scarlet Knight, starting all 53 games at shortstop for Rutgers. He led the country in hits (95) and hits per game (1.79), registering a .428 batting average.
The 2024 USA Baseball Golden Spike Award Semifinalist ranked third in the country in batting average and stolen bases (24). Throughout the season, Kuroda-Grauer had 29 multi-hit games, 10 three-hit games, and logged five consecutive games with three-plus hits.
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