Feb. 1, 2012
ATLANTA – Georgia Tech junior RHP Luke Bard has been named to the Preseason Watch List for the 2012 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Award, presented annually to the best relief pitcher in Division I college baseball.
Bard is one of three from the Atlantic Coast Conference to earn mention on the preseason watch list, which includes 45 players nationally. The junior from Charlotte, N.C. posted eight saves, a 2-2 record and a 2.72 ERA in 25 appearances last season. His eight saves were the fifth-most in the ACC.
A 16th-round draft pick out of high school by the Boston Red Sox, Bard elected to enroll at Tech and has racked up 10 saves and 71 strikeouts against 33 walks in 76.1 career innings. The 6-foot-2 righty was named to the Academic All-ACC Team last season and is a two-time honoree on the ACC Academic Honor Roll.
Also from the conference, North Carolina’s Michael Morin and NC State’s Chris Overman were named to the initial watch list.
The preseason ninth-ranked Yellow Jackets open the 2012 campaign Feb. 17 at the Rock Hill Coca-Cola Classic hosted by Winthrop University. Keep tabs on the Yellow Jackets during the preseason, with the Countdown To Opening Day series at RamblinWreck.com.
