Kevin Kopps now a finalist for AAU Sullivan Award
Back in September, here on Razorbacks Wire, we exhorted you to go online and vote for former Arkansas pitcher Kevin Kopps as a finalist for the AUU Sullivan Award.
Nice work.
The ex-Hogs pitcher was one of five finalists named Wednesday for the honor given to the nation’s top amateur athlete. His company? It’s awfully good.
Olympic gold medalists Simone Biles and Caleb Dressel, water polo player Maddie Musselman and mid-distance runner Athing Mu are the other four finalsts. That means Kopps is the only participant of traditional team sport among the finalists. It also means he’s the only one who didn’t compete in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (which, as a reminder, were actually in summer 2021).
Not as though you need much reminder on Kopps’ domination with the Diamond Hogs last year, but he had an 0.90 earned-run average, a 0.76 WHIP and struck out 131 batters in 89 2/3 innings. Opposing batters hit just .162 against him.
Those numbers earned him the Golden Spikes Award, the Dick Howser Trophy, was named National Player of the Year by Collegiate Baseball and D1Baseball and was the SEC Pitcher of the Year.
The San Diego Padres selected him in the third round of the MLB Draft following his college season and he excelled there, too, carrying a 0.61 earned-run average with 22 strikeouts over 14 2/3 innings as he made his way up to Double-A ball in his first season as a pro.
