Texas wins its fifth Dick Howser Trophy as Ivan Melendez is honored as college baseball's best player
Ivan Melendez has cemented his status among the all-time greats in the Texas baseball program.
Melendez was named the winner of the 2022 Dick Howser Trophy on Friday morning. During an announcement that was broadcast on the MLB Network, the Texas first baseman was honored by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association as the best player in college baseball.
Oregon State pitcher Cooper Hjerpe, Tennessee infielder Trey Lipscomb, Georgia Tech catcher Kevin Parada and Clemson infielder Max Wagner were the other four finalists for the prestigious award.
While being interviewed on MLB Network after his win was announced, Melendez said that "I compete against some of the most prestigious players all over the nation, some of the best prospects and just being able to compete with them every day and show off my tools, I'm just blessed to receive this award."
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Melendez becomes the fifth Longhorn to win the Dick Howser Trophy and first since Taylor Jungmann in 2011. Scott Bryant (1989) and Brooks Kieschnick (1992, 1993) have also been crowned while wearing a Texas uniform.
MORE: As Ivan Melendez nears Texas history, Kyle Russell 'looking forward to tossing the baton'
During a season that is still ongoing due to UT's participation in the College World Series, Melendez leads the nation with his 32 home runs and his 94 RBIs. His .396 batting average is the 16th-best mark. Only eight players have scored more than Melendez, who has crossed home plate 75 times.
"I'd say probably the craziest thing is that you see some people have a good week or two, but he's had a good, I don't know, five months," UT shortstop Trey Faltine said this week. "That's the crazy part of the season, he's just continuously doing it. It's almost like you go to the ballpark he does something even crazier than he did the game before."
In addition to being a school record, Melendez's 32 home runs are tied with Southern California's Mark McGwire (1984), Fresno State's Lance Shebelut (1988) and New Mexico State's Billy Becher (2003) for the 13th-most in the history of Division I baseball. No player has hit more homers in the BBCOR bat era.
This season, Melendez has stacked his résumé with the Dick Howser Trophy, the Bragan Slugger Award and Perfect Game/Rawlings and Collegiate Baseball's player of the year honors. He will find out on June 24 if he is UT's first-ever Golden Spikes Award winner. Of the last 10 Dick Howser Trophy recipients, seven have also taken home the Golden Spikes Award.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas first baseman Ivan Melendez wins the 2022 Dick Howser Trophy
