Brooks Selected To Participate In Rawlings Home Run Challenge At World Series

5/25/2001

Jason Brooks finished his final season with a .374 batting average and a school record 23 home runs.

HUNTINGTON, WV -- Marshall University senior first baseman Jason Brooks has been selected to participate in the 2001 Home Run Challenge on Thursday, June 7, at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Neb.

The competition will be held in conjunction with the opening ceremonies for the 2001 College World Series. The event will be televised live by ESPN2 from 8-10 p.m. EST.

The Home Run Challenge, sponsored by Rawlings, will include a total of eight seniors -- four from Division I, two from Division II and two from Division III. The participants for the event were chosen based on two criteria -- total home runs during the regular season and average number of home runs per game.

The Sayre, Oklahoma native, was awarded Louisville Slugger NCAA Division I All-American second-team at the designated hitter position. Brooks joined Jason Knoedler of Miami (OH) on the second-team. John VanBenschoten of Kent State was awarded first-team while Ryan Kyes of Ohio was named to the third-team.

Brooks finished his final season with a .374 batting average and a school record 23 home runs. His 73 RBI not only set a new Marshall record, but also broke the old Mid-American Conference record.

During his senior season Brooks also established new Marshall career records for home runs (39) and slugging percentage (.743). He fell just shy of setting new school records for total bases and slugging percentage in a season.

Brooks finished 16th in the conference in hitting, second in home runs, RBI and slugging percentage and fourth in total bases.

Nationally, Brooks currently stands second in home runs per game (.47 to VanBenschoten's .53) and second in runs batted in per game (1.49). Delaware State's Scott Martin is first in RBI with 1.72 per game.

In league play, Brooks ranked fifth overall in the MAC with a .429 batting average. He was second in league games in both home runs and RBI with 14 and 39 and he was fourth in total bases. His .918 slugging percentage in league games was second in the MAC.

For more information on the NCAA Home Run Challenge, visit the NCAA Baseball web site at www.NCAABaseball.com.