For baseball fans around the country, the start of April is the true harbinger of spring. As the NCAA Basketball Tournaments wrap up and the days get longer, fans across the country turn their attention to the action on the diamond.

The 2008 season has already been one of surprises around the country, showing the parity around the country is alive and well and making this year one of the most competitive in recent memory. The recent announcement of Mississippi State Coach Ron Polk's retirement at the end of the season will leave a void in the sport. The passion and love he showed toward college baseball has been an inspiration for many across the country.

As teams around the country begin the second half of the season, the road to Omaha and the 2008 College World Series could be one of the most exciting in recent memory. One of the stops on the road to Omaha is the All-America teams and the Dick Howser Trophy ceremony prior to the college World Series, and the deadline is fast approaching for nominees for the NCBWA All-America team submission. Please e-mail Bo Carter (bcarter@footballfoundation.com) with your nominees, so we can recognize the many outstanding players around the country.

Shamus McKnight
NCBWA President

Mississippi State's Ron Polk, SEC's Winningest Head Coach, Announces Post-2008 Resignation
Mississippi State's Ron Polk, the winningest baseball coach in Southeastern Conference history, has announced he will resign effective at the end of the current season. State has started an immediate national search to replace the coaching legend.

Polk is in his 29th season as head of the M-State baseball program, his 35th as a collegiate head coach and his 40th in all levels of coaching college baseball. He began the season with 1,350 games as a college head coach to rank among the nation's Top 10 all-time winningest coaches, the fifth-most wins among active NCAA Division I baseball coaches. He became the winningest baseball coach in SEC history in 1997.

A native of Boston, Mass., Polk has guided 23 of his previous 34 teams to NCAA regional play, including the last five straight. He has taken eight of those clubs to the College World Series, including six while at State. Polk was twice honored as the National Coach of the Year (1973 and 1985). He has been elected to the American Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame (1985), both the state of Mississippi and the Mississippi State University Sports Hall of Fame (1988), and the Georgia Southern University Hall of Fame (1990). He also was honored by his peers as the recipient of the ABCA's Lefty Gomez Award.

2008 Pro-Line Athletic Players of the Week:
• Feb. 26: Dustin Ackley, North Carolina (Hitter); Lance Lynn, Ole Miss (Pitcher)
• March 4: Sawyer Carroll, Kentucky (Hitter); Barry Bowden, Southern Miss and Joey Seal, Norfolk State (Pitcher)
• March 11: Aaron Murphree, Arkansas (Hitter); David Coulon, Arizona (Pitcher)
• March 18: Tyler Kuhn, West Virginia (Hitter); Ricky Bowen, Mississippi State (Pitcher)
• March 25: Mike McKenna, Florida Atlantic (Hitter); Aaron Crow, Missouri (Pitcher)
• April 1: Alan Ahmady, Fresno State (Hitter); Brandon McClurg, Lipsomb and Josh Romanski, San Diego (Pitcher)
• April 8: Ryan Pond, N.C. State (Hitter); Nick Haughian, Washington (Pitcher)
• April 15: Jacob Priday, Missouri (Hitter); Stephen Strasburg, San Diego State (Pitcher)
• April 22: Dexter Fontenot, Louisiana-Monroe (Hitter); Christopher Manno, Duke (Pitcher)
• April 29: Ty Wright, Georgia Southern (Hitter); Chris Hernandez, Miami (Pitcher)
• May 6: Clay Whittemore, Jacksonville State (Hitter); Kenn Kasparek, Texas (Pitcher)

Related link:
• Pro-Line Athletic Player of the Week plaques

2008 NCBWA Awards and Dick Howser Trophy Timeline
• Fri., April 11: Deadline for initial set of nominations
• Wed., Apr. 16: First ballot e-mailed to membership
• Wed., April 23: Deadline for first round of voting
• Thu., April 24: 64 Dick Howser Trophy Watch List announced
• Wed., May 7: Second ballot e-mailed to membership
• Wed., May 14: Deadline for second round of voting
• Thu., May 15: 16 Dick Howser Trophy semifinalists Announced
• Wed., May 28: Final ballot e-mailed to membership
• Wed., June 4: Deadline for final round of voting
• Thu., June 5: Eight Dick Howser Trophy finalists announced
• Fri., June 6: Regional Players of the Year announced
• Tue., June 10: Pro-Line Athletic/NCBWA All-America Teams announced
• Sat., June 14: Dick Howser Trophy Winner announced at College World Series (Omaha Press Club)

Milestones
Florida State coaching legend Mike Martin won his 1,500th contest on March 16 as the Seminoles downed Georgia Tech 17-8 ... He is the third coach in NCAA Division I to reach 1,500 wins along with Texas' Augie Garrido and Wichita State's Gene Stephenson ... UCF had a combined no-hitter against Wagner on March 17 in a 6-0 win at Orlando. Mitch Houck and Austin Hudson worked the gem for the Knights, and it was the first combined no-hitter in UCF history. It also was just the second overall UCF no-hitter (Pete MacLaughlan vs. Columbia in 1973) ... The win also was coach Jay Bergman's 1,200th career victory. He became the 17th coach in D-I history to reach the mark, and the 21st at all levels of the NCAA ... Missouri became the 35th Division I program to reach 2,000 wins when the Tigers downed Stetson 9-5 on Feb. 24 ... Coach Corky Palmer of Southern Miss gained his 800th career victory on March 25 by downing Ole Miss in a neutral site bout at Pearl, Miss., home of the Class AA Mississippi Braves ... Minnesota State-Mankato head coach Dean Bowyer will retire at the end of the 2008 season – his 35th year as a head coach overall, 32nd at MSU-Mankato – and holding 1,000-plus victories ... Tulane head coach Rick Jones has had his contract extended through the 2015 season.

Where Are They Now?
The NCBWA is starting an occasional feature in the newsletter with “Where Are They Now?” updates on a number of college coaches, student-athletes and programs. This issue's segment features the coaches who guided teams in the final season of the Great Midwest Conference in 1995. The updates include 1995 head coaching assignments and current status. They are Cincinnati – coach Bruce Gordon (retired); Dayton – Mark Schlemmer (radio talk show host); Memphis – Jeff Hopkins (coaching in high school); Saint Louis – Bob Hughes (retired); UAB – Pete Rancont (coaching in Houston Astros' system).

• 2008 College baseball remaining television schedule

2008 Preseason Top 100 All-Time Division I Programs (by victories)
(Research: NCBWA, Rick Benner (SABR), University of Minnesota, Big 12 Conference)
1. Fordham, 149 seasons: 3,292-1,683-41, .662 (Conference: 103-110, .484)
2. Texas, 111 seasons: 2,961-936-27, .761 (Conference: 1,245-422, .747)
3. USC, 114 seasons: 2,811-1,500-44, .652 (Conference: 1,189-699, .630)
4. Michigan, 141 seasons: 2,560-1,460-38, .639 (Conference: 974-558, .636)
5. Stanford, 114 seasons: 2,517-1,577-32, .614 (Conference: 1,099-829, .574)
6. Arizona State, 99 seasons: 2,507-1,231-7, .671 (Conference: 670-394, .628)
7. Washington State, 112 seasons: 2,415-1,460-17, .623 (Conference: 970-808, .545)
8. Arizona, 103 seasons: 2,414-1,272-22, .655 (Conference: 692-446, .609)
9. Clemson, 110 seasons: 2,404-1,322-29, .645 (Conference: 638-304, .677)
10. Florida State, 60 seasons: 2,383-878-10, .731 (Conference: 366-134, .732)

• Complete list

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