Ole Miss shortstop Jacob Gonzalez Named Semifinalist for 2023 Brooks Wallace Award

Award Presented Annually to College Baseball’s Top Shortstop

LUBBOCK, Texas. – The College Baseball Foundation released their list of the 2023 Brooks Wallace Award semifinalists Tuesday and Ole Miss’ Jacob Gonzalez was named as one of the top-25 shortstops in college baseball.

The award honors the nation’s top shortstop and will be presented this summer by the College Baseball Foundation. It is named for former Texas Tech shortstop Brooks Wallace, a slick-fielding shortstop who played for the Red Raiders from 1977 to 1980. Wallace died of leukemia at the age of 27.

Gonzalez was named a semifinalist last season and is one of four players to make the list in both 2022 and 2023. The junior is trying to be the first Rebel to win the award since Grae Kessinger did so in 2019.

Gonzalez leads the Rebels in on-base percentage (.440), doubles (18), walks (35), and sacrifice flies (7). He is hitting .418 (23-for-55) and has 19 RBI when hitting with two outs this season and is ranked fifth in the SEC in doubles with 18 total two-base hits. Gonzalez has made just five errors all season and has a .968 fielding percentage while playing arguably one of the most important defensive positions on the field.

The Ole Miss shortstop is currently ranked fourth all-time in Ole Miss history with 185 career runs scored and only needs to score three more times to have sole possession of second all-time.

To see the entire list of 25 Brooks Wallace Award Semifinalist and for more information on the award, visit www.collegebaseballhall.org.

Evelyn Van Pelt

Evelyn has covered sports for over two decades, beginning her journalism career as a sports writer for a newspaper in Austin, Texas. She attended Texas A&M and majored in English. Evelyn’s love for Ole Miss began when her daughter Katie attended the university on a volleyball scholarship. Evelyn created the Rebel Walk in 2013 and has served as publisher and managing editor since its inception.