Jackson State’s Diego Melendez Named to Brooks Wallace Award Watch List
Overland Park, Kan. — Jackson State junior shortstop Diego Melendez has been named to the 2026 watch list for the Brooks Wallace Award, the College Baseball Foundation announced Wednesday. The award recognizes the nation’s top shortstop each year and will be presented later this season.
The award is named after Brooks Wallace, a former Texas Tech shortstop who played from 1977 to 1980 and died of leukemia at age 27. The 100-player list highlights athletes with strong offensive and defensive performances, reflecting the award’s comprehensive criteria, according to the foundation.
“Our staff is excited to get another year started looking for that special player to represent Brooks’ Award,” said Larry Wallace, co-chair of the award. “We will dig deep to find the personal qualities as well as the physical attributes that best exemplify what we look for in the Brooks Wallace Award winner. It’s early but this list is already shaping up to be a competitive race with some big numbers from new players and familiar faces.”
Past winners include Kurt Suzuki (Cal State Fullerton, 2004), Alex Gordon (Nebraska, 2005), David Price (Vanderbilt, 2007), Buster Posey (Florida State, 2008), and more recent recipients like Matt Shaw (Maryland, 2023) and Roch Cholowsky (UCLA, 2025).
The Brooks Wallace Award is one of four weekly honors given by the College Baseball Foundation, which also recognizes the John Olerud Two-Way Player, National Pitcher, and Buster Posey Collegiate Catcher of the Week. “With the season now in full swing, there are so many deserving candidates for our awards,” said Chris Snead, CBF awards chair. “This is just the beginning of the process that culminates in our Omaha announcements of recipients.”
For more information, visit the College Baseball Foundation’s website at www.collegebaseballhall.org. Jackson State fans can follow the Tigers’ athletic coverage on social media at @GoJSUTigers (Instagram and Twitter), Jackson State Tigers (Facebook), or at GoJSUTigers.com.
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