DALLAS (NCBWA) – The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association has named its Dick Howser Trophy Players of the Month for May, presented by The Game Headwear, tabbing Stanford outfielder/catcher Alberto Rios its national player of the month and Indiana State’s Connor Fenlong its national pitcher of the month.
A junior out of Bellflower, California, Rios hit .481 (26-for-54) during the month of May for the No. 7-ranked Stanford Cardinal, with eight doubles, eight homers and 25 RBI over 13 games. Rios drew 10 walks and struck out just four times, adding two steals and scoring 19 runs. He slugged 1.074 and reached base at a .576 clip over the course of the month. On the year, Rios hit .403 (81-for-201) in 53 games, with 20 doubles, 17 homers and 66 RBI, owning 34 walks to just 29 strikeouts, with a .756 slugging and a .510 on-base percentage. The Pac 12 Player of the Year – the first Cardinal to win the honor since Jed Lowrie in 2004 – earned two league player of the week honors in May.
Fenlong, a native of Gouverneur, New York, led No. 23 Indiana State to a historic regional hosting opportunity in 2023, in part due to a strong month of May on the mound. The 6-foot-4, redshirt senior was 4-0 in his four starts in May, not allowing an earned run and finishing with three complete games. He worked 29 innings, allowing only 16 hits and one unearned run, walking seven and striking out 15. He went 10-2 with a 3.24 ERA on the year in 15 outings and 14 starts, tossing 100 innings, allowing only 81 hits with 27 walks and 62 strikeouts. He has thrown four shutouts since late April, leading the nation and becoming the first pitcher from the Missouri Valley Conference to hurl four shutouts in a season.
This marks the eighth consecutive year that the NCBWA has honored a player and pitcher of the month. Founded in 1962, the NCBWA is dedicated to the advancement of college baseball. Membership is open to writers, broadcasters and publicists of the sport. For more information about the NCBWA, visit the association's official Web site, www.ncbwa.com.