East Carolina senior DH/OF Ryan Jones has been named as one of 10 finalists for the Dick Howser Trophy, given to collegiate baseball’s top player. The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, which works in association with the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce on the award, released the list of the 10 finalists for the trophy. The membership of the NCBWA will choose the Dick Howser Trophy based on three rounds of voting. The 2004 winner will be announced at the College World Series in Omaha on Friday, June 18 at 9:30 a.m. CDT.

Jones was named the 2004 Conference USA Player of the Year after hitting .409 heading into the conference tournament and finishing league play hitting .407 in conference. Currently, he leads the nation in slugging percentage (.834) with 46 of his 80 hits serving as extra-base hits including 24 doubles, four triples and 18 home runs for a team-high 66 RBI. Jones posted 24 multiple hit games and 14 multiple RBI games.

On Thursday, Jones was named a first team All-American by Louisville Slugger/Collegiate Baseball.

The other finalists include: Rutgers P Jeff Frazier, Nebraska 3B Alex Gordon, Ole Miss 1B/P Stephen Head, Texas P J.P. Howell, Rice P Philip Humber, Virginia UT Joe Koshansky, Stanford 2B Jed Lowrie, South Carolina C Landon Powell and Long Beach State P Jered Weaver.

The Dick Howser Trophy, given in memory of the former Florida State University All-America shortstop and major league player and manager who died of brain cancer in 1987, is regarded by many as college baseball's most prestigious award.

Criteria for consideration for the trophy include performance on the field, leadership, moral character and courage, qualities that were exemplified by Dick Howser's life.

A Florida native, Howser was twice an All-America shortstop at Florida State University (1957-58), then coached the Seminoles in 1979 after a career as a major league player and coach. After one year in the college ranks, Howser returned to the majors to manage the New York Yankees and Kansas City Royals and won the World Series with the Royals in 1985. The baseball stadium on the Florida State campus is named for Howser.

The Howser Trophy was created in 1987, shortly after Howser's death. Previous winners of the Howser Trophy are Mike Fiore, Miami, 1987; Robin Ventura, Oklahoma State, 1988; Scott Bryant, Texas, 1989; Alex Fernandez, Miami-Dade Community College South, 1990; Frank Rodriguez, Howard College (Texas), 1991; Brooks Kieschnick, Texas, 1992 and 1993; Jason Varitek, Georgia Tech, 1994; Todd Helton, Tennessee, 1995; Kris Benson, Clemson, 1996; J. D. Drew, Florida State, 1997; Eddy Furniss, LSU, 1998; Jason Jennings, Baylor, 1999; Mark Teixeira, Georgia Tech, 2000; Mark Prior, P, USC, 2001, Khalil Greene, SS, Clemson, 2002; and Rickey Weeks, 2B, Southern U., 2003.