GAINESVILLE, Fla. (NCBWA) – McNeese baseball reliever
Collin Kober is one of seventy players named to the 2016 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association 2016 Preseason Stopper of the Year Watch List, as announced by the group on Monday.
The award, in its 12
th year, is given to the top relief pitcher in NCAA Division I baseball. Kober, a junior, becomes the fourth nominee in program history to be placed on the watch list joining Danny Davis (2007) and Jordan LeGros (2011). He was named to the midseason list last season and is just one of two Southland Conference student-athletes named to the preseason list along with Houston Baptist's Dylan Zarosky
Kober, a 2016 Preseason Louisville Slugger All-American and Southland Conference pick, was 6-1 with a 1.12 ERA in 48.0 innings last year which helped him gain third team All-SLC honors. His nine saves ranked second in the league while his five saves in conference play listed second best among SLC relievers. He had 52 strikeouts against nine walks in 26 appearances and held opponents to a .202 batting average. The junior reliever combined for two shutouts. Opponents had 34 hits, but scored only seven runs (six earned).
McNeese skipper
Justin Hill has a history of mentoring players who have garnered the top reliever honor. He helped coach 2012 winner Stefan Lopez at Southeastern Louisiana as well as 2007 honoree Luke Prihoda at Sam Houston State.
Nominations for the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award were made by baseball sports information/media relations contacts. The 2016 Stopper of the Year Watch List will be updated with a midseason release on Wednesday, April 27, including the national saves leaders. At the conclusion of the regular season, the Division I national saves leader and four other relief pitching standouts will be selected as finalists and released Wednesday, June 8, prior to start of NCAA Super Regional competition.
The NCBWA's All-America Committee will select the winner, with this year's recipient to be announced at the 2016 College World Series.
The NCBWA, founded in 1962, presents the Dick Howser Trophy to the nation's top player. It also selects All-America Teams for all Divisions, a Division I Freshman All-American team, Division I and III Players of the Week, Division I District Players of the Year and Division III Players of the Year.
2016 NCBWA Preseason Stopper of the Year Watch List| Pitcher | School | Class | Conference |
| Jack Anderson | Penn State | Sr. | Big Ten |
| Adam Atkins | Louisiana Tech | Sr. | Conference USA |
| Brad Bass | Notre Dame | So. | Atlantic Coast |
| Nick Blackburn | Illinois | Sr. | Big Ten |
| Nolan Blackwood | Memphis | Jr. | The American |
| Tim Borst | Fresno State | Sr. | Mountain West |
| Ben Bowden | Vanderbilt | Jr. | Southeastern |
| Daniel Bridgeman | Radford | Sr. | Big South |
| Chris Brown | Georgia Southern | Sr. | Sun Belt |
| Zack Burdi | Louisville | Jr. | Atlantic Coast |
| Thomas Burrows | Alabama | Jr. | Southeastern |
| Kyano Cummings | Siena | Sr. | Metro Atlantic Athletic |
| Tommy DeJuneas | NC State | So. | Atlantic Coast |
| Justin Dunn | Boston College | Jr. | Atlantic Coast |
| Mark Ecker | Texas A&M | Jr. | Southeastern |
| Taylor Edens | VMI | Sr. | Southern |
| David Ellingson | Georgetown | Jr. | Big East |
| Mike Fitzgerald | Northeastern | R-Jr. | Colonial |
| Tucker Forbes | UCLA | R-Jr. | Pacific-12 |
| Robert Galligan | Maryland | Sr. | Big Ten |
| Bryan Garcia | Miami (FL) | Jr. | Atlantic Coast |
| David Gerber | Creighton | Jr. | Big East |
| Jared Gesell | UNC Wilmington | Sr. | Colonial |
| Joe Goodman | High Point | R-Sr. | Big South |
| Devin Gould | Longwood | Jr. | Big South |
| Sean Guenther | Notre Dame | So. | Atlantic Coast |
| Thomas Hackimer | St. John's | Sr. | Big East |
| Ryan Hendrix | Texas A&M | Jr. | Southeastern |
| Cole Hallum | Campbell | Sr. | Big South |
| Ian Hamilton | Washington State | Jr. | Pacific-12 |
| John Hayes | Wichita State | Sr. | Missouri Valley |
| Mitch Hickey | Oregon State | So. | Pacific-12 |
| Chad Hockin | Cal State Fullerton | Jr. | Big West |
| Marc Huberman | USC | Sr. | Pacific-12 |
| Joe Ingle | East Carolina | So. | The American |
| Zach Jackson | Arkansas | Jr. | Southeastern |
| Jordan Jess | Minnesota | R-Sr. | Big Ten |
| Spencer Jones | Washington | Sr. | Pacific-12 |
| Jake Kelzer | Indiana | R-Jr. | Big Ten |
| Matthew Kinney | Florida State | R-Sr. | Atlantic Coast |
| Collin Kober | McNeese State | Jr. | Southland |
| Sterling Koerner | FGCU | Jr. | Atlantic Sun |
| Thomas Lowery | UAB | Jr. | Conference USA |
| Carter Love | College of Charleston | So. | Colonial |
| Erik Martinez | California | So. | Pacific-12 |
| Aaron McGarity | Virginia Tech | Jr. | Atlantic Coast |
| Evan McMahan | Nevada | Jr. | Mountain West |
| Joe Mockbee | Michigan State | Jr. | Big Ten |
| Dylan Moore | Louisiana | So. | Sun Belt |
| Eddie Muhl | George Washington | Jr. | Atlantic 10 |
| Stephen Nogosek | Oregon | Jr. | Pacific-12 |
| Corbin Olmstead | UNF | Sr. | Atlantic Sun |
| Conner O'Neil | CSUN | Jr. | Big West |
| Glenn Otto | Rice | So. | Conference USA |
| Ty Provencher | Long Beach State | R-Sr. | Big West |
| Troy Rallings | Washington | Sr. | Pacific-12 |
| Patrick Ruotolo | UConn | Jr. | The American |
| Zac Ryan | Georgia Tech | Jr. | Atlantic Coast |
| Ryan Selmer | Maryland | So. | Big Ten |
| Wyatt Short | Ole Miss | Jr. | Southeastern |
| Jesse Stallings | LSU | So. | Southeastern |
| Will Stillman | Wofford | Sr. | Southern |
| Jake Stolley | Northwestern | Sr. | Colonial |
| Ryan Thomas | Marist | Jr. | Metro Atlantic Athletic |
| Luke Vandermaten | Iowa | Sr. | Big Ten |
| Tyler Warmoth | Florida State | R-Sr. | Atlantic Coast |
| Wayne Wages | Georgia State | Sr. | Sun Belt |
| Keenan Wingfield | Little Rock | Jr. | Sun Belt |
| Bryan Young | Missouri State | Jr. | Missouri Valley |
| Dylan Zarosky | Houston Baptist | Sr. | Southland |
