Courtesy of North Carolina Central Athletic Communications


DALLAS – North Carolina Central redshirt sophomore Ryan Miller had a fantastic and historic year on the mound for the Eagle baseball program, and he has been recognized as a semifinalist for the 2021 Dick Howser Trophy, presented by The Game Headware, the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) announced.
 
Miller is the first Eagle to be listed as a semifinalist for this award, and he's also the first student-athlete from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) to make the list since Kyle McGowin from Savannah State in 2013. He set an NCCU modern-era record with 10 wins, and he finished the regular season as one of only two student-athletes in NCAA Division I to post a 10-0 record.
 
Miller became the first Eagle to be named MEAC Pitcher of the Year in 2021, and posted a MEAC-best 2.24 ERA, which is also a new regular-season record for starters at NCCU. He also led the league in innings pitched (68.1), and has held opponents to a MEAC second-lowest .195 batting average. He was a four-time MEAC Pitcher of the Week winner, including in back-to-back weeks when he threw consecutive complete game shutouts against Norfolk State on Feb. 27 and March 6. He also posted a run of 23 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run during his first four starts of the year.
 
Balloting was done by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association in conjunction with the Dick Howser Trophy Committee and the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce. The award, given to the top player in collegiate baseball, is based on two rounds of national voting.
 
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 of the trophy include performance on the field, leadership, moral character and courage, qualities that were exemplified by Dick Howser's life.