Fresno State Athletics
Thomas named Richard W. "Dick" Case Award Winner by USA Baseball
12/20/2016 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
DURHAM, N.C. – Fresno State junior left-handed pitcher Ricky Tyler Thomas was named the winner of the Richard W. "Dick" Case Award by USA Baseball on Tuesday. The award is given annually to USA Baseball's top player in honor of the organization's founding Executive Director and CEO.
Thomas is the 11th Collegiate National Team member to earn athlete of the year honors joining former winners that include the likes of major leaguers Huston Street (2003), Ryan Zimmerman (2004) and Stephen Strasburg (2008).
"I am very grateful to USA Baseball and National Teams General Manager Eric Campbell for giving me this honor and I want to thank all of my teammates, coaches, friends and family for all of their support," said Thomas. "This a great award to win and I am excited to get back on the field this season with my Fresno State teammates as we have a lot more accomplishments we want to achieve."
Thomas, who was named a Third-Team Pre-Season All-American by Collegiate Baseball on Monday, put together an outstanding summer as a relief pitcher with the
Collegiate National Team posting a stellar 0.95 ERA, tied for the team-lead with 21 strikeouts and ranked third on the club with 19 innings pitched.
The San Diego native, who earned First-Team All-Mountain West honors last spring, made seven relief appearances for Team USA posting a 1-1 mark on the three-country tour. His top performance of the summer came in USA's final game against Cuba on July 27 where he closed out a 2-1 victory to clinch the USA collegiate national teams first-ever series win over Cuba.
Thomas entered the rubber match of the five-game international friendship series against Cuba with the score tied 1-1 in the fourth inning and allowed only two hits and struck out four over the final 5.1 innings to earn the series-clinching win for the red, white and blue.
"We are very proud of Ricky being selected to Team USA," said Fresno State baseball coach Mike Batesole. "It is a great honor to put 'USA' on your chest, but to receive the Team USA Dick Case Award is off the chart."
"It takes a village to achieve this accomplishment and this is a win for our entire program, Athletic Department, University and all of Fresno. Â No one wins championships or awards this prestigious on their own. Â It takes all of us pulling on the same end of the rope and this is a great way to kick off the 2017 season," added Batesole.
Thomas also had strong performances against Japan tossing a shutout ninth inning with a pair of strikeouts on July 13 and went 3.1 innings allowing only one earned run and struck out five against Chinese Taipei on July 7.
In addition, USA Baseball also honored the Collegiate National Team with the Team of the Year award and named its manager, George Horton, the Rod Dedeaux Coach of the Year.
"USA Baseball is proud to honor these outstanding performances from 2016," said Paul Seiler, USA Baseball's Executive Director/CEO. "In addition to representing their respective teams at an exceptional level, they were outstanding global ambassadors for the game of baseball and represented our organization and our country with class and dignity on the world stage."
The southpaw enters his junior season in 2017 after tallying a 9-4 mark with a 2.16 ERA as a sophomore. Thomas tossed a Mountain West-leading 108 strikeouts and ranked second in the MW in innings pitched (104.0), wins and ERA. Earning three Mountain West Pitcher of the Week honors, Thomas made 15 starts on the season tossing seven-plus innings and allowing two or less earned runs 10 times and posted six or more strikeouts 11 times.
Thomas and the Bulldogs begin the 2017 season on Feb. 17 hosting Pac-12 foe Oregon at Pete Beiden Field at Bob Bennett Stadium at 6:05 p.m.
2016 USA BASEBALL AWARD WINNERS
USA Baseball Richard W. "Dick" Case Award: Ricky Tyler Thomas (Fresno State)
USA Baseball Team of the Year: 2016 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team
USA Baseball Rod Dedeaux Coach of the Year: George Horton (Oregon)
USA Baseball Sportswoman of the Year: Tamara Holmes
USA Baseball International Performance of the Year: Hans Crouse (Dana Hill High School)
USA Baseball Developmental Coach of the Year: Glenn Cecchini (Barbe High School)
USA Baseball Volunteer Coach of the Year: Skip Schumaker
About USA Baseball
USA Baseball is the national governing body for the sport of baseball in the United States and is a member of the United States Olympic Committee and the World Baseball Softball Confederation. Â The organization selects and trains the World Baseball Classic, Premier12 and Pan Am teams (and all other USA Baseball Professional Teams); the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team; the USA Baseball 18U, 15U and 12U National Teams; and the USA Baseball Women's National Team, all of which participate in various international competitions each year. Â The organization is responsible for the continued proliferation and health of the sport, and leads a number of amateur initiatives including PLAYBALL and Pitch Smart. Â USA Baseball also presents the Golden Spikes Award annually to the top amateur baseball player in the country. Â For more information, please visit the organization's official websites: USABaseball.com, USABaseball.Education, PLAYBALL.org, PitchSmart.org, GoldenSpikesAward.com and USABaseballShop.com.
"Just the Ticket to Build Our Community" – The Bulldog Scholarship Fund gives Bulldog alumni, fans and friends the opportunity to support Fresno State Athletics and the student-athletes who inspire them. For information about how you can support the Bulldog Scholarship Fund, please visit www.bulldogscholarshipfund.com or call 559-278-7160.
Follow us on:
Twitter:Â @Fresno StateBSB
Instagram:Â FresnoStateAthletics
Facebook:Â FresnoStateAthletics
Snap Chat:Â FSAthletics
Thomas is the 11th Collegiate National Team member to earn athlete of the year honors joining former winners that include the likes of major leaguers Huston Street (2003), Ryan Zimmerman (2004) and Stephen Strasburg (2008).
"I am very grateful to USA Baseball and National Teams General Manager Eric Campbell for giving me this honor and I want to thank all of my teammates, coaches, friends and family for all of their support," said Thomas. "This a great award to win and I am excited to get back on the field this season with my Fresno State teammates as we have a lot more accomplishments we want to achieve."
Thomas, who was named a Third-Team Pre-Season All-American by Collegiate Baseball on Monday, put together an outstanding summer as a relief pitcher with the
Collegiate National Team posting a stellar 0.95 ERA, tied for the team-lead with 21 strikeouts and ranked third on the club with 19 innings pitched.
The San Diego native, who earned First-Team All-Mountain West honors last spring, made seven relief appearances for Team USA posting a 1-1 mark on the three-country tour. His top performance of the summer came in USA's final game against Cuba on July 27 where he closed out a 2-1 victory to clinch the USA collegiate national teams first-ever series win over Cuba.
Thomas entered the rubber match of the five-game international friendship series against Cuba with the score tied 1-1 in the fourth inning and allowed only two hits and struck out four over the final 5.1 innings to earn the series-clinching win for the red, white and blue.
"We are very proud of Ricky being selected to Team USA," said Fresno State baseball coach Mike Batesole. "It is a great honor to put 'USA' on your chest, but to receive the Team USA Dick Case Award is off the chart."
"It takes a village to achieve this accomplishment and this is a win for our entire program, Athletic Department, University and all of Fresno. Â No one wins championships or awards this prestigious on their own. Â It takes all of us pulling on the same end of the rope and this is a great way to kick off the 2017 season," added Batesole.
Thomas also had strong performances against Japan tossing a shutout ninth inning with a pair of strikeouts on July 13 and went 3.1 innings allowing only one earned run and struck out five against Chinese Taipei on July 7.
In addition, USA Baseball also honored the Collegiate National Team with the Team of the Year award and named its manager, George Horton, the Rod Dedeaux Coach of the Year.
"USA Baseball is proud to honor these outstanding performances from 2016," said Paul Seiler, USA Baseball's Executive Director/CEO. "In addition to representing their respective teams at an exceptional level, they were outstanding global ambassadors for the game of baseball and represented our organization and our country with class and dignity on the world stage."
The southpaw enters his junior season in 2017 after tallying a 9-4 mark with a 2.16 ERA as a sophomore. Thomas tossed a Mountain West-leading 108 strikeouts and ranked second in the MW in innings pitched (104.0), wins and ERA. Earning three Mountain West Pitcher of the Week honors, Thomas made 15 starts on the season tossing seven-plus innings and allowing two or less earned runs 10 times and posted six or more strikeouts 11 times.
Thomas and the Bulldogs begin the 2017 season on Feb. 17 hosting Pac-12 foe Oregon at Pete Beiden Field at Bob Bennett Stadium at 6:05 p.m.
2016 USA BASEBALL AWARD WINNERS
USA Baseball Richard W. "Dick" Case Award: Ricky Tyler Thomas (Fresno State)
USA Baseball Team of the Year: 2016 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team
USA Baseball Rod Dedeaux Coach of the Year: George Horton (Oregon)
USA Baseball Sportswoman of the Year: Tamara Holmes
USA Baseball International Performance of the Year: Hans Crouse (Dana Hill High School)
USA Baseball Developmental Coach of the Year: Glenn Cecchini (Barbe High School)
USA Baseball Volunteer Coach of the Year: Skip Schumaker
About USA Baseball
USA Baseball is the national governing body for the sport of baseball in the United States and is a member of the United States Olympic Committee and the World Baseball Softball Confederation. Â The organization selects and trains the World Baseball Classic, Premier12 and Pan Am teams (and all other USA Baseball Professional Teams); the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team; the USA Baseball 18U, 15U and 12U National Teams; and the USA Baseball Women's National Team, all of which participate in various international competitions each year. Â The organization is responsible for the continued proliferation and health of the sport, and leads a number of amateur initiatives including PLAYBALL and Pitch Smart. Â USA Baseball also presents the Golden Spikes Award annually to the top amateur baseball player in the country. Â For more information, please visit the organization's official websites: USABaseball.com, USABaseball.Education, PLAYBALL.org, PitchSmart.org, GoldenSpikesAward.com and USABaseballShop.com.
"Just the Ticket to Build Our Community" – The Bulldog Scholarship Fund gives Bulldog alumni, fans and friends the opportunity to support Fresno State Athletics and the student-athletes who inspire them. For information about how you can support the Bulldog Scholarship Fund, please visit www.bulldogscholarshipfund.com or call 559-278-7160.
Follow us on:
Twitter:Â @Fresno StateBSB
Instagram:Â FresnoStateAthletics
Facebook:Â FresnoStateAthletics
Snap Chat:Â FSAthletics
Players Mentioned
Pitcher
/ BaseballBSB Media Availability: 3/5 )
Thursday, March 05
BSB Media Availability: 2/26 (HC Ryan Overland, Sky Collins)
Thursday, February 26
BSB Los Angeles Regional Preview
Thursday, May 29
BSB MW Championship Final Recap
Sunday, May 25