OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Western Michigan graduate student shortstop Michael Maloney was named one of 50 semifinalists for the Brooks Wallace Award, the College Baseball Foundation announced on Wednesday.
 
The Brooks Wallace Award honors the nation's top shortstop and will be presented by the College Baseball Foundation later this year. It is named for former Texas Tech shortstop Brooks Wallace, who played for the Red Raiders from 1977 to 1980. Wallace died of leukemia at the age of 27.
 
One of just two Broncos to have started all 36 games so far this season, Maloney ranks 11th in the MAC with a .346 batting average. The graduate student blasted his team-leading sixth home run of the season in Tuesday night's victory at Valparaiso and drove in three to bring his team-high RBI total to 41, the sixth-most in the conference. Defensively, he owns a .977 fielding percentage, helping anchor a WMU defense which leads the league and ranks 21st in all of NCAA Division I.  
 
Western Michigan returns to Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field this weekend to open up a six-game homestand with a series against Kent State. First pitch for Friday's series opener against the Golden Flashes is set for 3:05 pm. For tickets to any WMU baseball home game, visit wmubroncos.com/tickets.