Otteman Named SABR Metroplex College Player of the Year

Otteman joins Hunter Pence (2004) as only Mavericks to win the SABR Metroplex College Player of the Year

Matt Otteman entered eight UTA single-season top 10 record books in 2009
 
Matt Otteman entered eight UTA single-season top 10 record books in 2009
  

Aug. 24, 2009

DALLAS, Texas -
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aug. 24, 2009 - Contact: Bo Carter, SABR (214-418-6132), Bcarter@footballfoundation.com)
or Scott Lacefield, UT Arlington, slacefield@uta.edu

Matt Otteman, who led the Southland Conference with a .432 batting average (third-highest in SLC history) as a standout for UT Arlington, has been chosen as 2009 Howard Green Metroplex Collegiate Player of the Year Award presented by the DFW Hall-Ruggles Chapter for Society of American Baseball Research.

He joins 2009 Major League Baseball All-Star and UTA alumnus Hunter Pence as the second Mavericks player selected in the 17 years of this prestigious award.

Otteman, currently playing in the Seattle Mariners' minor league system, enjoyed one of the most memorable campaigns in UTA baseball history as he led the squad in almost every offensive category and also had solid success on the mound.

His .432 average was second-highest in a UTA season while he topped the team with 95 hits, a SLC-leading eight triples, 15 doubles, and a school-record-equaling 69 RBI in 56 games. He was consensus first team All-Southland Conference, American Baseball Coaches Association All-South Central Region, and second team All-America by PING! Baseball. Otteman also opened the '09 season with a school record-tying (and then-NCAA-longest) hitting streak of 26 games.

Used primarily as a pitcher in his brief professional career, the 6-1, 210-pound DH-pitcher-OF from Lockport, Ill., averaged a team-most 14.2 strikeouts per nine innings as a senior. He started the year with nine strikeouts against the first 11 batters he retired and went on to whiff 38 hitters in 10 appearances and 24 innings.

Otteman had two starts along the way and was 3-1 overall with a 3.38 earned run average and 2.5 to 1 strikeouts to walks ratio. He held opposing hitter to a .239 average, yielded 21 total hits and just five extra-base blows.

 

 

He also thrived in such appearances as eight strikeouts in five innings against Northwood, eight Ks out of nine outs recorded against eventual NCAA Regional competitor Oklahoma and a six-inning stint in the SLC Tournament where allowed just one earned run and struck out five against heavy-hitting Lamar.

The Illinois resident was a four-year letterman for the Mavericks and helped the team make the 2006 NCAA Regionals after winning the Southland tourney. He hit .318 with one homer and 27 RBI in 43 games as a junior while going 4-3 on the mound in 12 appearances (seven starts) with one save, a 4.35 ERA, 36 strikeouts, and 49 2/3 innings on the hill.

"Matt had a great senior year for us," UT Arlington head coach Darin Thomas said. "He not only was a great hitter, but also was a mainstay on the mound all spring. The best thing I could say about Matt is that he was a great college baseball player, teammate, and student during his time at UT Arlington."

The son of John and Teri Otteman is a former Louisville Slugger 2005 High School Player of the Year in Illinois and an exercise science major at UT Arlington.

Previous winners of the Howard Green SABR Metroplex College Baseball Player of the Year have been - Scott Malone, TCU, 1993; Jason Parsons, Dallas Baptist, 1994; Johnny Issom, Texas Wesleyan, 1995; Karl Chatman, Dallas Baptist, 1996; Brandon Harper, Dallas Baptist, 1997; Royce Huffman, TCU, 1998; Cody Sundbeck, Dallas Baptist, 1999; (co) Jon Browder, Dallas Baptist; Pat Hannon, Texas Wesleyan, 2000; Mike Hall, Texas Wesleyan, 2001; Terry Trofholz, TCU, 2002; Clayton Jerome, TCU, 2003; Hunter Pence, Texas-Arlington, 2004; Lance Broadway, TCU, 2005; Drew Holder, Dallas Baptist, 2006; Sam Demel, TCU, 2007; Evan Bigley, Dallas Baptist, 2008.