MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The recognition continues to pile up for sophomore phenom J.J. Wetherholt.

Wetherholt was one of 60 semifinalists that were announced Friday for the Dick Howser Trophy, given to the top player in college baseball. The award is voted on by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. He was one of four players from the Big 12 that were nominated, including Lucas Gordon (Texas), Gavin Kash (Texas Tech) and Roc Riggio (Oklahoma State).

With just two games left in the regular season, Wetherholt finds himself at, or near, the top of multiple national leaderboards. He leads the nation in batting average (.462), and he is tied for second in hits (91). He also holds top-10 marks in stolen bases (35), on-base percentage (.526) and slugging percentage (.817).

Ricky Weeks (Southern – 2003) is currently the only second baseman to win the award in its 35-year run. No Mountaineer has ever won the award.

WVU’s leading hitter has previously earned weekly recognition from the Big 12 Conference, and he has been rated as the top second baseman in the country by D1Baseball.com. He was also one of 45 players on USA Baseball’s Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watchlist. Semifinalists for that award will be announced Monday.

Finalists for the Dick Howser Trophy will be announced on June 9, and the award will be presented on MLB Network on June 15.