JACKSON, Miss. - Feb. 7, 2005 – The Museum has modified, expanded and strengthened its voting guidelines to determine Mississippi's best college baseball player, the recipient of the 2005 Cellular South Ferriss Trophy.
For the first time, college coaches will be among the 25 participants in the selection process though their votes will be weighted and will count only half as much as the votes of the Major League Scouts who work Mississippi.
"The coaches only see the opponents on their schedules while the scouts are free to see everyone," said Museum Executive Director. "The coaches I ran this by had no problem with it."
Other changes in the selection process include:
- Voters will rank their top three finalists with their top choice receiving 3 points, the second choice 2 points, their third choice 1 point;
- Coaches will have the opportunity to participate in a pre-season listing of the players from their schools and others who should merit consideration for the Ferriss Trophy in the coming season.
The selection process changes were made after consulting with Major League Scouts, the Major League Scouting Bureau, college coaches and Museum representatives. Ole Miss infielder/pitcher Stephen Head was the recipient of the first Ferriss Trophy in 2004. The award is named after Dave "Boo" Ferriss, an All-SEC pitcher at Mississippi State who went to a highly-successful coaching career at Delta State. He is a member of both the Boston Red Sox and Mississippi Sports Halls of Fame.
The second annual Cellular South Ferriss Trophy recipient will be announced at the Museum on Monday May 23, 2005 at 6:00 p.m.
About Cellular South
The company is one of the largest privately held wireless providers in the U.S. and is licensed to provide wireless service - to a total population of more than five million people - on its network stretching from the Memphis Metropolitan Area, throughout all of Mississippi, along Coastal Alabama and the Florida Panhandle through Destin/Seaside. For more information, contact Cellular South at 1-877-CSOUTH1 or visit cellularsouth.com.
Contact:
Michael Rubenstein, (601) 982-8264, 1-800-280-FAME
Tanya Rankin, Cellular South (601) 974-7134 trankin@cellularsouth.com
