There are two hundred and ninety-seven Division I baseball teams in the entire United States. Therefore, 297 starting shortstops in the NCAA are competing to be the best of them all.
Only one year ago, Pepperdine shortstop Zach Vincej was nowhere near that pinnacle.
Somewhere along the way though, something clicked.
After finishing his junior season with Pepperdine only a month-and-a-half ago, Vincej was awarded the 2012 Brooks Wallace Award on June 30, the annual accolade given to the nation’s best shortstop.
“This is just an amazing feeling,” Vincej said. “It makes me know that all my hard work is starting to pay off a little bit.”
At this point in time last year, it would have been difficult even for himself to believe that would happen.
Vincej was coming off of perhaps his worst season ever of baseball, finishing his sophomore campaign with a .194 batting average in 53 games played. He also compiled 11 errors from the shortstop position that season, the most of his collegiate career.
However, Vincej knew he was better than that. He knew he had the potential to be an elite college shortstop. “I always knew I had the talent, always believed in my abilities, and it didn’t work out my sophomore year,” Vincej said. “But it also was good for me to know how it felt to fail for a long time and give me that fire back.”
The feeling of craving success drove Vincej to make changes to his approach to the game. He made batting adjustments at the plate and fixed himself mentally to forget about his failures of the past and to play each game with a blank slate.
Heading into the 2012 season, Vincej finally felt prepared to deal with the lengthy college baseball season.
“I just try to stay positive,” Vincej said. “Baseball is a hard game, and it’s hard to stay focused every day.”
This past season, Vincej did just that.
Vincej started all 59 games for the Waves, compiling a .339 batting average from the leadoff position, including a team-leading 18 doubles and 11 stolen bases. He also ended up being one of the team’s best fielders from the shortstop position, having only four errors all season and making a combined 278 assists and put-outs.
In fact, Vincej’s 82 hits his junior season was more than his total number of hits his freshman and sophomore years combined.
“I just worked hard and did what I needed to do to help the team win,” Vincej said. “It was nice that I could have that turnaround.”
Following the completion of his best season at Pepperdine, life got even sweeter for Vincej. On June 6, 2012, he was drafted in the 37th round of the MLB Draft to the Cincinnati Reds organization.
About three weeks later, Vincej received the news of winning the Brooks Wallace Award during an awards ceremony in Lubbock, Texas.
Other players who have won the same award include Major League Baseball stars Kurt Suzuki, David Price and Buster Posey.
“It’s unbelievable,” Vincej said. “You look at all those guys and see what they’re doing in the big leagues right now and it says a lot. It’s an honor and a privilege to be mentioned alongside those guys.”
It is difficult to comprehend the massive improvement Vincej has had over the past 12 months.
Going from being a sub-.200 hitter as a sophomore to the NCAA shortstop of the year as a junior, even Vincej himself has had trouble grasping the feat he has accomplished.
“To win this award, I never thought it was going to happen for me,” Vincej said. “I never really thought I had a chance with this award, but it was a really amazing feeling knowing I won it and that my hard work has pulled through.”
With his newfound achievements at Pepperdine, however, comes a life-changing decision Vincej has to make. By Friday, July 13, he must choose between leaving school and signing with the Cincinnati Reds, or coming back for his senior season as a Wave and aiming for a national championship.
That said, the fact that Vincej is even in this situation is remarkable in itself.
“I’m probably going to wait until the deadline to decide,” Vincej said. “But right now, I’m just trying to focus on getting this team to Omaha (next year).”