Chad Zurcher Named 2010-11 C-USA Male Athlete of the Year

Irving, Tx - Even after moving on to his professional baseball career, University of Memphis Chad Zurcher continues to earn more hardware for his outstanding 2011 campaign. The former Tiger was honored as Conference USAs Male Athlete of the Year, league commissioner Britton Banowsky announced Tuesday.

Zurcher earned All-America third-team honors from Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball, the American Baseball Coaches Association and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. He was a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy and the Golden Spikes Award, quarterfinalist for the Brooks Wallace Award and was the first Tiger to earn conference Player of the Year honors since 1994 (Mark Little).

The Knoxville, Tenn., native led the nation in hitting this season with a .443 batting average, the second-highest single-season average in Conference USA and U of M history. The shortstop also drew 33 walks and was hit by pitches 17 times, helping him to a nations-best .557 on-base percentage. Zurcher recorded two-or-more hits in a game 29 times and produced three-or-more hits on 11 occasions. He also recorded 19 doubles, scored 47 runs, driven in 34 and stolen 12 bases.

With the steady presence of Zurcher in the lineup, Memphis posted its fourth 30-plus win season since 1995. Zurcher joins DeAngelo Williams (Football/2005-06) and Chris Douglas-Roberts (Mens Basketball/2007-08) as the only U of M student-athletes to earn the C-USA Athlete of the Year honor.

Zurcher began his professional career in the New York Mets organization after being selected by them in the 31st round of the MLB Draft. In 15 games with the Kingsport Mets, a rookie affiliate of the New York Mets, he is hitting .288 (15-for-52) with five RBI and 10 runs scored.

The 2010-11 athletic season marked the eighth time that C-USA has honored Male and Female Athletes of the Year. The award is based solely on athletic achievement during an academic year and the winners are determined through a vote by the conferences 12 Directors of Athletics. This is the third time a Memphis male student-athlete has earned this honor, and fifth time a baseball player was selected.

A complete list of winners to follow:
Conference USA Athletes of the Year
Year Male Female
2010-11 Chad Zurcher, Memphis baseball Tori Bowie, Southern Miss track & field
2009-10 Anthony Rendon, Rice baseball Blessing Okagbare, UTEP track & field
2008-09 Jason Colwick, Rice track & field Toni Paisley, East Carolina softball
Sara Radosevic, Tulane volleyball
2007-08 Chris Douglas-Roberts, Memphis basketball Angel Shamblin, Houston softball
2006-07 Joe Savery, Rice baseball Ebonie Floyd, Houston track & field
2005-06 Brad Lincoln, Houston baseball Jillian Robbins, Tulsa basketball
DeAngelo Williams, Memphis football
2004-05 Lance Broadway, TCU baseball Sandora Irvin, TCU basketball
2003-04 Michael Kogan, Tulane tennis Chandi Jones, Houston basketball