TITLE: The official title is the Cellular South Ferriss Trophy.

PURPOSE:  To impartially select Mississippi's top college baseball player for the current season.

ELIGIBILITY: All players at all of Mississippi's four-year college baseball programs are eligible regardless of school size, team record, position played or class standing.

VOTERS: Major League scouts working Mississippi, coaches at the state’s four-year baseball programs and one media representative will serve as voters. Coaches are eligible to vote for their own players but coaches’ votes are weighted and will count one-half as much as the scouts’ and media representative’s vote because the scouts and media have seen more schools play in the state.
 
All players are eligible on the first ballot with only the top vote-getters listed in a second and final ballot. Voters will rank the three players on their first round ballots with the top player  receiving 3 points, #2  receiving two points and #3 1 point.

VOTING CRITERIA: Voters should evaluate a players’ entire regular season performance but should not consider post-season honors or professional potential.

NAME:  The Cellular South Ferriss Trophy is named after Dave “Boo” Ferriss of Shaw, MS; a 1964 inductee in the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame; Ferriss was a three-time All-SEC player at Mississippi State who won 46 games in his first two seasons as a pitcher with the Boston Red Sox including Game 4 of the 1946 World Series versus St. Louis; he was the head coach at Delta State University for 28 years and the baseball field at the Cleveland, MS school bears his name; he was inducted into the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2002.

THE TROPHY: Sculpted by Dr. Kim Sessums from Brookhaven, MS; the Cellular South Ferriss Trophy is a lost-wax bronze casting of an original clay sculpture by Dr. Sessums. The original Cellular South Ferriss Trophy is on permanent display at the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum; an exact replica of the trophy is presented to the winner each year at the announcement dinner.

HISTORY: The inaugural Cellular South Ferriss Trophy presentation took place in 2004. The current sponsorship agreement between the Museum and Cellular South extends through the 2010 presentation.
The Cellular South Ferriss Trophy in college baseball, the Cellular South Conerly Trophy in college football and the Cellular South Howell Trophy in men’s college basketball constitute the three elements of the Cellular South Outstanding Player Awards Series. All three events have been televised live throughout the state by Mississippi Public Broadcasting.

PAST WINNERS:
2004 Stephen Head (IF/P) Ole Miss
2005 Brian Pettway (OF) Ole Miss
2006 Thomas Berkery(IF) MSU
2007 Ed Easley (MSU)
2008 Scott Bittle (P) Ole Miss
2009 Craig Westcott (IF/P) Belhaven

PAST FINALISTS
2004 *Stephen Head (Ole Miss)
Brad Corley (MSU)
Jarrett Hoffpauir (USM)
2005 * Brian Pettway (OleMiss)
Stephen Head (OM)
Craig Newton (DSU)
Garner Wetzel (Millsaps)
2006 * Thomas Berkery (MSU)
Toddric Johnson (USM)
Zach Penprase (MVSU)
2007 *Ed Easley (MSU)
Zach Cozart (Ole Miss)
Thomas Royals (Belhaven)
2008 *Scott Bittle (Ole Miss)
Tyler Conn (USM)
Rickey Noland ( DSU)
2009*Craig Westcott (Belhaven)
2009 Scott Bittle (OM)
2009 Brian Dozier (USM)

*Cellular South Ferriss Trophy Recipient

Click here to purchase tickets.

Belhaven right-hander Craig Westcott (left) led the Blazers in hitting and set a school strikeout record en route to the 2009 Cellular South Ferriss Trophy. Award namesake Boo Ferriss (center) and Cellular South's Jim Richmond offer congratulations.

Boo Ferriss set several American League and Major League records as a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox.

TROPHY:
The Ferriss Trophy is an original bronze sculpture created by Dr. Kim Sessums of Brookhaven, MS.

CHARTER DONORS:

Frank O. Crossthwait, Jr.
Bryce Griffis
Con Maloney
Mattiace Properties
Delta State University Foundation
Chris Burgess/Michael Rubenstein/Wells, Moore, Simmons & Hubbard

FERRISS TROPHY 2008 BENEFACTORS:

AT&T
First Commercial Bank
UMAA Foundation