OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Utah Valley's Chipper Beck was named to the watch list for the 2026 Brooks Wallace Award on Wednesday morning. The award honors the nation's top shortstop and is presented by the College Baseball Foundation.
 
"Our staff is excited to get another year started looking for that special player to represent Brooks' Award," said Larry Wallace, co-chair of the Brooks Wallace Award. "We will dig deep to find the personal qualities as well as the physical attributes that best exemplify what we look for in the Brooks Wallace Award winner. It's early, but this list is already shaping up to be a competitive race with some big numbers from some new guys and some familiar faces on the list as well."
 
Beck, in his first season in Orem after transferring from Brigham Young University in Provo, has made an immediate impact on the Wolverines' lineup. He leads the team in hitting with a .423 batting average, including four extra-base hits: two doubles, one triple and one home run.
 
UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky, the 2025 award winner, headlines the Top 100 named to the watch list on Wednesday. Beck was the only WAC shortstop selected. The Wolverines also face two other nominees during the 2026 season in Stanford's Charlie Bates and Cal State Bakersfield's Elijah Pelayo.
 
The Brooks Wallace Award is presented annually and also features a weekly honor recognizing the nation's top shortstop. The award is named after former Texas Tech player Brooks Wallace, who played for the Red Raiders from 1977 to 1980 before passing away at age 27 from leukemia.
 
Previous award winners include Alex Bregman, Trea Turner, Dansby Swanson, Sheldon Neuse, Cadyn Greiner, Brooks Lee, and Matt Shaw.