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Future Huntsville Star Wins 2003 Golden Spikes Award

July 17, 2003 - Southern League (SL1)
Huntsville Stars News Release


Huntsville, AL – The Milwaukee Brewers' 2003 first-round draft pick became the first player from Southern University to capture amateur baseball's most prestigious honor. USA Baseball has announced that former Southern second baseman Rickie Weeks topped a talented field of five finalists to capture the 2003 Golden Spikes Award.

Weeks could play for the Huntsville Stars as early as next season, which would be his first full pro year. The 2002 winner of the award, shortstop Khalil Greene, began this season with the Southern League's Mobile Bay Bears before a promotion to triple-A in the San Diego Padres organization. Weeks, who has won every 2003 National Player-of-the-Year award to date, was the 2nd overall pick in this past June's Major League Baseball Draft.

Weeks - a native of Altamonte Springs, Florida - won back-to-back NCAA batting titles (2002-03) with batting averages of .495 and .479, respectively. In 2003, Weeks went 78-for-163 with an NCAA-best 1.61 runs scored per game (82 in 51 contests). He added 16 home runs and 66 RBI and was named the Southwestern Athletic Conference Player of the Year for the second straight year. Weeks led Southern to the nation's best winning percentage (.863) in Division I baseball this season at 44-7. The standout capped his season by belting a two-run homer to push the Jaguars into the second round of the NCAA Hattiesburg Regional with a 5-3 triumph over Southern Mississippi.

"Growing up as a little kid, I always wanted to be considered one of the best players in the country," Weeks said. "So, I'm very elated to win the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award – it's the Heisman Trophy of baseball.

For the past 25 years, USA Baseball has honored the top amateur baseball player in the country with the Golden Spikes Award. The award is presented each year to the player who exhibits exceptional athletic ability and exemplary sportsmanship. Past winners of this prestigious award include current Major League Baseball stars J. D. Drew, Pat Burrell, Mark Kotsay, Jason Jennings and Mark Prior.



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