The Rotary Smith Award was created in 1988 to honor the most outstanding college baseball player of the year. The award was founded by the Greater Houston Sports Association. In 1996, the Rotary Club of Houston joined the award committee. Prior to the 2004 season, the award was succeeded by the Roger Clemens Award, honoring the most outstanding college baseball pitcher.
| Awarded for | Most outstanding college baseball player of the year |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Presented by | Greater Houston Sports Association (1988–2004) Rotary Club of Houston (1996–2004) |
| History | |
| First award | 1988 |
| Final award | 2003 |
Winners
edit| Year | Links to the article about the corresponding baseball year |
|---|---|
| Player | Name of the player |
| Position | The player's position at the time he won the award |
| College | The player's college when he won the award |
| Italics | Denotes player was the first overall MLB draft pick in the same year |
| † | Member of the National College Baseball Hall of Fame |
| Year | Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Andy Benes | P | Evansville |
| 1989 | Ben McDonald† | P | LSU |
| 1990 | Mike Kelly | OF | Arizona State |
| 1991 | Bobby Jones | P | Fresno State |
| 1992 | Mike Smith | OF | Indiana |
| 1993 | Darren Dreifort† | P | Wichita State |
| 1994 | Jason Varitek | C | Georgia Tech |
| 1995 | Mark Kotsay | OF | Cal State Fullerton |
| 1996 | Kris Benson | P | Clemson |
| 1997 | Tim Hudson | P/OF | Auburn |
| 1998 | Brad Wilkerson† | P/OF | Florida |
| 1999 | Jason Jennings | P/DH | Baylor |
| 2000 | Kip Bouknight | P | South Carolina |
| 2001 | Mark Prior | P | Southern California |
| 2002 | Khalil Greene | SS | Clemson |
| 2003 | Rickie Weeks | 2B | Southern University |
