Utah Utes baseball: James Brooks named national player of week

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah junior shortstop James Brooks was selected as the Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week by the College Baseball Newspaper for his performance against Utah Valley and Air Force last week.

Brooks was also selected as the Mountain West Conference Player of the Week. A Utah player has earned the MWC award each of the last three weeks.

Brooks hit .692 for the week with 13 extra-base hits over a 5-0 week for Utah. He was 18-for-26 for the week at the plate with nine doubles, two triples, and one home run. He had 12 RBI and scored 10 runs. He started the week against Utah Valley with a 6-for-6 performance (tying a school record for hits in a game) with six RBI, three doubles and a triple in the game. Brooks had multiple hits in four of Utah's five games during the week.

Brooks raised his batting average 53 points. He is currently third in the conference with a .395 batting average. Brooks is tied for the MWC lead with 22 doubles, while ranking second in runs scored (46) and third in hits (68). He is in the middle of a 17-game hitting streak, his longest of the season.