Former Dallas Baptist relief pitcher Brandon Koch was named the 23rd Annual Howard Green Metroplex Collegiate Player of the Year, as announced today by the Ernie Banks-Bobby Bragan DFW Chapter of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR).  Koch, who was named an All-American by four different publications in 2015, becomes the sixth player in the last 10 years from DBU to garner Metroplex Collegiate Player of the Year honors.  With today's announcement, Koch also becomes the 11th player in school history to receive the distinguished award, giving DBU the most award winners among all college baseball teams in the DFW metroplex.
 
The award celebrates the memory of the late SABR Metroplex chapter's original president Howard Green, who was a legend in Texas professional and college baseball circles for over six decades and also served in several elected capacities in Tarrant County.  Other nominees who were up for consideration by the SABR Banks-Bragan Chapter awards committee this year were TCU's Preston Morrison and UT-Arlington's Travis Sibley.  Koch will receive his award at the 2016 Dallas Baptist Baseball Banquet from SABR Chapter President Paul Rogers and awards' committee members.
 
As a junior in 2015, Koch was named a finalist for the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Stopper of the Year after notching 14 saves and was a catalyst for DBU's first-ever host's role in the 2015 NCAA Dallas Regional. The junior right-hander from Plano, Texas, and product of Grapevine High School struck out 76 batters in 43 innings last year and led the Patriots with a 1.26 ERA in 26 appearances.  Koch also walked just 24 batters and held opposing hitters to a paltry .160 batting average. 
 
Over the course of his three year career at DBU, Koch posted 23 saves, narrowly missing the all-time school saves record set by Chris Haney with 25 from 2008-11.  The Patriots' closer did etch his name in school history in several categories on the mound, as he set the all-time ERA record with a 0.64 ERA in 2014 and broke his own school record with 15.91 strikeouts per-nine innings in 2015. 
 
Along with becoming the third player in DBU Baseball history to be named an All-American by four different publications, Koch was also a two-time First Team All-Missouri Valley Conference selection and was named Second Team All-Midwest Region by the American Baseball Coaches Association in 2015.
 
Following his junior season, Koch was drafted in the fourth round of the 2015 Major League Draft by the Tampa Bay Rays, making him the seventh highest draft pick in school history.
 
With today's announcement, Koch joins 10 other former Patriots who were also recipients of the SABR Metroplex Player of the Year including Jason Parsons (1994), Karl Chatman (1996), Brandon Harper (1997), Cody Sundbeck and Jon Browder (co-1999), Drew Holder (2006), Evan Bigley (2008), Jason Krizan (2011), Boomer Collins (2012), and Duncan McAlpine (2013).