Alex Lodise Awarded the 2025 Dick Howser Trophy

Photo courtesy of Florida State Athletics

OMAHA, NE– Florida State shortstop Alex Lodise was named the Dick Howser Award winner on Friday morning by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA). He is the first FSU player since Buster Posey won the award in 2008. The last ACC player to win was Louisville two-way star Brendan McKay in 2017.

The Dick Howser Trophy is awarded every year to the best player in college baseball as voted on by the members of the NCBWA. This year, Lodise edged out fellow finalists shortstop Wehiwa Aloy of Arkansas and left-handed pitcher Liam Doyle of Tennessee. Last year's winner was Georgia's Charlie Condon.

Lodise led the ACC with a .394 batting average while slugging 18 doubles, three triples, 17 home runs, and 68 runs batted in. He scored 62 runs, drew 27 walks, and was a perfect 6-for-6 on the base paths. The junior infielder is also the  ACC Player of the Year and ACC Defensive Player of the Year after notching 31 multi-hit games and nearly 100 hits on the season (95). He actually had more three hit games (13) on the year than he had hitless games (10).

Alex was gracious in accepting the award, making sure to thank his parents and brother, his coach, and his teammates.

"I want to thank my parents," Lodise said. You guys have been through everything with me; all those days in the cage, all those long hours, long nights, car rides, everything. It all panned out and I couldn't thank you guys enough for everything you guys do. I want to thank my brother. He's the reason I got into baseball. Watching him play as a young boy, that's what really made me want to play and get into it. I couldn't thank him enough for everything he's done for me. I want to thank my coach. I would not be here if it wasn't for you. I firmly believe that. You completely changed how I play baseball and the way I play."

"My teammates have been with me through everything," Lodise continued. "I couldn't be here if it wasn't for them, either."

Lodise produced consistently for Florida State at the top of the order and was a key cog in their offensive success. As a team captain, his leadership was essential in helping the Seminoles earn a #9-seed and a Super Regional berth against the Oregon State Beavers. While Lodise and Florida State fell one win short of Omaha, the shortstop by himself was responsible for seven game winning hits.

Perhap the highlight of Lodise’s season came in late March during a midweek game against rival Florida in Jacksonville near his hometown of St. Augustine, Florida. He capped off a cycle in that game with a walk-off grand slam to stun the Gators. It’s believed to be the only time in either college or professional baseball history that a player completed a cycle with a walk-off grand slam.

"Alex is an amazing individual," said Florida State head coach Link Jarrett. "This is the best offensive and defensive season I've ever seen. I've coached five conference players of the year in four different conferences. This is the best all-around season I've ever seen a player have."

One of the aspects of the Dick Howser that separates it from its contemporaries is that it's named for the late college baseball and MLB legend Dick Howser, who also played and coached at Florida State. On the trophy itself are plaques displaying the four traits that Howser embodied throughout his life-- performance, character, leadership and courage. Each winning player is judged on those four traits and Alex Lodise exemplifies each of those.

Link Jarrett likened the Dick Howser Trophy to the Heisman Trophy of college baseball while emphasizing the amazing person Alex Lodise is on and off the field. Bill and Cindy Lodise, Alex's parents were credited with how they raised both Alex and his older brother.

"This starts with you at home," Jarrett said. "The pillars on that trophy, that's in your home, and you put Alex and his brother in the right position to be successful in life and represent what is on that trophy. I got the back end of that, but your time and effort and how you carried him through was a separator. It really was."

Aside from UCLA’s Roch Cholowsky, Alex Lodise may have been the best defensive shortstop in the country as he made just five errors all season while boasting a .977 fielding percentage. Lodise’s 13.78 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) metric was good for fourth in the ACC and second among ACC shortstops. His 5.33 Wins Above Replacement (WAR) was good for fifth in the entire country and first in the ACC. Among shortstops only Cholowsky had a higher WAR.

In addition to the Dick Howser Award, Lodise was also named as one of three finalists for the Golden Spikes Award and as one of five finalists for the Brooks Wallace Award for best shortstop.