Marty Gantt Named Finalist For Tom Walter Inspiration Award
8/16/2012 2:18:00 PM | Baseball
Named for Wake Forest head coach Tom Walter, the award recognized examples of inspiration in college baseball. Walter donated a kidney to one of his freshman baseball players, Kevin Jordan, prior to the 2011 season.
A native of North Augusta, S.C., Gantt was born with an underdeveloped right hand. His fingers on his glove hand end right past his knuckles. However, Gantt's impediments did not keep him from leading the Cougars to the NCAA postseason as he won the Southern Conference Player of the Year award from the media and the coaches. He was named an ABCA/Rawlings Second Team All-American as he led the team with a .373 average to go with 11 home runs, 46 RBI and 29 stolen bases. Gantt led the conference and finished ninth in the country with 68 runs scored.
This summer, Gantt was drafted in the seventh round of the MLB Entry Draft by the Tampa Bay Rays.
Last year, the award recognized Georgia's Johnathan Taylor and Arizona State's Cory Hahn, both of whom were paralyzed during games in the 2011 season, as well as Bayler Teal, a seven-year-old boy whose battle with cancer inspired 2010 and 2011 national champion South Carolina.
The 2012 award winners will be announced on August 21.
