OMAHA, Neb.—Seven home runs were not enough to advance BYU’s Colton Shaver past the first round Thursday night in the sixth annual TD Ameritrade College Home Run Derby.
Shaver, a Freshman All-American at BYU from Riverton, Utah, was one of eight collegians invited to belt home runs before a nationwide ESPN television audience prior to a fireworks show. Among Shaver's seven homers in the Derby was a 408-foot blast. The Derby was won by senior Jeff Campbell from the University of North Dakota who set a first-round record with 20 home runs, advancing to the second and third rounds.
Campbell bested Will Craig of Wake Forest University in the final round 10 to five. Led by Campbell and Kel Johnson (Georgia Tech) in the first round, the field set a new record for homers in a round of 79. The previous best was 48 set last year. Craig got to the final round by pummeling 16 in the second round.
“What a great night for BYU baseball and Colton Shaver,” BYU coach Mike Littlewood said. “I don't think people realize how intense it was for those players as they try to get home runs in front of 20,000 people. I'm really proud of him tonight. Many thanks to TD Ameritrade for putting on such a great event; it was first class all the way.”
Shaver added his second Freshman All-American honor of the season this past week when he was named to Perfect Game’s second team. Last month, Shaver was named a Louisville Slugger All-American by Collegiate Baseball magazine. Shaver is currently playing summer ball for the DC Grays in Washington, D.C.
Littlewood was Shaver’s choice to pitch to him in the Derby.
For round-by-round results of the Derby, see the PDF below: