Winfield leads class of 10 for Hall of Fame

Dave Winfield is a Hall of Famer again, this time for his pitching and slugging excellence back when he was the big man on campus.

The former University of Minnesota star, enshrined in Cooperstown after even greater success in the major leagues, was among 10 former players and coaches elected Wednesday as the College Baseball Hall of Fame's inaugural class.

Winfield was joined by fellow former big leaguers Will Clark (Mississippi State), Bob Horner (Arizona State), Brooks Kieschnick (Texas) and Robin Ventura (Oklahoma State) as the other players selected.

The late Rod Dedeaux, who helped Southern California win 11 College World Series titles -- including an unprecedented five straight from 1970-74 -- headlined the list of coaches included in the hall's first class.

Also elected were LSU's Skip Bertman, Miami's Ron Fraser, Texas' Cliff Gustafson and Arizona State's Bobby Winkles.

"In talking to the guys elected, several of them were emotional about it," said John Askins, chairman and CEO of the College Baseball Foundation, which established the hall. "Many of them said this would probably be the highest honor they would achieve in their careers."

The honorees were the top 10 vote-getters from a list of 34 nominees, selected by an 80-member committee consisting of current and retired head coaches, former players, NCAA commissioners, sports information directors and media. Voting was based solely on players' and coaches' college achievements.

"This is really very special because it's the first class," Askins said. "I think this is very important for the sport of college baseball, and important for their respective universities."

The inaugural class will be honored during a two-day celebration in Lubbock, Texas -- the site of the new hall. The hall of fame museum will be part of a new baseball stadium complex, which will be built on the campus of Texas Tech and is scheduled to open before the 2008 season.

-- The Associated Press