By
Maxx Wolfson
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Duncan changing record books with bat, stats
As if he doesn't have enough awards already, UA baseball player Shelley Duncan has been named the Arizona Daily Wildcat's Male Athlete of the Year.
Duncan, a junior right fielder and Tucson native, broken nearly every home run record in Arizona history this season.
A candidate for the Pacific 10 Conference Player of the Year award, Duncan said he is going to wait until after the Major League Baseball Amateur draft in June to decide whether he will return to the UA for his senior season.
"I think the way he's been going that he's going to have to go," UA head coach Jerry Stitt said. "He'll be drafted high enough that he will get what he wants. Shelley is ready to go out."
Many experts have projected Duncan to be drafted in the first round.
In the past year, Duncan has done nothing to hurt his chances of turning professional after the season.
He set the UA record for home runs in a career. He currently has 52 in his three seasons at the UA.
Duncan set the record this February against Long Beach State in a game where he hit two home runs. He is batting .328 this season.
In his freshman season he was able to make the transition from high school baseball at nearby Canyon Del Oro High School to playing collegiate baseball.
Despite playing in only 32 games last season, Duncan was able to break the UA record this season in less than three years as a Wildcat.
This season, the junior has been on a tear.
The 6-foot-5 son of St. Louis Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan leads the nation and the Pacific 10 Conference in homers with 21. Duncan also leads the Pac-10 in RBIs with 65.
"The biggest difference from this year than last season is maturity," he said. "If any athlete plays longer, he learns different things.
"This year has been totally different. Everyone on the team is getting along and we have been consistent entire season."
This off-season was one marked by tragedy.
Kelsey Osburn - his teammate and best friend - died in July after sustaining head injuries while playing summer-league baseball in Rochester, N.J.
Duncan was able to overcome the loss of his friend and career-threatening surgery in the offseason to help lead the Wildcats to a possible spot in the NCAA regional playoffs.
If the Wildcats hope to make the playoffs they will have to get by Stanford, currently ranked second in the Pac-10.
"I am sure that they are expecting to beat us," Duncan said. "We're going to go into the series not expecting anything. We are just going to play our hardest."
