By winning his second consecutive Pac-10 player of the year award, Arizona State slugger Brett Wallace has certainly put an exclamation mark on his college career.

Hitting is nothing new to Wallace, who was one of the nation’s best prep hitters eligible for the 2005 draft and a former Aflac All-American. Questions about his body, conditioning, defense and overall athleticism led to Wallace falling in the 2005 draft with scouts wondering if he would become a one-dimensional player as a hitter.

Those questions are slowly but surely starting to go away, as Wallace continues to show his versatility by helping his team win in ways more than his bat can provide by being a team leader, a threat on the basepaths and taking on the defensive responsibilities at the hot corner to allow the Sun Devils to put the best team on the field as they can, while cementing his eventual status as a first-round pick in the draft later this week.

I spoke to Wallace before Arizona State’s first regional game last weekend versus Stony Brook (the Devils have since advanced to the Super Regionals after taking all three games hosting their regional series) about his and the team’s postseason aspirations, his approach to the game of baseball and where how he sees himself enjoying success as a pro.

Perfect Game Crosschecker (PGCC): First of all, congratulations winning the Pac-10 championship as a team and also winning the Pac-10 player of the year award honors for the second year in a row. I know each honor is equally important, but what do you take from this season given the collective and individual success you have enjoyed this year with regional play set the begin this evening?

Brett Wallace (BW): I think it builds confidence going into the playoffs. We’ve played Vanderbilt before, and we played Oklahoma two years ago, so you take your regular season successes and your failures and you make sure you get your work in everyday. That is what kind of propels you, getting to know your opponents beforehand, keeping your head down and keep moving forward.

PGCC: Since you finished third in the College World Series last year, what did you learn from that experience to prepare yourself should you find yourself in the same situation this year?

BW: I think it’s the same situation for any other day. I know some people want to get into the rankings, such as “this team is ranked number three and this team is ranked number 15, so the number three team is going to win.” But anyone can beat you on any given day, so you really need to come out focused and be ready to go.

PGCC: How big of an honor was it for you winning that second Pac-10 player of the year award? Being named the best player in one of the best conferences two years in a row has to be incredibly gratifying.

BW: When you look at the guys that have won it, it’s just an honor to be on that list and be considered in that kind of group. I think the award could have been given out to a lot of different people, even on my own team, but I take more pride in the Pac-10 championship.

PGCC: Your prowess as a hitter has dated back to your high school days, as you have been hitting pretty much anytime, anywhere at every national stage. What has been the greatest accomplishment for you up to this point during your baseball career?

BW: The two would be when I committed to Arizona State and when we went to the College World Series last year. It was a thrill being recruited and getting signed. That was a big-time point in my life. And last year when we clinched it (a College World Series berth) and went that was the most exciting moment I’ve ever had on the field.

PGCC: In regards to your initial commitment to Arizona State, were you ever close to starting your professional baseball career three years ago coming out of high school?

BW: Yeah, there was some talk about it. I went late in the draft, and I could have gone earlier, but people were kind of questioning if I would sign in the four to 12 (round) range. I was drafted in the 42^nd round by the Blue Jays, but it was more of a feeling out process and I decided it was best just to go to school. Going to college was a big deal, and now coming out of college I feel I know what to expect a lot more.

PGCC: What was it like not only participating at the Aflac All-American Classic, but doing so with your current teammates in Ike Davis and Petey Paramore?

BW: It was a lot of fun. Anytime you can play with that many great players on a national stage it’s a lot of fun. It was equally rewarding to play with those two because we got to build up a little relationship and get to know each other so we had more of a foundation when we got to school.

PGCC: Is this something the three of you reflect upon now?

BW: Yeah, we talk about it from time to time.

PGCC: I’m not sure if you’re aware of it or not, but you still hold the record for the Aflac game with three stolen bases, and with a lot of people questioning your size and whether or not you’ll be able to stick at third base, you are a lot more athletic and well-rounded than what people give you credit for.

BW: Actually that’s funny because that’s something Ike always brings up. It was a fun time, but yeah, I do think it’s important to show people that I have some versatility.

PGCC: Is there anything you do to prepare yourself for games, whether it be something habitually or mechanically that helps you enjoy the success you have had?

BW: I like to stay focused. About 45 minutes before the game I like to go off on my own in the clubhouse, sit back and relax and run through things in my head. Things like “Be ready. Be prepared. Be confident.”

PGCC: Hitting with a wood bat doesn't seem to be a problem for you, but is there any one thing that you can point to that allows you to be successful moving from a metal bat to a wood one?

BW: I think it’s just standard baseball. There’s a lot of talk about hitting with wood as opposed to hitting with metal. If you stay with your ball the ball is going to travel either way. The only reason some people might struggle for a little while is because sometimes you get a little pull-happy with metal because you can, but there’s no real difference and I feel very confident with wood.

PGCC: What would you say are your greatest weaknesses at this point in time, and what are some of the things you are doing in an attempt to improve in that/those areas?

BW: I want to continue to improve as a baserunner by getting different reads on different pitchers. It’s something I’ve always done, trying to get a great jump on a pitcher and deciding if I’m going to go or not depending on whether or not I can read the pitcher really well. I like to pick up little traits so I can take off on them. I also want to work on footwork on defense, whether it be at third or first. Staying on baseballs is something I work on every day, staying through it no matter what.

PGCC: Is it difficult to focus on baseball with the draft approaching and with the attention you are receiving from scouts, or does your Head Coach Pat Murphy do a pretty good job deflecting that attention by limiting your exposure to scouts to one day a week?

BW: I always wondered what it would be like coming into my junior year, wondering if it (the draft) would be a big distraction. You’re right, he (Coach Murphy) does a good job keeping it to one day with the scouts, on Mondays, so that’s the only day we have to deal with that stuff. We don’t have practice, so we’ll come in, take BP and meet with scouts for an hour. It’s gone pretty smooth, and we’re pretty excited for that day (draft day) and we’re excited about our futures, but we made a pact that we wanted to be here (as Pac-10 champions), so we’re all pretty focused on that for now.

PGCC: Do you have a sense of where you may go in the draft and what teams are showing the most interest in you?

BW: To be honest with you I don’t. I try to deflect a lot of that people that are in a position to help me. I try to stay away from that because you can get too caught up in that. I decided that I’ll need to know when I need to know it, so maybe after this weekend, after the regionals, I’ll get a little more informed with that.

PGCC: If you had the opportunity to speak to yourself three years ago coming out of high school, or even if you could lend some advice to a young player in a similar situation to you are or were, what would you say?

BW: It’s funny because I talked about this yesterday. I would say go to school. I know it’s tempting to start your pro career early, but I think the maturity nurtured both on the field and off the field, such as living on your own, getting food, cleaning your own clothes (etc.), and then balancing school and baseball, the media and playing on a national stage against the best players to go along with the coaches allows you to learn how to play the game the right way. A lot of time you don’t fully understand how hard it is to play this game, and how mentally strong you have to be when you’re in an 0 for 10 slump. Go to school, have fun with it, work hard and have no regrets about it.

Patrick Ebert is affiliated with both Perfect Game USA and Brewerfan.net, and can be contacted via email at pebert@brewerfan.net.