Boston College Baseball Shortstop Named 2026 Brooks Wallace Award Semifinalist
Boston College baseball shortstop Julio Solier has been named a semifinalist for the 2026 Brooks Wallace Award, which is presented annually to the nation’s most outstanding shortstop.
The award is named in honor of former Texas Tech shortstop Brooks Wallace, who passed away at the age of 27 after a battle with leukemia. Before 2009, the award honored the national player of the year — regardless of position.
One of the best in the nation 🦅
— Boston College Baseball (@BCBirdBall) April 22, 2026
Julio Solier has been named a Brooks Wallace Award Semifinalist! pic.twitter.com/EwGBsUlQSo
In his first year as a starter for the Eagles, Solier has been just about everything BC head coach Todd Interdonato could ask for in a rookie shortstop.
While batting a team-high .346 with 11 doubles, five triples, 23 RBIs, and 20 walks, he also contributes to BC’s total fielding percentage of .974, good for No. 7 in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).
On Tuesday, even though the No. 22-ranked Eagles (31-13, 14-7 ACC) fell to Maine, 6-4, to drop their first midweek loss of the season, Solier charged the lineup with three hits in five at-bats, including an RBI.
“He was going really well at the beginning of the year, and then he kind of was getting frustrated even though he was putting some good swings on the ball,” BC head coach Todd Interdonato said. “But, you know, that two-out hit he had today was huge, which drove in a run. Julio has been really good, and he just seems like he’s getting more and more confident.”
Interdonato continued: “He’s just playing a really good shortstop and he’s a really good leadoff hitter. He’s been great.”
Past winners of the Brooks Wallace Award include Major League Baseball stars Alex Bregman (LSU), Trea Turner (NC State), Dansby Swanson (Vanderbilt), and projected 2026 MLB Draft No. 1 overall pick Roch Cholowsky at UCLA, who achieved the honor in 2025 as a sophomore.
Being named a semifinalist for the award means that the selection committee deemed Solier as a top-50 shortstop in the nation.
“Narrowing our list to even 50 is a difficult task to take on as there are so many deserving shortstops at midseason,“ Larry Wallace, co-chair of the Brooks Wallace Award, said in the press release. “All these kids are piling up big offensive numbers with power. But just as important are the defensive skills and how well they field their position.”
Five other shortstops from the ACC were named semifinalists for the award as well: Eric Becker (Virginia); Noah Coy (Notre Dame); Cade Dulin (Pittsburgh); Carson Kerce (Georgia Tech); Jake Schaffner (UNC).
Follow us on Twitter/X, Facebook, YouTube, Threads, Bluesky, and Instagram for the latest Boston College news.
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Graham Dietz is a 2025 graduate of Boston College and subsequently joined Boston College On SI. He previously served as an editor for The Heights, the independent student newspaper, from fall 2021, including as Sports Editor from 2022-23. Graham works for The Boston Globe as a sports correspondent, covering high school football, girls' basketball, and baseball. He was also a beat writer for the Chatham Anglers of the Cape Cod Baseball League in the summer of 2023.
Follow graham_dietz