College Baseball Player to Compete in Home Run Derby

College of Charleston’s Matt Leeds  is one of eight college baseball players selected to participate in the inaugural College Home Run Derby set for July 7th at 7:30 p.m. The event, sponsored by TD Ameritrade, features the nation’s top college hitters in an elimination-style competition and will take place at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Neb.

Participants along with Leeds are Jordan Ribera of Fresno State, who led the nation with 27 home runs this season, Dan Paolini of Siena, Paul Hoilman of East Tennessee State, Ricky Oropesa of Southern California, Matt Skole of Georgia Tech, Matt Gaudet of LSU and Steven Felix of Troy.
Leeds, the 2010 Southern Conference Player of the Year, led the Cougars with 21 home runs and 88 RBI, while batting .326 and adding 23 doubles. The 88 RBI set a new school and conference single-season record and ranked him 2nd in the nation.

Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt and 2010 inductee Andre Dawson will serve as honorary hitting coaches.
CBS will televise the event in a one-hour show July 11 at 1 p.m., with former American League MVP Frank Thomas to serve as the color commentator.