Aflac National High School Baseball Player of the Year Nominees Announced

Aflac National High School Baseball Player of the Year Nominees Announced

- Jackie Robinson Award to be Presented on August 11 at Aflac All-American Awards Dinner -

COLUMBUS, Ga., July 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Aflac announced today the six nominees for the second annual Aflac National High School Player of the Year Award, given to the nation's top prep baseball player. The player of the year recipient will be presented with the Jackie Robinson Award, a physical trophy named in honor of the late Hall of Fame baseball player. Rachel Robinson, his widow, will present the award at the Aflac All-American Awards Dinner, which will be held at the Wyndham Baltimore Inner Harbor Hotel on Aug. 11, 2005. The six player of the year nominees are:

-- Dellin Betances, RHP, Grand Street Campus HS - New York, N.Y.
-- Jeremy Jeffress, RHP, Halifax County HS - South Boston, Va.
-- Cody Johnson, OF, Mosley HS - Panama City, Fla.
-- Aaron Miller, LHP/1B, Channelview HS - Channelview, Texas
-- Max Sapp, C, Bishop Moore HS - Windermere, Fla.
-- Jordan Walden, RHP, Mansfield HS - Mansfield, Texas

The inaugural Jackie Robinson Award was presented last August to Aflac All-American Justin Upton, a shortstop from Great Bridge HS (Chesapeake, Va). In the 2005 Major League Baseball draft in June, Upton was the No. 1 overall pick and was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The award is named after Jackie Robinson, the first player to break the color barrier in Major League Baseball, and recognizes the nation's top rising senior, who demonstrates outstanding character, exhibits leadership and embodies the values of being a student-athlete in both his schoolwork and community affairs.

"I am proud to have Jackie Robinson's name associated with this prestigious award," said Rachel Robinson. "The award stands for all the ideals Jack symbolized and celebrates the student athletes who strive for excellence and give back to the community."

The player of the year nominees were determined by official Aflac All- American Baseball Classic selection partners Perfect Game and Baseball America.

"Aflac is extremely proud to sponsor this prestigious award for the second year in a row," said Al Johnson, second vice president, Advertising and Branding at Aflac. "Not only will this award be presented to a well-deserving high school athlete, but it is named for a true leader in the game of baseball and in social issues off the field."

The third annual Aflac All-American High School Baseball Classic will be played on Saturday, Aug. 13 at Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen, Md. The event is the nation's elite high school baseball showcase featuring the top 38 rising senior players in an East vs. West match-up. Cal Ripken Jr. is the honorary chairman of the 2005 game, which will be televised live nationally on Fox Sports Net at 2:05 p.m. EDT. Proceeds from the game will benefit the Division of Pediatric Oncology at Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center in Baltimore.

For more information about the Aflac National High School Player of the Year nominees, visit the event's official website at www.aflacallamerican.com.

Sports America, Inc., is a sports marketing and event management firm based out of Rockville, Md., which created and currently produces the Aflac Classic. Sports America also produces the McDonald's All-American High School Basketball Game and Jordan Classic High School All-Star Basketball Game.

For 50 years, Aflac products have given policyholders the opportunity to direct cash where it is needed most when a life-interrupting medical event causes financial challenges. Aflac is the number one provider of guaranteed- renewable insurance in the United States and the number one insurance company in terms of individual insurance policies in force in Japan. Aflac's insurance products provide protection to more than 40 million people worldwide. In January 2005, Aflac was included in Fortune magazine's list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in America for the seventh consecutive year. Aflac has also been included in both Forbes magazine's Platinum 400 List of America's Best Big Companies and in Fortune magazine's listing of America's Most Admired Companies for five consecutive years. Aflac Incorporated is a Fortune 500 company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AFL. To find out more about Aflac, visit aflac.com.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050728/CLTH114 )
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050721/CLTH055LOGOhttp://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20041202/CLTH019LOGO )

Media Contacts:
Mechell Clark Dan Sabreen
Aflac Incorporated Sports America, Inc.
(706) 243-8004 (301) 424-9334
meclark@aflac.comdan.sabreen@sportsamericainc.com

Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050728/CLTH114
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050721/CLTH055LOGO
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20041202/CLTH019LOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: Aflac

CONTACT: Mechell Clark of Aflac Incorporated, +1-706-243-8004, or
meclark@aflac.com ; or Dan Sabreen of Sports America, Inc., +1-301-424-9334,
or dan.sabreen@sportsamericainc.com

Web site: http://www.aflac.com/
http://www.aflacallamerican.com/

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