Ryan Basham (Glens Falls '04) has been selected as the Frontier League's Jason Simontacchi Award winner for the 2007 season. The award is given annually to the league's Rookie of the Year.

Basham, playing for the Florence Freedom, hit .298 with a team-high 17 home runs and 74 runs batted in. He finished second on the team with 108 hits and also collected 56 runs, 21 doubles, one triple and 48 walks. In 93 games with the Freedom, Basham committed just five errors in the outfield.

Florence finished the Frontier League regular season with a record of 42-54 and earned a third-place finish in the league's East Division.

Basham enjoyed a stellar three-year career at Michigan State. As a junior in 2006, Basham was named first-team All-Big Ten and he led the Spartans in almost every major offensive category including batting average (.363), home runs (8) and runs batted in (53). The Lowell, Ind., native was chosen by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 29th round (870th overall) of the 2006 Major League Baseball entry draft, however he did not sign. Basham signed with the Freedom in April.

Basham was a member of the 2004 Glens Falls Golden Eagles. The 2004 Golden Eagles won the Eastern Division regular season title and finished the regular season 31-10. Basham was a second-team NYCBL all-star.

The Frontier League's Rookie of the Year award is named after current Washington Nationals pitcher Jason Simontacchi. Simontacchi pitched in the Frontier League during the 1998 season and helped the Springfield Capitals win the league championship as a Frontier League "rookie."