AUGUSTA, Ga. – For the second consecutive year, University of Maryland punter Wade Lees has been named to the preseason watch list for the Ray Guy Award, the Augusta Sports Council announced on Wednesday.

The Ray Guy Award recognizes the nation's top collegiate punter. Lees is one of 28 candidates to be named on the preseason watch list in 2018.

Lees has started all 25 games at punter for Maryland since his arrival in 2016. During his sophomore campaign, the Melbourne, Australia native averaged 39.2 yards per punt and placed 17 punts inside the 20. He had a season-best seven punts of 50+ yards in 2017.

The Ray Guy Award committee will announce 10 semifinalists on November 15. A national body of Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) sports information directors, media representatives, and previous Ray Guy Award winners will then vote for the top three finalists to be announced on November 20. After the finalists are named, the voting body will cast ballots again to select the nation's top punter.

The winner will be announced live during The Home Depot College Football Awards airing on ESPN on Thursday, December 6, 2018.

About the Ray Guy Award
The Augusta Sports Council created the Ray Guy Award in 2000 to honor College and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee, Ray Guy. Among the statistics used to identify the winner is net punting average, number of times punt is downed or kicked out of bounds inside the opponents 20-yard line, total yardage punted, average returned yardage and percentage of punts not returned with particular emphasis placed on net punting average. The winner must display team leadership, self-discipline and have a positive impact on the team's success.