Johnny Bench Award

Johnny Bench Award

Johnny Bench, the namesake of the award
Awarded for Best catcher in NCAA's Division I
Country United States
Presented by Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission
First awarded 2000
Currently held by Max Pentecost, Kennesaw State

The Johnny Bench Award was created in 2000 to honor college baseball's top Division I catcher. The award is administered by the Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission and presented after the conclusion of the College World Series. Former Cincinnati catcher Johnny Bench, who by some is considered to be the best defensive catcher in baseball history, agreed to be the namesake for the annual award.

Schools nominate their catchers during the season to create the official watch list. A select committee of 20 individuals narrows the watch list down to the semifinalists. Two rounds of voting by Division I head coaches determine the three finalists and eventual recipient of the Johnny Bench Award.

Past winners

Kelly Shoppach
Kurt Suzuki
Key
Year Links to the article about the corresponding baseball year
Player Name of the player
School The player's college when he won the award
^ Player won the Rookie of the Year Award[lower-alpha 1]
§ Player also won the Golden Spikes Award and Dick Howser Trophy in the same year
footnote Player is active[lower-alpha 2]
Winners
Year Name School Ref(s)
2000 Cresse, BradBrad Cresse Louisiana State [1][2]
2001 Shoppach, KellyKelly Shoppachdouble-dagger Baylor [3]
2002 Brown, JeremyJeremy Brown Alabama [4]
2003 Garko, RyanRyan Garko Stanford [5]
2004 Suzuki, KurtKurt Suzukidouble-dagger Cal State Fullerton [6]
2005 Clement, JeffJeff Clement Southern California [7]
2006 Smith, JakeJake Smith East Carolina [8]
2007 Easley, EdEd Easleydouble-dagger Mississippi State [9]
2008 Posey, BusterBuster Poseydouble-dagger§^ Florida State [10]
2009 Wise, J. T.J. T. Wisedouble-dagger Oklahoma [11]
2010 Holaday, BryanBryan Holadaydouble-dagger Texas Christian [12][13]
2011 Lowery, JakeJake Lowerydouble-dagger James Madison [14]
2012 Zunino, MikeMike Zuninodouble-dagger§ Florida [15]
2013 Turner, StuartStuart Turnerdouble-dagger Ole Miss [16]
2014 Pentecost, MaxMax Pentecostdouble-dagger Kennesaw State [17]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Won either in the same year or several years later.
  2. ↑ A player is considered inactive if he has announced his retirement or not played for a full season.

References

  1. ↑ "NewsLibrary Search Results".
  2. ↑ "Wichita Eagle: Search Results". 2000-06-21.
  3. ↑ Edes, Gordon (2001-07-19). "He Gets Schooled In The Business Negotiation Major Challenge For Pick". Pqasb.pqarchiver.com. Retrieved 2013-03-16. (subscription required)
  4. ↑ Gadsden Times - Google News Archive Search
  5. ↑ "Wichita Eagle: Search Results". 2003-06-25.
  6. ↑ "USATODAY.com - Suzuki saluted with major award". Usatoday30.usatoday.com. 2004-09-16. Retrieved 2013-03-16.
  7. ↑ "Jeff Clement Wins 2005 Johnny Bench Award - University of Southern California Official Athletic Site". Usctrojans.com. 2005-06-30. Retrieved 2013-03-16.
  8. ↑ Mark LindsayPirateIllustrated.com. "Rivals.com Football Recruiting - ECU Catcher Jake Smith wins Johnny Bench Award". Footballrecruiting.rivals.com. Retrieved 2013-03-16.
  9. ↑ "Mississippi State's Easley wins Johnny Bench Award". USA Today. June 28, 2007. Retrieved September 29, 2012.
  10. ↑ "Buster Posey Recipient Of Johnny Bench Award". FSU Seminoles. June 27, 2008. Retrieved September 7, 2012.
  11. ↑ "Wise Wins Bench Award". Wichita Eagle. June 27, 2009. Retrieved July 26, 2010. (subscription required)
  12. ↑ Sports, Wfaa (2010-07-01). "Holaday Wins 2010 Johnny Bench Award | wfaa.com Dallas – Fort Worth". Wfaa.com. Retrieved 2012-06-07.
  13. ↑ Jason Beck / MLB.com. "Holaday has great day in rare start for Detroit | MLB.com: News". Mlb.mlb.com. Retrieved 2013-03-16.
  14. ↑ "Lowery Wins Johnny Bench Award". Whsv.com. Retrieved 2013-03-16.
  15. ↑ Stone, Larry. "Mariners' Mike Zunino dazzles in first big-league camp | Sports". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2013-03-16.
  16. ↑ Jeffrey Lutz (June 28, 2013). "Mississippi catcher Stuart Turner wins Johnny Bench Award". Wichita Eagle. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
  17. ↑ Lutz, Jeffrey (June 26, 2014). "Kennesaw State's Max Pentecost wins Johnny Bench Award". kansas.com. Retrieved June 27, 2014.

External links