Baseball Southern Conference

Three SoCon Catchers on Johnny Bench Award Watch List

WICHITA, Kan. – Three Southern Conference catchers have been named to the initial watch list for the 2015 Johnny Bench Award presented by Baseball Savings, as announced by The Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission on Wednesday. Mercer’s Charlie Madden, VMI’s Matt Winn and Western Carolina’s Danny Bermudez are among the 75 catchers on the watch list for the award, which is given annually to the top catcher in NCAA Division I baseball.

Mercer’s Madden is the first Bear to be named to the watch list since Josh Thompson was tabbed as a semifinalist in 2006 and 2007.

The Dunwoody, Ga., sophomore has started all 19 games for the Bears this season, ranking second on the team with three home runs and 13 RBIs while batting .324 over his last eight contests. Defensively, he has registered 102 putouts and has caught eight runners attempting to steal.

VMI’s Winn was named to the watch list for the third time. The redshirt senior from Richmond, Va., is hitting .357 with two home runs and four RBIs in VMI’s seven games so far this season. Winn also has three doubles among his 10 hits this season and is slugging a team-best .679.

In the field, Winn has one pickoff and has caught two runners trying to steal. He has not committed an error in 49 total chances.

Voted a team captain as a junior, WCU’s Bermudez has opened his third season with a .313 batting average (15-for-48). The preseason first-team All-Southern Conference selection has five extra-base hits, including a team-leading and career-best three home runs. He is second on the team with 18 RBIs.

Behind the plate, Bermudez has thrown out five of the nine would-be base stealers and been a part of turning two double plays.

Bermudez, who was elected as this year’s Leggett No. 7 Legacy recipient, is a career .281 hitter with four home runs over the past two seasons. He has 40 career RBIs including the career-best 18 to date this season.

The watch list will be narrowed down to the semifinalists, who will be announced May 14, 2015. Ballots will be sent to the national voting panel at the end of May for a vote to determine the three finalists, who will be announced June 2, 2015. All finalists will travel to Wichita for the award announcement at the 18th Annual Greater Wichita Sports Banquet on June 25, 2015.