WICHITA, Kan. – Six of the nine Southern Conference baseball teams had catchers named to the watch list for the 2016 Johnny Bench Award, given annually to the top NCAA Division I catcher. The award is selected by the Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission and presented by BaseballSavings.com.
The six SoCon catchers on the initial watch list are: Hagen Owenby (ETSU), Charlie Madden (Mercer), Jake Kusz (UNCG), Richard Greene (Samford), Danny Bermudez (Western Carolina) and Carson Waln (Wofford).
WCU’s Bermudez was the SoCon preseason first team pick at catcher, while Samford’s Greene earned a spot on the second team. ETSU’s Owenby is third in the league in batting with a .438 average so far this year, while Greene (.366), Bermudez (.348) and UNCG’s Kusz (.333) are also above .300.
The list will be updated to include other candidates until May 3 and the semifinalists will be announced on May 18. The finalists will be announced June 6 and the winner will be announced at the 19th Annual Greater Wichita Sports Banquet on June 30.