BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Senior first baseman Stephen Klein of the Samford baseball team was named to the ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove Team on Wednesday afternoon.
 
“I am beyond blessed to receive this award and I want to thank God for putting me in this position I am in today,” Klein said. “One thing I have learned throughout my college career playing my favorite position is no matter what anyone says, you can do whatever you grind towards. This is a dream that became a reality.”
 
Klein becomes the first Bulldog named to the ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove Team in program history after posting a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage over a team-high 444 chances and 432 putouts in 2023. The Metairie, Louisiana, native was the lone SoCon player to log a 1.000 fielding percentage with more than 150 chances and 150 putouts in the field.
 
In two seasons as the Bulldogs’ first baseman, Klein has posted a .999 fielding percentage while recording 861 putouts. Samford fielded .978 this past season, highlighted by a percentage of .981 in SoCon play.
 
“This is an incredible, yet so deserving, recognition for Stephen,” Samford head coach Tony David said. “He has been our ‘Cajun Ninja’ since he stepped foot on campus. We had one of the best defenses in the country this season and he was the main cog in that. Forget the zero errors for a minute; you just can’t measure the errors he saves on throws and his range on pop flys that he has turned into outs. In a year of so many firsts and new things for our program, this is yet another with our first Gold Glove.”