The Buster Posey Award, formerly known as the Johnny Bench Award, was created in 2000 to honor college baseball's top catcher in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The award is administered by the Wichita Sports Commission and presented after the conclusion of the College World Series.

Buster Posey Award
Awarded forBest catcher in NCAA's Division I
Sponsored byKamerion Wimbley Foundation
CountryUnited States
Presented byWichita Sports Commission
History
First award2000
Most recentWalker Janek, Sam Houston State

Originally named for Johnny Bench, it was renamed in 2019 after Johnny Bench announced the creation of his own national award for amateur catchers. The commission reviewed the statistics of the prior winners and unanimously chose to rename the award after Buster Posey.[1]

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 Buster Posey Award. The current holder of the award is Walker Janek.

Winners

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Kelly Shoppach
 
Kurt Suzuki
 
Garrett Stubbs (left), with Johnny Bench.
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
Class The player's year in college when he won the award
^ Player won the MLB Rookie of the Year Award[a]
§ Player also won the Golden Spikes Award and Dick Howser Trophy in the same year
Player is active in MLB[b]
Winners
Year Name School Class Ref(s)
2000 Brad Cresse Louisiana State Senior [2][3]
2001 Kelly Shoppach Baylor Junior [4]
2002 Jeremy Brown Alabama Senior [5]
2003 Ryan Garko Stanford Junior [6]
2004 Kurt Suzuki Cal State Fullerton [7]
2005 Jeff Clement Southern California [8]
2006 Jake Smith East Carolina Senior [9]
2007 Ed Easley Mississippi State Junior [10]
2008 Buster Posey§^ Florida State [11]
2009 J. T. Wise Oklahoma Senior [12]
2010 Bryan Holaday TCU [13][14]
2011 Jake Lowery James Madison Junior [15]
2012 Mike Zunino§ Florida [16]
2013 Stuart Turner Ole Miss [17]
2014 Max Pentecost Kennesaw State [18]
2015 Garrett Stubbs Southern California Senior [19]
2016 Zack Collins Miami Junior [20]
2017 Matt Whatley Oral Roberts [21]
2018 Joey Bart Georgia Tech [22]
2019 Adley Rutschman§ Oregon State [23]
2020 Award not given
2021 Matheu Nelson§ Florida State Junior [24]
2022 Kevin Parada Georgia Tech Sophomore [25]
2023 Kyle Teel Virginia Junior [26]
2024 Walker Janek Sam Houston State [27]

See also

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Notes

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  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

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  1. ^ Eldridge, Taylor (June 29, 2022). "'I have good memories here': All-Star catcher Buster Posey returns to Wichita for award". Wichita Eagle. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
  2. ^ "Cresse captures collegiate catcher honor". The Advocate. Baton Rouge, Louisiana. June 21, 2000. Retrieved June 30, 2015. (subscription required)
  3. ^ "LSU'S Cresse Wins First Johnny Bench Award, Hall of Fame Catcher's Appearance Highlights Greater Wichita Sports Banquet". Wichita Eagle. June 21, 2000. p. 1C. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  4. ^ Edes, Gordon (July 19, 2001). "He Gets Schooled In The Business Negotiation Major Challenge For Pick". Boston Globe. p. C6. Archived from the original on April 11, 2013. Retrieved March 16, 2013. (subscription required)
  5. ^ "Tide's Brown wins Johnny Bench Award". The Gadsden Times. June 27, 2002. p. B5. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  6. ^ "Stanford Catcher is Bench Winner, -- Ryan Garko is NAmed Top Collegiate Catcher, And Maize Sweeps Awards For High School Athletes of the Year". Wichita Eagle. June 25, 2003. p. 1D. Retrieved June 30, 2015. (subscription required)
  7. ^ "Suzuki saluted with major award". USA Today. September 16, 2004. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  8. ^ "Jeff Clement Wins 2005 Johnny Bench Award - University of Southern California Official Athletic Site". Usctrojans.com. June 30, 2005. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  9. ^ Mark LindsayPirateIllustrated.com. "Rivals.com Football Recruiting - ECU Catcher Jake Smith wins Johnny Bench Award". Footballrecruiting.rivals.com. Archived from the original on May 1, 2020. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  10. ^ "Mississippi State's Easley wins Johnny Bench Award". USA Today. June 28, 2007. Retrieved September 29, 2012.
  11. ^ "Buster Posey Recipient Of Johnny Bench Award". FSU Seminoles. June 27, 2008. Archived from the original on June 20, 2013. Retrieved September 7, 2012.
  12. ^ "Wise Wins Bench Award". Wichita Eagle. June 27, 2009. Retrieved July 26, 2010. (subscription required)
  13. ^ Sports, Wfaa (July 1, 2010). "Holaday Wins 2010 Johnny Bench Award | wfaa.com Dallas – Fort Worth". Wfaa.com. Archived from the original on November 2, 2013. Retrieved June 7, 2012.
  14. ^ Jason Beck. "Holaday has great day in rare start for Detroit | MLB.com: News". Mlb.mlb.com. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  15. ^ "Lowery Wins Johnny Bench Award". Whsv.com. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  16. ^ Stone, Larry. "Mariners' Mike Zunino dazzles in first big-league camp | Sports". The Seattle Times. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  17. ^ Jeffrey Lutz (June 28, 2013). "Mississippi catcher Stuart Turner wins Johnny Bench Award". Wichita Eagle. Archived from the original on June 30, 2013. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
  18. ^ Lutz, Jeffrey (June 26, 2014). "Kennesaw State's Max Pentecost wins Johnny Bench Award". kansas.com. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
  19. ^ "Del Mar native Garrett Stubbs wins Bench Award bestowed to nation's top catcher". Del Mar Times. June 26, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  20. ^ Richardson, Shandel (July 1, 2016). "UM catcher Zack Collins wins Johnny Bench award". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  21. ^ "ORU's Whatley wins Johnny Bench Award".
  22. ^ "San Francisco Giants draft pick Joey Bart wins Johnny Bench Award". June 29, 2018. Archived from the original on June 30, 2018. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  23. ^ "Adley Rutschman Named Buster Posey Award Winner". osubeavers.com. June 27, 2019.
  24. ^ "Florida State's Mat Nelson wins Buster Posey Catcher of the Year". KAKE.com. July 1, 2021.
  25. ^ "Parada Wins 2022 Buster Posey Award". Georgia Tech Athletics. June 29, 2022.
  26. ^ "Teel Claims Nation's Top Catching Honor". Virginia Athletics. June 30, 2023.
  27. ^ Martinez, Quinton (June 27, 2024). "Gregory-Portland grad makes history with collegiate baseball award". Corpus Christi Caller Times. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
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