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Wichita, Kansas – (March 6, 2018) - The Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission announced the official watch list for the 2018 Johnny Bench Award presented by BaseballSavings.com on Tuesday. Ninety-seven catchers were nominated for the award by their coaches and among them was Fordham catcher
Justin Bardwell. Because the award is given annually to the top division one collegiate catcher, the list will be updated to include other candidates until April 30, 2018.
The watch list will be narrowed down to the semifinalists, whom will be announced May 16, 2018. Ballots will be sent to the national voting panel at the end of May for a vote to determine the three finalists. The finalists will be announced June 4, 2018. A final vote among the national committee will occur during the College World Series. All finalists will be brought to Wichita and the winner will be announced at the 21st Annual Greater Wichita Sports Banquet on June 28, 2018.
"We are extremely appreciative to BaseballSavings.com and Mr. Johnny Bench for supporting this prestigious award," stated Bob Hanson, President/CEO of the Sports Commission. "They are the ones who make all of this possible."
While Bench is remembered for his offense, he may have had the greatest impact behind the plate. He was the first receiver to use a protective helmet in the field, popularized catching one-handed and kept his throwing hand behind his back to protect it from foul tips.
Bench's career honors include: National League Rookie of the Year (1968); National League Most Valuable Player (1970, 1972); World Series Most Valuable Player (1976); 14-time All-Star and 10-time Gold Glove winner. In 1980, he set an endurance record by catching 100+ games for 13 consecutive seasons. Bench was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in January 1989 with the fourth highest percentage of total votes cast.
This is the second straight year that Bardwell has made the initial list for the Johnny Bench Award. Bardwell is in his third season as the Rams' starting catcher. Over his first two seasons, Bardwell has started 91 games behind the plate, totaling 22 doubles and 52 RBI. This year, he has started 10 of 11 games behind the plate, registering a team-high seven RBI. Defensively, Bardwell is one of the better catchers in the Atlantic 10, throwing out 45 potential base stealers since joining the Rams, good for a 37% clip.
Bardwell is one of four Atlantic 10 catchers on the list, joining Eric Jones (Davidson), Logan Driscoll (George Mason), and Kyle Schmidt (Richmond).
2018 Johnny Bench Award presented by BaseballSavings.com Watch List
Mike Alescio (SR - Seton Hall)
Hunter Allen (SR - Alabama State)
Michael Amditis (FR - Miami (Fla.))
Justin Bardwell (JR - Fordham)
Jacob Barnwell (JR - Ohio State)
Joey Bart (JR - Georgia Tech)
Chris Bec (SR - Maine)
Cole Bedford (JR - Texas A&M)
Kyle Bergeron (SO - Incarnate Word)
Carter Bins (SO - Cal St. Fresno)
Phil Capra (JR - Wagner)
Charlie Carpenter (SR - USC Upstate)
Trevor Casanova (JR - Cal St. Northridge)
Ryan Clinch (SR - North Carolina at Greensboro)
Christ Conley (SR - Canisius)
Daniel Cope (FR - Cal St. Fullerton)
Kirt Cormier (SR - Alcorn St.)
Tyler Cropley (SR - Iowa)
Nick Dalesandro (JR - Purdue)
Brad Debo (SO - North Carolina St.)
Dominic DiCaprio (JR - Rice)
Stephen Dobbs (SR - UAB)
Cody Doyle (SR - Sacred Heart)
Logan Driscoll (SO - George Mason)
Matt Duce (SR - Dallas Baptist)
Dustin Duhon (JR - McNeese St.)
Jake Dunham (SO - Northern Illinois)
Michael Emodi (JR - Creighton)
Kale Emshoff (SO - Arkansas - Little Rock)
Hunter Fain (JR - Morehead St.)
Mike Farnell (JR - Murray St.)
Hunter Feduccia (JR - LSU)
Justin Felix (SR - Arkansas St.)
Ryan Fineman (JR - Indiana)
Jesse Forestell (JR - Western Michigan)
Kaleb Foster (JR - Nevada)
Nick Garland (SR - Central Connecticut St.)
Nick Gatewood (JR - Georgia St.)
Anthony George (JR - UCF)
Tyrus Greene (JR - California U.)
Austin Hale (SR - Stetson)
Logan Harvery (JR - Wake Forest)
Riley Helland (JR - San Francisco)
Spencer Holcomb (SR - Western Carolina)
Alex Holderbach (JR - Eastern Kentucky)
Luke Horanski (JR - Virginia Tech)
Ryan Jeffers (JR - North Carolina at Wilmington)
Eric Jones (JR - Davidson)
Scott Kapers (JR - Valparaiso)
Sean Kelly (SO - Mount St. Mary's)
Kyle Knauth (SR - Nichols St.)
Caleb Knight (SR - Virginia)
Grant Koch (JR - Arkansas)
Justin Kunz (JR - Gardner-Webb)
Shea Langeliers (SO - Baylor)
Cole MacLaren (JR - Pittsburgh)
Peyton Maddox (SR - VMI)
Phil Madonna (SR - Siena)
TJ Marik (JR - Northern Kentucky University)
Gian Martellini (JR - Boston College)
Chad McKinney (SR - Lamar)
Nick Meyer (JR - Cal Poly)
Anthony Mulrine (SO - Samford)
Dean Nevarez (JR - San Diego St.)
Matt O'Neill (JR - Penn)
Richard Ortiz (JR - Grambling St.)
Pedro Pages (SO - Florida Atlantic)
Fabian Pena (JR - Manhattan)
DJ Petrinsky (JR - Texas)
Austin Pinorini (JR - Gonzaga)
Chris Proctor (JR - Duke)
Kevin Radziewicz (SR - Fairfield)
Cal Raleigh (JR - Florida St.)
Kekai Rios (JR - Hawaii)
Jon Rosoff (SR - U.S. Military Academy)
Pat Rumoro (JR - Louisville)
Cesar Salazar (JR - Arizona)
Jason Santana (JR - Memphis)
Kyle Schmidt (JR - Richmond)
JJ Schwarz (SR - Florida)
Mike Sconzo (SR - Charleston Southern)
Hayden Senger (JR - Miami (Ohio))
Colin Simpson (JR - Oklahoma St.)
Drew Sims (FR - Utah Valley)
Ryan Sloniger (JR - Penn St.)
Chase Smartt (JR - Troy)
Hunter Smith (JR - William & Mary)
Nate Soria (SR - Xavier)
Troy Squires (SR - Kentucky)
Zac Susi (JR - Connecticut)
Joey Thomas (SR - Cincinnati)
JT Thomas (SR - Mercer)
Jackson Thoreson (SR - Saint Mary's)
Gunnar Troutwine (SR - Wichita St.)
Brock Weimer (JR - Southern Illinois-Edwardsville)
Jesse Wilkening (JR - Nebraska)
Chris Williams (SR - Clemson)
