Evans Appears on 2018 Bobby Bragan Collegiate Slugger Award Watch List
2/15/2018 9:09:00 PM | Baseball
Senior is one of 25 NCAA DI players in Texas to make the cut on the watch list
2018 Bobby Bragan Collegiate Slugger Award Watch List
FORT WORTH, Texas - Stephen F. Austin senior first baseman Josh Evans found out earlier in the week he was one of 35 individuals from NCAA Division I baseball programs around the state who made the cut for the 2018 Bobby Bragan Collegiate Slugger Award watch list.
The Bobby Bragan Collegiate Slugger Award, which was doled out for the first time in 2017, honors the top NCAA Division I player in the state of Texas based on a combination of their prowess at the plate, academic success and personal integrity.
Evans, a product of Ponca City, Okla., is the reigning Southland Conference Newcomer of the Year and enjoyed a breakout campaign in his first season in SFA colors in 2017.
The owner of the nation's 19th-best and the Southland Conference's best batting average, Evans led the 'Jacks at the dish by blasting 10 home runs and eight doubles which represented a portion of his 57 hits. Evans' final batting line read .383/.440/.638, making him one of only two Southland Conference players to rank among the league's top ten in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
In all, Evans totaled 38 RBI and also became only the third player in program history to secure a spot on the ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Division I South Central All-Region First Team.
In May, the Bobby Bragan Collegiate Slugger Award will unveil its list of semifinalists with the winner of the award scheduled to be announced in June. The award was the brainchild of the Bobby Bragan Youth Foundation, which recognizes outstanding eighth-grade students each year by awarding the promise of a college scholarship to selected students who have competed in its annual scholarship competition.
By focusing attention on the availability of aid for merit at the middle school level, the BBYF hopes to inspire students to plan for higher education, dedicate themselves to work hard to reach that goal, and push them to seek out additional aid at an earlier stage in their lives.
More than 37,000 eighth grade students from 146 public schools representing 22 school districts from across North Texas are offered the opportunity to apply for the foundation scholarships. To date, the BBYF has awarded 766 scholarships worth more than $1.9 million.
The foundation reports that 98 percent of the eighth-grade students receiving the promise of a scholarship have enrolled in college, many as the first in their family to do so.
Evans and the rest of the 'Jacks are down in Edinburg, Texas, eagerly awaiting their season opener. Friday afternoon at 3:00 p.m., SFA faces off with Central Michigan in the opening game of the Al Ogletree Classic held at the UTRGV Baseball Stadium on the campus of UTRGV.
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