Huber Named to 2018 Johnny Bench Award Watch List
5/3/2018 11:34:00 AM | Baseball
Junior joins 123 other NCAA Division I catchers on listing
Complete 2018 Johnny Bench Award Watch List Release
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Stephen F. Austin junior Jarrod Huber is in the discussion for the best catcher in all of NCAA Division I baseball this season. That was confirmed Wednesday morning when the Edgewood, Texas, product saw his name appear as one of 124 on the 2018 Johnny Bench Award watch list which was unveiled by the Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission.
Created in the year 2000, the Johnny Bench Award honors collegiate baseball's top catcher and since its creation only five of the 18 winners have played at non-power five institutions. Former winners of the award include the Atlanta Braves' Kurt Suzuki (2000) and the San Francisco Giants' Buster Posey (2008). The semifinalists for the 2018 award will be announced on May 16.
SFA's junior backstop has played in 30 of his team's 43 contests while making 25 starts in that span. At the dish, Huber has posted a slash line of .273/337/.364 while accounting for 21 hits and 11 RBI.
At Southland Conference adversary Abilene Christian on Friday, March 23, Huber socked a go-ahead home run in the top of the 10th inning which went on to hold up as the game-winning run in the 'Jacks' 11-7 triumph over the Wildcats.
Defensively, Huber's putout total of 151 ranks second on the team while his 15 runners caught stealing leads the squad and ranks fifth among all Southland Conference catchers.
Huber and the rest of the 'Jacks sit three games out of the eighth and final playoff spot for the upcoming Southland Conference Tournament with nine league games remaining. Six of those games will be played at Jaycees Field in Nacogdoches beginning with a three-game series against Nicholls which is set to begin at 6:30 p.m. Friday evening.
-SFA-
