STANFORD, Calif. - Junior catcher Alex Dunlap was named to the Johnny Bench Award watch list on Wednesday morning.
The award is given annually to the nation's top collegiate catcher. Dunlap has started 27 games this season and 24 at catcher, and has played in 36 games in all -- he missed several games with an injury and was used solely as a pinch hitter in that time. He leads the team in batting average (.318), slugging percentage (.459) and on-base percentage (.418). Entering the week, he also had the second-highest on-base percentage (.500) in Pac-12 play, and has yet to commit an error this season for the nation’s top defensive team.
T9: #DunlapDive @Dunslap15 pic.twitter.com/Xl7350hJco
— Stanford Baseball (@StanfordBSB) April 23, 2016
The watch list will be narrowed down to the semifinalists, who will be announced May 18, 2016. 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 6, 2016. 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 19th Annual Greater Wichita Sports Banquet on June 30, 2016.
“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.”
Dunlap and Stanford host rival Cal for a three-game set beginning on Thursday. All three games begin at 7 p.m., and can be seen on the Pac-12 Networks.
A video posted by Stanford Baseball (@stanfordbsb) on Apr 17, 2016 at 11:13am PDT