Johnny Bench Award

The Johnny Bench Award was created in 2000 by to honor college baseball's top division one catcher. The award is administered by the Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission and presented after the conclusion of the College World Series. Former Cincinnati catcher Johnny Bench, who by some is considered to be the best defensive catcher in baseball history, agreed to be the namesake for the annual award.

Schools nominate their catchers during the season to create the official watch list. A select committee of 20 individuals narrow 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 Johnny Bench Award.

Past winners

Year	Name	School
2000	Cresse, BradBrad Cresse	LSU
2001	Shoppach, KellyKelly Shoppach	Baylor
2002	Brown, JeremyJeremy Brown	Alabama
2003	Garko, RyanRyan Garko	Stanford
2004	Suzuki, KurtKurt Suzuki	Cal State Fullerton
2005	Clement, JeffJeff Clement	Southern California
2006	Smith, JakeJake Smith	East Carolina
2007	Easley, EdEd Easley	Mississippi State
2008	Posey, BusterBuster Posey	Florida State
2009	Wise, J. T.J. T. Wise	Oklahoma
2010	Holaday, BryanBryan Holaday	TCU
2011	Lowery, JakeJake Lowery	James Madison

See also

• List of college baseball awards

External links

• [1]
• JohnnyBench.com
• History and selection process