Johnny Bench Award (2019–present)


The Johnny Bench Award was created in 2019 to honor the best catcher in both college baseball and college softball in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The award is administered by MSA Sport and presented after the conclusion of the College World Series.
Named for Johnny Bench, it was first awarded in 2019. Previously, there was another award called the Johnny Bench Award, but after Bench decided to create his own national award, that award was renamed the Buster Posey Award.
In addition to naming the top college baseball and softball catchers, the top high school catchers in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and West Virginia are also recognized.

Winners

YearNameSchoolClassRef
2019Oregon State
2020NC State
2021Florida State
2022Georgia Tech
2023Virginia
2024South Carolina
2025Coastal Carolina

YearNameSchoolClassRef
2019Arizona
2020Washington
2021Kentucky
2022Northwestern
2023Oklahoma
2024Florida
2025Texas