WICHITA, Kan. – University of South Alabama senior catcher Carter Perkins was named to the 2019 Buster Posey Award Watch List, as announced by The Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission on Tuesday.

The Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award, previously known as the Johnny Bench Award, honors the nation's top Division I catcher, as voted on by head coaches and sports information directors.

Seventy-nine catchers were nominated for the 2019 Buster Posey Award by their coaches. Because the award is given annually to the top division one collegiate catcher, the list will be updated to include other candidates until May 6, 2019.

Perkins is batting .298 with three doubles, 18 RBIs, 15 runs scored and .391 on-base percentage in 26 games played, and has thrown out seven runners attempting steals. 

The watch list will be narrowed down to the semifinalists, whom will be announced May 17, 2019. 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 3, 2019. 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 22nd Annual Greater Wichita Sports Banquet on June 27, 2019.

Georgia Tech catcher Joey Bart was named the catcher of the year last June. 

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with USAJaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at Twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the Dugout Club - the baseball-specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund. Members enjoy all games from inside the Stadium Club with climate control, private restrooms, private concessions and access to listen to the radio broadcast. All donations to the Dugout Club go directly to support the South Alabama baseball program. For more information on how you can join visit JaguarAthleticFund.com. 


2019 Buster Posey Award Watch List
Michael Amditis SO Miami 
Patrick Bailey SO NC State
Justin Bardwell SR Fordham
Colton Bender SO Quinnipiac
Carter Bins JR Fresno State
Jackson Campbell SO Belmont
Philip Clarke SO Vanderbilt
Chris Clayton SR Louisiana Tech
Daniel Cope JR Fullerton
Rob Dau SR U.S. Air Force Academy
Blake Davis SO UT Martin
Tyler Dietrich SR South Florida
Dillon Dingler SO Ohio State
Logan Driscoll JR George Mason
Jake Dunham JR Northern Illinois
Matthew Dyer JR Arizona
Cal Elvers JR Miami (OH)
Zac Fascia JR Purdue
Ryan Fineman SR Indiana
Jesse Forestell SR Western Michigan
Kaleb Foster SR Nevada
Paul Franzoni SO NJIT
Vito Friscia SR Hofstra
Nic Gaddis SR Jacksonville State
Santiago Garcia SO Alabama State
Jorge Gutierrez JR Lamar
Maverick Handley JR Stanford
Logan Harvey SR Wake Forest
Riley Helland SR San Francisco
Ryan Hernandez JR Saint Louis
Luke Horanski SR Virginia Tech
Jarrod Huber SR Stephen F. Austin
Mike Ionta GR Rider
Cooper Johnson JR Ole Miss
Nick Jones JR Eastern Michigan
Nick Kahle JR Washington
Sean Kelly SO Mount St. Mary's
Ryan Knernschield JR Eastern Illinois
William Krull JR Canisius
Justin Kunz  SR  Gardner Webb
Bryce Leasure JR The Citadel
Korey Lee JR California
A.J. Lewis JR Eastern Kentucky
Jake MacNichols JR Santa Clara
Gian Martellini SR Boston
David Martinez  SR  Austin Peay
Brandon Martorano JR North Carolina
Wyatt Mascarella SR St. John's
Brock Mathis SO Louisiana State
Chad McDaniel SO Missouri
Mason Meadows SO Georgia
Daniel Millwee SR High Point
Anthony Mulrine JR Samford
Will Olson SR UT Arlington
Casey Opitz SO Arkansas 
Jake Ortega SR CSU Bakersfield
Drake Osborn JR Texas A&M - Corpus Christi
Pedro Pages JR Florida Atlantic
Reynaldo Pastrana SR Marshall
Carter Perkins SR South Alabama
Matt Phipps JR Western Kentucky
Austin Pinorini SR Gonzaga
Luke Robinson JR Western Carolina
Michael Rothenberg SO Duke
Adley Rutschman JR Oregon State
C.J. Schaeffer SR Western Illinois
Kyle Schmidt SR Richmond
Pete Schuler SR Kent State
Garrett Scott JR Arkansas - Little Rock
Chase Sebby SR Ball State
Will Simoneit SR Cornell
Kyle Skeels JR Coastal Carolina
Dustin Skelton JR Mississippi State
Jayden Wakeham FR Northern Kentucky
Jake Washer JR Eastern Carolina
Kyle Wilkie JR Clemson
Braden Williams SR New Mexico State
Pat Winkel FR UConn
Harris Yett SR UNC Charlotte