Honoring top high school and college baseball and softball catchers

Ten winners of the 2022 Johnny Bench Awards presented by MSA Sport have been announced, which honor the top NCAA Division I male and female college catchers along with the top high school baseball and softball catchers from Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and West Virginia.

The 10 winners will be honored on July 26 at the Johnny Bench Awards Luncheon at Great American Ball Park and recognized that evening during pregame ceremonies before the Reds vs. Miami Marlins game, 6:40 p.m.

“Congratulations to the Johnny Bench Awards Class of 2022,” said Hall of Famer Johnny Bench. “At the college level, this group is led by two high-quality student-athletes, including a fellow Rawlings Gold Glove Award winner, Jordyn Rudd. Our high school awards continue to become more competitive thanks to our growing relationship with regional coaches associations. I’m looking forward to honoring our winners at Great American Ball Park on July 26 and hope the fans in Cincinnati will join us.”

“Reds Country has a rich history of baseball and softball excellence at every level,” said Phil Castellini, Reds president and chief operating officer. “We are very grateful to Johnny for recognizing these individual athletes with this prestigious award bearing his name, the greatest catcher of all time.”

2022 Johnny Bench Awards Winners

Top male NCAA baseball catcher

• Kevin Parada – Georgia Tech

Top female NCAA softball catcher

• Jordyn Rudd – Northwestern University

Top high school catchers from Ohio

• Myaih Cloud – Hayes High School (softball)

• Jimmy Nugent – Badin High School (baseball)

Top high school catchers from Kentucky

• Kayley Batts – Oldham County High School (softball)

• Brody Williams – Lyon County High School (baseball)

Top high school catchers from Indiana

• Brenna Blume – Gibson Southern High School (softball)

• Oscar Pegg – Shakamak High School (baseball)

Top high school catchers from West Virginia

• Josie Bird – Lincoln County High School (softball)

• Ethyn Barnitz – Wahama High School (baseball)

Fans can attend the Johnny Bench Awards Luncheon on July 26 at Great American Ball Park, featuring Johnny Bench and the award winners with their special guests. For tickets, sponsorship opportunities and VIP table sales, please contact Erin Chamberlain at 513-765-7921 or echamberlain@reds.com. 

Previous collegiate winners include 2012 National League MVP Buster Posey, 2019 World Series Champion Kurt Suzuki, 2019 No. 1 overall draft pick Adley Rutschman, 2021 Team USA Olympian Dejah Mulipola and 2021 Reds draft pick Matheu Nelson. 

The full list of previous winners can be found at www.reds.com/BenchAwards. 

About the Johnny Bench Awards

The Cincinnati Reds and Hall of Famer Johnny Bench, along with the Reds Hall of Fame, are partnering for The Johnny Bench Awards presented by MSA Sport. The awards honor the best baseball and softball high school catchers from Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and West Virginia as well as the top baseball and softball NCAA Division I catchers. A committee determines the finalists with support from local media, coaches associations and scouting organizations in each state. The winners are then hand-picked by Johnny and brought together to celebrate their achievements and meet “Baseball’s Greatest Catcher” at an awards banquet. The awards are permanently located at the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum presented by Dinsmore at Great American Ball Park.

COURTESY REDS MEDIA RELATIONS & MLBpressbox.com