WICHITA, Kan. – San Diego State's Wyatt Hendrie (Palmdale, Calif.) was named one of 16 semifinalists for the Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award, as announced Thursday by the Greater Wichita Sports Commission.
For the season, Hendrie is batting .344 with nine homers, seven doubles, 47 RBIs and 44 runs scored. The Aztec redshirt sophomore also leads Aztec regulars with a .590 slugging percentage and is tied for second on the squad with 19 walks.
Among the Mountain West statistical leaders, Hendrie ranks third in RBIs and fourth in runs scored while sharing the seventh spot in home runs and the 10th position in walks. Additionally, the Palmdale, California, native tops the conference with 296 putouts heading into the weekend and has thrown out 10 would-be base stealers, which ranks third in the league.
On the national stage, Hendrie is tied for 28th this week with an average of 1.13 runs scored per game and ranks 33rd with 1.21 RBIs per contest. He has posted multiple hits in 15 games this year and is tied for second on the team with two or more RBIs in 11 outings.
Earlier this season, Hendrie garnered Mountain West Player of the Week accolades on two occasions (March 22, April 26).
During his first year at SDSU in 2020 that was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Hendrie started 14 of 16 games at catcher, batting .286 with one home run and seven RBIs. In 2019, he was a 10th-round selection by the Chicago Cubs in the MLB First-Year Player Draft.
The Buster Posey Award, formerly known as the Johnny Bench Award, has been presented to the top collegiate catcher in the nation since 2000. This season, a total of 88 catchers were nominated by their schools for the honor.
Ballots will be sent to the national voting panel to determine the group of three finalists, which will be revealed on June 7, while the winner will be announced at the 23rd Annual Greater Wichita Sports Banquet on July 1.
San Diego State returns to the diamond this weekend when it travels to the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains to battle Air Force in a three-game series, May 22-23.