Baseball's Messina Added to Buster Posey Award Watch List

WICHITA, Kan. – University of South Carolina baseball catcher Cole Messina has been added to the Buster Posey Award Watch List, the Wichita Sports Commission announced this afternoon (Friday, March 31). The award is handed out to the top division I collegiate catcher.

Messina is off to a great start in his sophomore campaign, hitting .324 with 10 home runs, 35 runs scored, six doubles, a triple and 33 RBI. He has a .458 on-base percentage and a .696 slugging percentage.

The Summerville, S.C., native has thrown out three runners trying to steal, including last night in a 6-4 win over Mississippi State. In that game, he broke a 3-all tie with a two-run home run in the top of the seventh. Messina’s 2-run home run on March 3 against Clemson helped the Gamecocks to an 11-9 win while he hit a pair of home runs on March 10 against Bethune-Cookman.

The watch list will be narrowed down to the semifinalists, whom will be announced May 22, 2023. Ballots will be sent to the national voting committee at the end of May for a vote to determine the three finalists. The finalists will be announced June 6, 2023. 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 on June 29th, 2023.

Carolina and Mississippi State play game two of the three-game series Friday night (March 31) at 7 p.m. EDT (6 p.m. CDT). The game will be streamed on SEC Network Plus.