March 22, 2016

COLUMBIA, S.C. ââ’¬” Fresh off of SEC Player of the Week honors, South Carolina sophomore catcher John Jones has been named National Hitter of the Week by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA). Jones hit .500 (7-for-14) in the Arkansas series with a pair of game-winning home runs as well as eight runs batted in. The NCBWA Board reviews candidates from each Division I Conference each week and names National Player of the Week winners each Tuesday throughout the season, one hitter and one pitcher.

Jones opened the series going 3-for-5 with a pair of run scored and a RBI in the 10-6 win. He followed that up with a two-run homer to break a 2-2 tied in the 6-2 win over Arkansas on Saturday. Jones capped the weekend off going 3-for-5 with a double and a game-winning three-rum homer in the bottom of the eighth inning that lifted Carolina to an 8-6 victory vs. the Razorbacks. Jones’ five RBIs in Sunday’s contest was a career-high as well. Jones leads the SEC in batting average (.422) and is tied for the league lead with six home runs and 57 total bases. He ranks third in RBIs (31), third in on-base percentage (.515), fourth in slugging percentage (.687)

This is Jones’ second national honor. He earned National Player of the Week from Collegiate Baseball following the Penn State series.