COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina junior catcher Cole Messina has been named the winner of the 2024 Johnny Bench Award, which is given to college baseball's top catcher in the country.
Messina led Carolina with a .326 batting average, 64 runs scored, 19 doubles, 71 runs-batted-in, 50 walks and eight stolen bases. He was tied for the team lead with 21 home runs.
The Summerville product threw out 13 runners trying to steal, including three in the Raleigh Regional opener against James Madison.
In the SEC Tournament, Messina set the SEC Tournament record with 16 RBI in the five games played and had two home runs, including the game-winner, in a victory over Arkansas.
He was named Second Team All-SEC after hitting .330 with 12 doubles, six home runs and 28 RBI in conference contests and that came after he had some issues at the plate in the early stages of the conference season. He did not record a hit in the team's first SEC series of the season at Ole Miss. But he found his groove offensively and became a major weapon for the team down the stretch and for the annual trip to Hoover for the conference tournament where the Gamecocks went 3-2 there, including a 2-0 start for the first time since 2004.
He was named to both the All-SEC Tournament team and the All-Raleigh Regional team.
