On Thursday night, Garrett Stubbs won the Johnny Bench Award given to the nation's best catcher, becoming the first Trojan to do so since Jeff Clement in 2005. After a postseason full of well-deserved accolades for the senior, this final honor is a fitting end to Stubbs' remarkable season and impactful career at USC.Click here for more.
"I am excited and humbled to be selected for this prestigious award," said Stubbs at the award reception. "Bringing this honor back to USC and its storied baseball program, which my team returned to prominence this year, means a great deal to me."
From a 22-32 overall record his freshman year, Stubbs became the heart and soul of the Trojan turnaround of late, leading his team to its best regular season record since 2001 (37-19) and its first playoff berth since 2005. He played phenomenally in USC's NCAA Regional appearance, catching 38 innings in four games, leading the team with a .563 batting average and earning Lake Elsinore Regional MVP honors.
His performance at the regional only solidified his standing as one of the biggest contributors to the Trojans' success in 2015. He finished the year with a .346 batting average (second-best on the team) and team-leading 20 stolen bases. Stubbs led the Pac-12 in caught-stealing percentage (52.8) and had only three errors in 468 chances all season. His impressive play earned him a deluge of postseason awards, being named an ABCA/Rawlings First Team All-American, a Baseball American First Team All-American, a Gold Glove honoree, the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and First Team All-Pac-12.
Click here to watch his 2015 highlight video.
While his USC playing days are now behind him, Stubbs' baseball future is just getting started. The Houston Astros selected him with the 229th pick in the eighth round of the 2015 MLB Draft, and are counting on the Trojan with a ton of talent and even more heart to start his professional career the way he finished his college one.
Click here to watch his 2015 highlight video.
While his USC playing days are now behind him, Stubbs' baseball future is just getting started. The Houston Astros selected him with the 229th pick in the eighth round of the 2015 MLB Draft, and are counting on the Trojan with a ton of talent and even more heart to start his professional career the way he finished his college one.
