March 7, 2012
WICHITA, Kan. - Senior catcher Brett Frantini (Minooka, Ill.) and 42 others have been named to the Johnny Bench Award Watch List, honoring the country's top NCAA Division I catcher and named after the Cincinnati Reds Hall-of-Famer.
"It's good for Brett and it's good for Northern Illinois baseball to be on the Johnny Bench watch list," said Head Coach Ed Mathey. "Brett is being recognized for his defensive capabilities and what he brings to the table on a daily basis behind the plate. I'm very happy for him and I'm very happy for Northern Illinois baseball."
Frantini, a native of Minooka, Ill., has started 10 games at catcher for the Huskies and has been the Huskies anchor behind the plate. From his post, Frantini has thrown out five runners trying to steal base in 2012. At the plate, he has five hits, two doubles, one run and two walks. Heading into the season, Frantini started 75 games at catcher for the Huskies, carrying a .266 career batting average and a .342 on-base percentage. He also hit five home runs, eight doubles and 31 RBI entering 2012.
He is one-of-two catchers from the Mid-American Conference named to the prestigious list. Buffalo's Tom Murphy, a preseason Golden Spikes Watch Lister is the other. The Oakland A's Kurt Suzuki and the San Francisco Giants Buster Posey are amongst the past winners of the annual award presented since 2000.
The award is to honor those athletes that serve as a team's starting catcher in at least 75% of the games. Nominees that end up playing primarily another position, such as designated hitter, or those that split their time with another catcher in a 50/50 situation will be disqualified from semifinalist selection.
COMPLETE 2012 WATCH LIST
Milan Adams - SR University of Rhode Island
Will Allen - SO University of Mississippi
Bo Altobelli - JR Texas Tech University
Jimmy Best - SR George Washington University
Garrett Custons - JR United States Air Force Academy
Toby DeMello - SR Saint Mary's College
Jeremy Dowdy - SR Appalachian State University
Josh Elander - JR Texas Christian University
Carlos Escobar - JR University of Nevada
Jacob Fisher - SR Southeastern Louisiana University
Zachary Fisher - JR New Mexico State University
Chris Forsten - SR The College of William and Mary
Brett Frantini - SR Northern Illinois University
Richard Gonzalez - FR Alabama State University
John Hale - SR Sam Houston State University
Jonathan Harris - JR Gardner-Webb University
Chris Hoo - SO Cal Poly
Joe Hudson - JR University of Notre Dame
Tyler Jones - SR Long Island University
Spencer Kieboom - JR Clemson University
Dan Klein - SR Kansas State University
Thor Meeks - SR Marshall University
Brad Moss - SR Samford University
Tom Murphy - JR University at Buffalo
Peter O'Brien - SR University of Miami
Joe Pavone - SR University of Connecticut
Colton Plaia - JR Loyola Marymount University
Kevin Plaweck - JR Purdue University
David Roney - SR Wofford College
Tyler Ross - SO Louisiana State University
Jake Saylor - SR University of Cincinnati
Jeremy Schaffer - SR Tulane University
Ron Shaeffer - SR UC Irvine
Dan Sheppard - JR University of Iowa
Jacob Stallings - SR University of North Carolina
Andrew Stumph - JR Texas State University
Alex Swim - JR Elon University
Steve Tkowski - SR College of the Holy Cross
Luke Voit - JR Missouri State University
J.T. Watkins - SR United States Military Academy (Army)
Matt Wollenzin - SO Austin Peay State University
Zach Wright - SR East Carolina University
Mike Zunino - JR University of Florida
