FORT WORTH, Texas -- Outfielder Cam McDonald was named to the 2023 Bobby Bragan National Collegiate Slugger Award, presented by SR Bats, watch list, the Bobby Bragan Youth Foundation announced today.
The award is open to nominations from all Division I baseball programs in the country. The BBNCSA is based on performance at the plate, academics and personal integrity.
This year's watch list consists of 51 players representing 19 conferences around the country, including all five power conferences. The list includes 11 seniors, 35 juniors and five sophomores. McDonald is one of two Big Ten players to earn a spot on the watch list.
"We are entering the third year as a National College Baseball Award and this is certainly the deepest watch list so far, with a record number of nominations," said Tracy Taylor, Executive Director of the Bobby Bragan Youth Foundation and the Bobby Bragan National Collegiate Slugger Award. "We have three out of the top five ranked programs in the country represented and 10 out of the top 25. We also have programs from a record 19 conferences including all of the Power Five."
"We truly appreciate the partnership we have with the Division I college baseball programs and the diligence with which they approach the criteria of the nominations. We have multiple Academic All-Americans on the watch list and the number of conference and school academic honors are amazing. These are really student-athletes in every sense of the term."
The BBNCSA originally started out in 2017 as an honor going to the top college hitter in Texas. In 2019, the BBNCSA expanded becoming a regional award covering Division I programs in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico and Oklahoma. The BBNCSA became a national award in 2020; however, no winner was announced due to the Covid-19 virus which cut the 2020 college baseball season short.
The winner of the BBNCSA will be announced in June and honored at a gala in the fall at the Fort Worth Club. Texas Tech's Hunter Hargrove won the initial BBNCSA in 2017. Dallas Baptist's Devlin Granberg took home the honor in 2018 with Texas Tech's Josh Jung winning the award in 2019. Connor Norby from East Carolina University won the BBNCSA in 2021. Last year's winner was Ivan Melendez from the University of Texas.
