South Carolina Baseball: Gamecock lands on award watch list

South Carolina baseball catcher Cole Messina has been named to the midseason watch list for the Buster Posey Award, an honor given to the top catcher in all of college baseball. Messina is one of 63 players who were nominated to the watch list. Messina and the other nominees will learn which one of them will take the trophy home on June 26th. In order to make the watch list, players must be nominated by their programs and accepted by the Wichita Sports Commission. This is Messina's second season in a row making the midseason watch list for the Buster Posey Award.

Messina is one of six SEC catchers who made the watch list, and his spot on the midseason watch list is well-deserved.

#19 is regarded as one of the top defensive players in the country, both by reputation and by advanced metrics. At several points this season, he has led all of baseball in defensive runs saved thanks to his efforts behind the plate.

Messina is also a very good offensive catcher. This season, "Moose" is hitting for a slash line of .290/.432/.586/1.018 and has added 10 home runs and 13 doubles. Despite missing a few games with a mild concussion, he leads the team in doubles and putouts.

The South Carolina baseball backstop was a preseason All-American (along with outfielder Ethan Petry) after earning All-American honors after the 2023 season. He is in the mix to become the Gamecocks' first multi-time All-American catcher since Landon Powell.

Messina and the Gamecocks do not have a game in the mid-week this week as they look to bounce back from a series loss to the Arkansas Razorbacks last weekend. Next up is another top-5 home series at Founders Park, this one against the Kentucky Wildcats.

Game 1 on Friday will start at 7:00 PM EST and be streamable on SEC Network+. Saturday's game 2 has first pitch scheduled for 6:00 PM EST as the SEC Network game of the night. The finale on Sunday also will be on SEC Network as the Gamecocks and Wildcats will play at 3:00 PM EST.