Wichita, KS – The Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission has announced that Wagner sophomore catcher
Phil Capra (North Salem, NY/North Salem) is one of 85 backstops to be named to the official watch list for the 2017 Johnny Bench Award presented by BaseballSavings.com, given annually to the top Division I collegiate catcher. Capra is the lone Northeast Conference (NEC) member to be announced on the initial list. Because the award is given annually to the top division one collegiate catcher, the list will be updated to include other candidates until May 1, 2017.
The watch list will be narrowed down to the semifinalists, whom will be announced May 17, 2017. Ballots will be sent to the national voting panel at the end of May for a vote to determine the three finalists. The finalists will be announced June 5, 2017. A final vote among the national committee will occur during the College World Series. All finalists will be brought to Wichita, and the winner will be announced at the 20th Annual Greater Wichita Sports Banquet on June 29, 2017.
For Capra, it marks his the first time he is a nominee and joins former Seahawk catcher,
Nick Dini ['15], who was nominated for the award back in 2014 & 2015. Dini enters his third season as a professional baseball player in the Kansas City Royals organization.
In 2016, Capra tied for the team lead in home runs with three and paced the club with 38 RBIs en route to being named to the All-Northeast Conference (NEC) Second Team. He batted .289 while scoring 13 runs and recording 12 doubles, which were second most of the squad. In conference-only games, the North Salem, NY native hit close to .300 with a team-best 27 RBIs, while slugging .446. His best hitting performance came back in the opening game of a home doubleheader vs. Mount St. Mary's back on March 25, in which he went 4-for-5 with two runs scored and drove in three runs. Capra earned his first NEC Rookie of the Week citation for the week of March 28 when he batted .467 with a .556 on-base percentage and a slugging percentage of .933.
2017 Johnny Bench Award presented by BaseballSavings.com Watch List
