NC State’s Jacob Cozart is 1 of 3 Finalists for the Buster Posey Award

WICHITA, Kan. – NC State junior catcher Jacob Cozart has been named a Buster Posey Award Finalist, as announced by the Wichita Sports Commission on Thursday morning.

Cozart, a First Team All-ACC honoree, is one of just three catchers nationally to be named a finalist for the Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award. These three catchers will be invited to Wichita, Kansas, with the winner being announced June 26 during the Greater Wichita Sports Banquet and Buster Posey Award presentation. The award was established in 2000.

The High Point, North Carolina native enters the Wolfpack’s Super Regional series at Georgia batting .291 with 16 homers, seven doubles, 49 RBI, 116 total bases and 56 runs scored. Cozart has also drawn a team-high 48 walks and is reaching base at a .427 clip.

Defensively, Cozart threw out 13 of 40 runners attempting to steal this season and sported a .993 fielding percentage, recording 415 putouts and 39 assists. During the regular season, Cozart ranked first among all ACC catchers with 13 runners caught stealing.

Prior to Thursday’s announcement, Cozart was also named to the Golden Spikes Midseason Watch List earlier this season. He was one of just 45 student-athletes nationally named to the list.

Buster Posey Award Finalists
Jacob Cozart, Jr. NC State – Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) First Team
Walker Janek, Jr. Sam Houston State – Conference USA (CUSA) Defensive Player of the Year
Ryan Stafford, Jr. Cal Poly – Big West Conference Defensive Player of the Year

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No. 10 national seed NC State opens its Super Regional series at seventh-seeded Georgia on Saturday. This weekend’s best-of-three series will start Saturday at noon at Foley Field. Saturday and Sunday’s matchups will be televised on ESPNU.