South Carolina Baseball's Cole Messina Wins Johnny Bench Award

South Carolina Baseball's Cole Messina wins 2024 Johnny Bench award.

May 25, 2024; Hoover, AL, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks utility Ethan Petry (20) greets catcher Cole Messina (19) after both scored on a single by infielder Parker Noland (11) during the SEC Baseball Tournament at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vasha Hunt-USA TODAY Sports / Vasha Hunt-USA TODAY Sports

South Carolina Baseball's Cole Messina wins 2024 Johnny Bench award.

South Carolina's Cole Messina has been racking up the awards this offseason and he just added another to the list. He was awarded the 2024 Johnny Bench award which is given to the male and female catchers in baseball and softball. He becomes the first Gamecock to ever win the award.

On the year, Messina led the team with a .326 batting average adding in 64 runs, 73 hits, 71 RBIs, and 21 home runs. He also threw out 13 base runners, with three of those coming in one game in the Raleigh Regional against James Madison on May 31. Over his three-year career, Messina has a .305 batting average, 38 home runs and 137 RBI. It's not often baseball teams can find both a productive offensive player and a top-end defensive player at catcher, but Messina is that rare combination. In 138 games played, Messina committed just 10 errors and had a career .990 fielding percentage.

Messina was named to both All-Raleigh Regional and All-SEC tournament squads. During the SEC tournament, he played in five games, setting the SEC tournament record with 16 RBIs, and hit two home runs. Messina was added to the All-SEC second team after batting .330, with six home runs, and 28 RBIs in conference play.

Currently, Messina is viewed as a second-round pick by ESPN in their latest mock draft. They have the Milwaukee Brewers taking Messina 67th overall. The draft is only two weeks away as day one of the draft will take place on Sunday, July 14.

This year, Messina was awarded Perfect Game Second Team All-American, NCBWA Second Team All-American, ABCA Second Team All-American and All-SEC Second Team. He was a crucial piece for the Gamecocks this past season and now has the opportunity to be one of the first names called in the 2024 MLB Draft.

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