WICHITA, Kan. – Georgia Tech’s Kevin Parada (Pasadena, Calif./Loyola) continued to earn national recognition on Tuesday evening as the Yellow Jacket catcher was named a finalist for the 2022 Buster Posey Award, the Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission announced.
The Buster Posey Award is presented annually to the nation’s most outstanding collegiate catcher. Parada joins Michael Carico from Davidson and Zach Morgan from Fresno State as finalists.
Parada, who just finished his second season on the Flats, is just the fourth Yellow Jacket catcher to be tabbed a finalist for the national award, joining Matt Wieters (2007), Zane Evans (2013) and, most recently, Joey Bart, who won the award in 2018.
A 2022 first-team All-American already, Parada had an excellent sophomore campaign in which he was named first-team all-ACC, a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award and the Dick Howser Trophy and earned National Player of the Week honors three times.
The Pasadena, Calif. native ranked among the nation’s best all year, finishing the regular season ranking sixth with a school-record 26 home runs, second in total bases (174), third in RBI (85), fifth in runs (74) and 35th in hits (85). In the Atlantic Coast Conference, Parada led in runs and RBI, ranked third in home runs, fourth in hits and was the fourth-toughest hitter to strikeout in the league.
Parada started all 60 of Georgia Tech’s games this season, playing an impressive 55 of them behind the dish, where he posted a .992 fielding percentage and threw out 12 would-be base thieves.
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 24th Annual Greater Wichita Sports Banquet on June 29, 2022.
Alexander-Tharpe Fund
The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Georgia Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of developing Georgia Tech’s Everyday Champions and helping the Yellow Jackets compete for championships at the highest levels of college athletics by supporting the Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes. To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.
For the latest information on the Georgia Tech baseball team, follow us on Twitter (@GTBaseball), Facebook, Instagram (@gt_baseball) or visit us at www.ramblinwreck.com.
