DALLAS – Georgia Tech standout catcher Kevin Parada (Pasadena, Calif./Loyola) continues to make the shortlist for college baseball’s major national awards, most recently being named a finalist for the 35th Dick Howser Trophy, the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Associated announced on Thursday.
The Dick Howser Trophy is awarded to the nation’s top baseball player who symbolizes the major principles of character, leadership, desire and competitive spirt exhibited by Dick Howser. Parada joins Oregon State’s Cooper Hjerpe, Tennessee’s Trey Lipscomb, Texas’ Ivan Melendez and Clemson’s Max Wagner as finalists.
Parada, who just finished his second season on the Flats, joins an elite list of Yellow Jackets to be named a Dick Howser Trophy finalist, including three Georgia Tech catchers. Also named a finalist from The Flats were winners Jason Varitek (1994) and Mark Teixeira (2000), as well as Joey Bart (2018) and Kyle McCann (2019).
A 2022 first-team All-American already, Parada had an excellent sophomore campaign in which he was named first-team all-ACC, a finalist for the Buster Posey Award and Golden Spikes Award, 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.
The winner will be announced on Friday, June 17, on MLB Network during the 10 a.m. (ET) hour and at a national news conference at 11 a.m. (ET) in the media room at Charles Schwab Park prior to the 75th NCAA College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.
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.
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