GODUCKS.COM: Trio Of Ducks Named To Slugger Watch List (2 photos, article)
Yovan, a redshirt junior, is coming off a season where he earned Collegiate Baseball first-team All-America honors as a designated hitter after leading Oregon in hitting (.429), hits (24), home runs (4), runs scored (22) and walks (15). He also topped the team in on-base percentage (.556) and slugging percentage (.714), while finishing with nine RBI, two doubles and a triple. Yovan finished the season with six multi-hit games including five 3-hit games. In the Pac-12 Conference, he finished in the top three in seven offensive categories while ranking in the top six in two more. Yovan was second in the league in slugging percentage and runs scored, third in batting average, OBP, hits, home runs (tied) and total bases and sixth in the conference in walks and hit by pitches. The BBCSA honor is the third of the preseason for Yovan, who also earned preseason All-American by both Collegiate Baseball and D1Baseball.
Zavala, a sophomore, earned his first career All-America honor after batting .418 with a home run and a team-high 22 RBI. The Salem, Ore., native led the Ducks in both multi-hit (8) and multi-RBI (9) games while finishing with four 2-hit and four 3-hit games. Zavala led the Pac-12 Conference in RBI, while finishing fourth in batting average and hits (23) and 11th in on-base percentage (.493). Nationally, he ranked 11th in RBI per game, 16th in RBI and 18th in toughest to strikeout (three strikeouts in 67 plate appearances). Zavala claimed third-team Collegiate Baseball All-America honors following the 2020 season.
Matthews, a senior, heads into the 2020 season ranked in Oregon's career top 10 in 12 separate career categories -- on-base percentage, walks, doubles), at-bats, games started, hits, RBI, hit by pitches, multi-RBI games, slugging percentage and multi-hit games. A four-year starter, Matthews ended the 2020 season batting .339 with a home run, 15 RBI and 13 runs scored. He ranked among the Pac-12 leaders in hit by pitches (3rd), on-base percentage (7th), walks (7th) and RBI (10th).
Matthews, Yovan and Zavala will lead an Oregon team that returns all nine starters and all but one of its pitchers into the 2021 season that starts on Feb. 19 when the Ducks host Omaha. Oregon will play its first eight games at home before hitting the road for the first time.
Fort Worth, Texas - The Bobby Bragan Collegiate Slugger Award (BBCSA) presented by SR Bats announced today the players on its watch list for the 2021 college baseball season. The award, created by the Bobby Bragan Youth Foundation, was open to nominations from all Division I baseball programs in the country. The BBCSA is based on performance at the plate, academics and personal integrity.
This year's watch list consists of 48 players representing 17 conferences around the country, including all five power conferences.
"The Bobby Bragan Collegiate Slugger Award Watch List presented by SR Bats is not only loaded this year but has a somewhat unique look," said Tracy Taylor, Executive Director of the Bobby Bragan Collegiate Slugger Award and the Bobby Bragan Youth Foundation. "The abrupt ending of the 2020 season, the shortened MLB Draft, and an extra season of eligibility have all changed some of the dynamics of the watch list from previous years. The watch list has traditionally been dominated by juniors, but this year we have more seniors than ever before and they headline an outstanding list for 2021 that has garnered more than 80 All-American and All-Conference honors.
“We received a record number of nominations for the award than ever before and the recognition on the field is only surpassed by the recognition in the classroom. This year we have eight student-athletes who have already finished their degrees and are pursuing postgraduate studies as well as multiple underclassmen that are on their conference and school honor rolls.
“My favorite nugget from the 2021 BBCSA Watch List is that we have a student-athlete on the list, Western Kentucky’s Davis Sims, whose grandfather played for the 1964 Milwaukee Braves team which featured Hank Aaron, Eddie Mathews, Joe Torre, Warren Spahn and Phil Niekro. That team was managed by Bobby Bragan.”
The BBCSA originally started out in 2017 as an honor going to the top college hitter in Texas. In 2019, the BBCSA expanded becoming a regional award covering Division I programs in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico and Oklahoma. Last year, the BBCSA became a national award; however, no winner was announced due to the Covid-19 virus which cut the college baseball season short.
The winner of the BBCSA will be announced in June and honored at a gala in the fall at the Fort Worth Club. Texas Tech’s Hunter Hargrove won the initial BBCSA in 2017. Dallas Baptist’s Devlin Granberg took home the honor in 2018 with Texas Tech’s Josh Jung winning the award in 2019.
Fans can follow news about the Bobby Bragan Collegiate Slugger Award presented by SR Bats and its Player of the Week honorees during the season at www.braganslugger.com.
