Bragan National Collegiate Slugger Award Adds Four Players to Midseason Watch List

For Immediate Release

April 19, 2024

FORT WORTH, TX - The Bobby Bragan National Collegiate Slugger Award (BBNCSA), presented by SR Bats announced today that four players have been added to the midseason Watch List for the 2024 award.  The BBNCSA, created by the Bobby Bragan Youth Foundation, was open to nominations from all Division I baseball programs in the country. The award is based on performance at the plate, academics, and personal integrity.

 We are only adding four student-athletes at midseason to the BBNCSA Watch List this year, but these players are phenomenal," said Tracy Taylor, Executive Director of the Bobby Bragan Youth Foundation and the Bobby Bragan National Collegiate Slugger Award.  The four additions to this year’s list are Nicholls State’s Edgar Alvarez, Florida’s Jack Caglianone, Duke’s Ben Miller, and Florida State’s James Tibbs III.

 "We are very excited about the midseason additions to the Bobby Bragan National Collegiate Slugger Award Watch List this season," said Tracy. "All of these players are currently hitting over .400 and they are near the top of several offensive categories.  Not only that, but they are also all excellent students who have multiple academic awards to their credit. One has already received their degree and is working on their Masters. They all are very worthy candidates for criteria that the BBNCSA sets forth.”

With the addition of today’s players, the BBNCSA Watch List is now up to 56 hitters for the 2024 season. The BBNCSA will name the finalists for this year's award in May.  The winner of the Bobby Bragan National Collegiate Slugger Award will be announced in June and honored at a Gala in the fall.

The BBNCSA originally started out in 2017 as an honor going to the top college hitter in Texas.  In 2019, the BBNCSA expanded becoming a regional award covering Division I programs in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. The BBNCSA became a national award in 2020; however, no winner was announced due to the COVID-19 virus which cut the 2020 college baseball season short.

 Texas Tech’s Hunter Hargrove won the initial BBNCSA in 2017.  Dallas Baptist’s Devlin Granberg took home the honor in 2018 with Texas Tech’s Josh Jung winning the award in 2019. Connor Norby from East Carolina University won the BBNCSA in 2021 with Ivan Melendez from the University of Texas taking home the award in 2022. 2023’s winner was LSU’s outfielder Dylan Crews.

 Fans can follow news about the Bobby Bragan National Collegiate Slugger Award presented by SR Bats at www.braganslugger.com.