What You Need to Know:
* Senior catcher Joey Roach was named to the Johnny Bench Award Watch List for the third straight year.
* Roach was a semifinalist for the 2015 Johnny Bench Award, as well as a CoSIDA Academic All-American and a first-team All-Sun Belt selection.
* He is hitting .452 with three homers and 12 RBI through 12 games.
ATLANTA -- For the third straight year, Georgia State catcher Joey Roach has been named to the official watch list for the 2016 Johnny Bench Award presented by BaseballSavings.com, which is given annually to the top Division I catcher in the nation.
Roach was a semifinalist for the 2015 Johnny Bench Award. He is also a two-time, first-team All-Sun Belt Conference selection as well as a 2015 CoSIDA Academic All-America.
The senior from Holly Springs, N.C., is off to outstanding start in 2016, hitting .452 with three home runs, six doubles and 12 RBI through 12 games. He has also thrown out 38 percent of runners attempting to steal.
A powerful left-handed hitter, Roach owns a career batting average of .313 with 17 homers and 98 RBI. He has a .982 fielding percentage in more than 160 games behind the plate.
Also an outstanding student majoring in actuarial science, he sports a 3.89 grade-point average.
Roach and UL Lafayette's Nick Thurman are the only Sun Belt catchers on the watch list.
Semifinalists will be announced by the Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission on May 18, 2016, and then three finalists will be named June 6, 2016. All finalists will be brought to Wichita and the winner will be announced at the 19th Annual Greater Wichita Sports Banquet on June 30, 2016.
