NEW ORLEANS, La. – Tulane’s Kody Hoese on Wednesday was named a finalist for the Bobby Bragan Collegiate Slugger Award the Bobby Bragan Youth Foundation announced. Along with Hoese, the four finalists for the honor are Texas Tech’s Josh Jung, New Mexico State’s Nick Gonzales and Texas Tech’s Cameron Warren.
Hoese, who was drafted in the first round by the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday, was a midseason addition to the watch list for the award, as he was also a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award and the Dick Howser Trophy, being named the conference’s player of the week twice, along with earning national hitter of the week honors from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. Last week he was named a first team All-American by Collegiate Baseball.
The Griffith, Indiana, native finished the 2019 season leading the Green Wave with a .391 batting average, producing 92 hits with 61 RBI and 72 runs scored. Hoese slugged .779 to go with a .486 on-base percentage as he started all 58 games for the team this season as he was named the 2019 American Athletic Conference Player of the Year and to the All-American Athletic Conference first team.
The BBCSA, created by the Bobby Bragan Youth Foundation, was open to nominations from all Division I baseball programs in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico and Oklahoma. The BBCSA originally had 30 players nominated for the award at the beginning of the season and added 18 players to its midseason watch list. The award is based on performance at the plate, academics and personal integrity.
The winner of the BBCSA will be announced later this month and honored at a gala in the fall.
Texas Tech’s Hunter Hargrove won the initial BBCSA in 2017 while Dallas Baptist’s Devlin Granberg took home the honor in 2018.
Article courtesy of Tulane Sports Information Department.